AustLit

'From bestselling Australian author Lynette Noni comes a dark, thrilling YA fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Sabaa Tahir.

'Here at Zalindov, the only person you can trust is yourself.

'Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer.

'When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals.

'Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: Don’t let her die. We are coming. Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom.

'But no one has ever survived.

'With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva's heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can't escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.' (Publication summary)

'If you could tell your mum anything, what would it be? Samuel Johnson, Amanda Keller, Vika & Linda Bull, Guy Pearce, Elizabeth Tan, Rebecca Gibney, Peter Helliar, Clare Wright, Hilde Hinton, Gillian O'Shaughnessy, Adam Spencer, Brooke Davis, Lawrence Mooney, Patti Newton, Shane Jacobson, Julie Koh, Susie Youssef, Lehmo, Favel Parrett, Matilda Brown and many more ...

'A heartfelt, honest and very human book of letters that will make you smile and make you cry. It is the perfect gift for the mum in your life. And a reminder to tell them how you feel before it is too late.' (Publication summary)

'On 22 June 2013, Corporal Cameron Baird was a 2nd Commando Regiment Special Forces soldier when he led his platoon into a known Taliban stronghold to back-up another Australian unit under heavy fire. In the prolonged firefight, Cameron was mortally wounded.

'In 2014, Cameron's bravery and courage under fire saw him posthumously awarded the 100th Victoria Cross, our highest award possible for bravery in the presence of the enemy. Cameron Baird died how he lived - at the front, giving it his all, without any indecision. He will forever be remembered by his mates and the soldiers he served with in the 2nd Commando Regiment.

'THE COMMANDO reveals Cameron's life, from young boy and aspiring AFL player, who only missed out on being drafted because of injury, to exemplary soldier and leader. Cameron's story and that of 4RAR and 2nd Commando personifies the courage and character of the men and women who go to war and will show us the good man we have lost.' (Publication summary)
 

'Christopher Pyne has been many things and called many things throughout his long career in politics. Member for Sturt. Minister for Defence. Manager of Opposition Business. Leader of the House. 'The Fixer'. Any Canberra story he doesn't know isn't worth telling.

'Are you still a liar? The crafting of those five words, even without dispatch, left her chilled.

'Arctic Circle, 2012. On a lightless day at the end of the polar winter, landscape architect Evie Waddell finds herself exhuming the past as she buries Australian seeds in a frozen mountain vault - insurance against catastrophe.

'Molong, 1953. Catastrophe is all seven-year-old Paddy O'Connor has known. Shipped from institutional care in London to an Australian farm school, his world is a shadowy place where lies scaffold fragile truths and painful memories. To Paddy's south in Canberra, young Evie is safe in her family's embrace, yet soon learns there are some paths from which you can't turn back; impulses and threats that she only half understands but seems to have known forever.

'Blue Mountains, 1962. From their first meeting as teenagers at a country market, Paddy and Evie grow a compulsive, unconventional love that spans decades and crosses continents, taking them in directions neither could have foreseen.

'Set against the uneasy relationship society has with its own truth-telling in history, war and politics, Desire Lines is an epic story of love and the lies we tell ourselves to survive - and a moving reminder that even truths which seem lost forever can find their way home.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

"'Are you lonely here?' her mother asked.

"'Never,' Alice said. ‘Not while I am friends with the lyrebird.'

"Alice has spent her life living on the outskirts of a small town. Every other morning, she is visited by a lyrebird. Her bond with this magnificent bird draws her to her nearest neighbour, Mr Brown, a widower who loves the bush and its treasures as much as she does.

"But change is coming: Alice is growing up, and having to think about her future. Mr Brown is getting older, and less able to look after himself. And as the nearby town grows, their beloved lyrebird and bushland are threatened too."

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'William McInnes, one of Australia's best-loved entertainers and authors, takes a look at the Aussie obsession with sports and pop culture.

'A chance encounter in an auction house is the jumping-off point for William's inimitable take on our sport-obsessed nation, Australian popular culture and the artefacts and memorabilia that both make us cringe with recognition and laugh with warm affection. His trademark humour and anecdotes litter this collection, making it a true delight.

'These are truly Aussie stories: about us, and about the things - and the people - in our lives.' (Publication summary)

'Will is small for his age, but agile and energetic. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected as an apprentice to Castle Redmont's Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic.

'Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger’s secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger’s weapons are not so useless after all . . . ' (Publication summary)

'In the late 19th century, the world was full of mysteries to solve, creatures to discover and unconquered lands to explore... In this new title in the Sam Silverthorne series, Sam escapes from his heartless aunt's care and sets sail to find his father, Sir Arthur Silverthorne, the Queen's Ornithologist, who has failed to return from an expedition to find the prized Silver Bird of Paradise.' ((Publication summary)

'Angela Throgmorton lives with her mangy cat, the troublesome but lovable Old Tom. One morning Angela receives some exciting news: she's won an all-expenses paid luxury holiday--for one. Angela is sad to leave Old Tom, but there is plenty of food in the freezer and he needs to clean his room anyway. Angela visits museums and royal gardens, she rides on boats and trains, and she photographs everything so she can share the pictures with Old Tom when she gets home. But everywhere she goes, she sees something that reminds her of her beloved pet. The lonelier she gets, the more she misses Old Tom. Then a wonderful surprise turns Angela's solo adventure into a delightful holiday for two.' (Booktopia)