AustLit

'Do we count you in? When Joe is reluctantly dragged into a deadly plot by rebellious convicts at the Castle Hill prison farm on the outskirts of Sydney Town, he quickly realises it does not pay to be their enemy. He has been quietly working out his sentence as a shepherd boy, in the company of his friends, Pat and Kitt - who has set her eye on Joshua Holt, son of the heroic General of Wicklow. But the croppies are hard, tough patriots of Ireland and desperate to revolt and Joe finds himself amidst a desperate bid for freedom in the first convict uprising against the colony of New South Wales.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Convicted of theft, Mary Beckith is sentenced to transportation to the colony of New South Wales. Even with a life sentence, Mary is determined to take charge of her own destiny by whatever means she can. However, decisions will be made for her that will alter the course of her life. Mary will encounter two extraordinary explorers–Nicholas Baudin and Matthew Flinders–and their marvellous voyages of discovery.' (Publication summary)

'The discovered artifacts from an archaeological dig in Melbourne become the backdrop for this story about a group of teenagers in 1891 who are struggling to make their way in a world that seems to be conspiring against them whichever way they turn.

'Lonnie McGuinness knows only one thing for sure - there doesn't seem to be any fairness in life for him or his mates. So he decides to take matters into his own hands. But when does a favour turn into a crime? And when should a secret no longer be kept?' (From the publisher's website.)