AustLit

'Piper's mum wants her to be 'normal', to pass as hearing and get a good job. But when peak oil hits and Melbourne lurches towards environmental catastrophe, Piper has more important things to worry about, such as how to get food.

'When she meets Marley, a CODA (child of Deaf adult), a door opens into a new world - where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience is created through growing your own food rather than it being delivered on a truck.

'As she dives into learning Auslan, sign language that is exquisitely beautiful and expressive, Piper finds herself falling hard for Marley. But Marley, who has grown up in the Deaf community yet is not Deaf, is struggling to find his place in the hearing world. How can they be together?

'Future Girl is the art journal of sixteen-year-old Piper, a visual extravaganza of text, paint, collage and drawings, woven into a deeply engaging coming-of-age story set in near-future Melbourne.' (Publication summary)

'When the soldiers came in the dead of night, Hasina's family fled in all directions. All Hasina remembers is picking up her baby brother and running deep into the forest. Braving snakes and elephants, they hid until they no longer saw smoke or heard gunfire. When Hasina and Rima emerge, it is to a village half-standing. She’s overjoyed to find her grandmother but there is no sign of Hasina's father and mother, her older brother and sister. As head of her household, Hasina must take care of her family. But how is anyone in the village to live when so many are gone? Who will work the fields and fish and feed them all? One thing Hasina knows—they will all need to work together to survive.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Mia and Sophie have been best friends forever — but that’s all about to change. Experimenting with alcohol, flirting with boys, and dabbling in drugs, their lives quickly spiral out of control. There is little currently available for young readers — and their parents — that accurately reflects both the appeal and the consequences of drug use from a teenage perspective, making this an important and valuable novel.' (Publication summary)

'Ads R Us is set in a modern city in the near future, where advertising is a constant stream of noise and information, and corporations sponsor everything from music to schools.

'Teenager Barrett Trent has been raised in total isolation from mainstream society in an eco-cult called Simplicity, but after the death of his uncle, he must now live in the city with his rich and powerful Aunt Kara and Uncle Adrian, and spoiled cousin, Taylor.

'As Barrett finds out, his aunt and uncle have a hidden agenda - there is a lot to gain from finding out the effects of advertising on an untouched mind. Barrett is the perfect guinea pig for their experiments.

'But Barrett may prove harder to crack than they think - and Taylor is certainly not the cousin he expected...' (From author's website)