AustLit

'It’s been a terrible few days for Corey. His meeting in the bell tower of the boarding house with school bully Jaspar has ended disastrously and Corey now hides a terrible secret.

'Then came the bus crash. And finally, his frightening encounter with the mysterious woman in the tent at the school fair.

'‘Step inside and discover the truth about your future. Find out something you don’t know! Can you afford not to? You must be 15 or over…’

'So Corey does… and nothing will ever be the same again when he is told he has 44 hours to live…' (Publication summary)

'The Big Bash League book series is back - better and BIGGER than ever! 'Billy loves to bowl - fast! He's also a massive Melbourne Stars fan and when his friend Wen-Lee lets him know about a cricket academy camp, run by none other than the Stars, Billy is desperate to go! So is Wen-Lee, even if she does barrack for the Brisbane Heat. 'Trouble is, the applications are about to close and Billy needs to find a way to raise money for the entry fee. Perhaps a speed-bowling competition is in order!' (Publication summary)

'Like a Big Bash League match, this junior fiction series is explosive, entertaining and action-packed!

'Manny and his sister Izzy have just moved from Perth to Adelaide. Both are huge cricket fans, but while outgoing Izzy has already signed up to the local girls' team, Manny is super shy and prefers going to the oval in the evening and bowling in the nets when there's hardly anyone around. He's a gun fast bowler but just can't seem to find his confidence, especially after the family goes to a Perth Scorchers and the Adelaide Strikers BBL game and Manny falters in a speed bowling competition he is chosen to enter. Back practising in the nets the next night, Manny gets the distinct feeling that someone or something is spying on him.

'The spy turns out to be a drone – and weirdly, a drone has just been stolen from Manny's new school teacher! Then, when a dad from the nearby cricket club tries to offer Manny a deal to play for his son's team, Manny knows something fishy is going on. It's time to start making friends and find out who the spying drone really belongs to!

'Will Manny build up the courage to join the local team and let his bowling do the talking?' (Publication summary)

'Millie and Maggie Chapman are on holidays with their cousins at the Windy Peaks Caravan Park in Brisbane. Every morning their cousins and the other boys from the park congregate on the oval for a game of cricket. The girls want to join but are told that they can't; it's boys only. Millie and Maggie are not impressed – they are mad WBBL fans and can bat, bowl and field as well as any boy! The girls decide to run a competition for the longest, fastest and most accurate throw – they even manage to get the local constable to judge the competition with her new speed gun.

'Meanwhile, there's something strange going on at the caravan park, with all manner of things going missing. Millie and Maggie are determined to find out what's going on, especially with tickets to the next Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes double-header on offer for whoever solves the mystery!

'Will the girls outshine the boys and uncover the stolen items, or will their battle to prove who is best get in the way?' (Publication summary)

'Fletcher, Jana and their mates are counting down to their greatest game ever - a full T20 match! The gang have organised the whole thing themselves and can't wait to get out onto the pitch. But before that, they're off to watch a blistering double-header between the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder, where they witness a school cricket team display their impressive skills at half-time . . .

'The group are inspired by what they’ve seen, but when Fletcher and Jana arrive at the field on the day of their big game, another team is already playing . . . it's the same kids who wowed the crowd the night before!

'Will Fletcher and Jana work out a way to settle the score with the intruders?' (Publication summary)

'Barney Duke is the star batter for Highmont East Primary School and a die-hard Melbourne Renegades fan. His school team are training for the inaugural City of Melbourne T20 Interschool Competition. Seven schools have joined; they are awaiting an eighth. Watching glumly from the sidelines is Fifi, who lives close by, jealous that she can't be involved. Her school doesn't have a cricket team, though she lives and breathes cricket, and dreams of playing for the Melbourne Stars.

Barney's team make good progress to reach the semi-finals. But they are hearing rumours of another team that is also blitzing the opposition; a team led by the super-talented Fifi. How is this possible? It seems a spy mission is in order!

Will Barney and his teammates uncover the truth before they meet Fifi's team in the T20 grand final?' (publication blurb)

'Gabrielle has no memory. No family. No past. All Gabrielle remembers is a voice in her head that tells her she is not like anyone else. It tells her she is on a quest. Her journey might lead her home. Or it might destroy the one person who loved her.

'Placed in foster care after awakening in a hospital bed, Gabrielle struggles to piece together her fractured memory. But strange things are happening at her new home. Who - or what - is behind the horrifying events at the house? And why do they have Gabrielle in their sights?

'Can Gabrielle unravel the mystery before it is too late?' (From the publisher's website.)

'The unexplained brings new adventure to a small town and its resourceful kids One autumn night, when most people in the small town of Teasdale are sleeping, the sky fills with strange blue flashing lights. Is it just a meteor shower? The town is buzzing with questions, and Ed, Angus, Hannah, Gabby, Ling and Sean set out to find the answers. Why do those two unfriendly scientists have 'UFOSItE' written on their caravan? Was Byron Watts - the local unofficial UFO expert - really abducted by aliens, as he claims? Then Sean discovers a mysterious canister on the old rifle range ... Is this what the UFOSItE people are looking for? And why is Gabby so moody and unhappy? What on Earth is going on?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Emilio De Luglio (E.D.) is the youngest of three brothers, all of them motocross enthusiasts. As the youngest, he's always been support crew, fixing up his brothers' bike, rather than racing. But this time, as a result of losing a bet with his brother Tony, he's reluctantly competing in a race.

'It doesn't seem as if the race track is a level playing field, though. There are some mysterious riders in lime green bikes who don't play fair, and there's a whiff of high tech cheating going on around Proctor's Powerhouse (suppliers of motorbikes and gadgets) which seems to have developed into a thriving business in a suspiciously short time.

'And there's also a legendary motocross track through the old railway system, including a tunnel. No one's ever done this dangerous track in less than 15 seconds before, but plenty are game to try, including E.D.'s brothers.

'When a serious crash puts his older brother Tony in hospital, E.D. must step up to the job and compete on his behalf, even though he knows he doesn't have much of a chance to get through to the finals. But E.D. proves once again his capacity to surprise everyone - in an unexpected way.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Francesca’s sister Carli goes missing and life is turned upside down. Francesca is sent to stay with her neighbours at the Kelly Station while her parents search for their lost daughter. When Francesca becomes involved in her own dangerous search for Carli she becomes caught up in a ghostly world that threatens her very existence.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.