Booklists

Pete and his dad are running from the secret service. Pete is confused about his life and his dad's behaviour but knows they must hide when they hear a helicopter. A sensitive and empathetic story of mental illness. Adult themes and strong language. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

When Cassandra and her brothers climb the garden wall hoping to spot the ghost in the old house, they discover an old woman living without electricity in a decaying house. They are drawn into her world long lost, and their developing relationship with Miss McAllister helps them cope with their parents' preoccupation with work, alcohol and their own lives. Some strong language may offend some readers. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Beth Millar has always lived in Deni. In a small rural town. Her biggest problem is telling her over protective and fiercly private father that she has a boy friend. Whey her father disappears into thin air, Beth discovers that he's not who she thought he was, in fact nothing is what she thought. Her family's secret past has caught up with them and now someone wants them all dead. Beth has been training for this moment her whole life without even knowing, but will it be enough to keep ahead of her hunters? Usually read by students in Year 9, 10 and above.

There is another 1985, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos can be regenerated and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of Jane Eyre. Thursday Next, a literary detective without equal, fear or botfriend, is on the trail of the villainous Hades who is kidnapping characters from works of fiction and holding them to ransom. Sophisticated writing and humour, some coarse language. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Literary detective, Thursday Next, finds her Jurisfiction job has been downgraded. However, as this is fiction, jeopardy is never far away. Sherlock Holmes is killed and Miss Marple dies in a narratively inexplicable car accident, thus bringing both their series to an end. And, Thursday receives a death threat, clearly intended for her written self. Sophisticated writing and humour, some coarse language. Usually read by students in Years 9,10 or above.

Thursday Next, literary detective and registered dodo owner, hears the disturbing news that her husband of one month drowned thirty-eight years ago. Someone, somewhere, sometime is responsible. To find out, Thursday heads back into fiction, where lost Shakespearian manuscripts, narrative loopholes and woolly mammoth migrations await. Sophisticated writing and humour, some coarse language. Usually read by students in Years 9,10 or above.

It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld as all-out genre war is rumbling. Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But, a week before the peace talks, where Thursday is to play peacekeeping emissary to the warring factions, she vanishes. Sophisticated writing and humour, some coarse language. Usually read by students in Years 9,10 or above.

Tired of her responsibilities as the Bellman in Jurisfiction, literary sleuth, Thursday Next, packs up her son, Friday, to return to Swindon. Accompanied by the Danish prince, Hamlet, she finds herself coping with outlaw fictioneer, Yorrick Kaine, anti-Danish sentiment, the return of Swindon's patron saint and a seminal croquet tournament. Sophisticated writing and humour, some coarse language. Usually read by students in Years 9,10 or above.

Any three titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page, on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

In a distant, desert land where servants of the god rule supreme, new Bearer, Mirany, receives visions which reveal the true heir to the kingdom. She must try to stop the corrupt High Priestess from seizing power. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

The inspiring story of the Australian soldiers who held Tobruk in the Second World War. Even tanks and bombers could not conquer the spirit of these diggers. An illustrated, accurate and human account of the war and the people involved. It gives a face and personality to both the famous and powerful, and the brave foot soldiers. Very strong language used in context. A mature read that is not for the faint-hearted. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

In the 1930s, Australian Nancy Wake was a young woman enjoying a bohemian life in Paris. After witnessing an horrific scene of Nazi violence, Nancy decided to help rid Europe of the Nazis. What began as a courier job became a highly successful escape network for Allied soldiers, perfectly camouflaged by Nancy's high-society life in Marseille. A compelling story. Coarse language may offend some readers. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

The Weather Makers has had a huge impact on our consciousness about climate change. It has changed minds and hearts. This book speaks to the school children who will inherit the new climate which their parents and grandparents have helped to create. Provides scientific examinations and some conclusions about climate change. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Civil war has come to the island of Bellona. Veda has joined the underground revolutionaries and they are determined to overthrow the ruling Imperi and find justice for their people. Nico is one of those ruling Imperi and has just been named heir to the most powerful man aboveground. Nico and Veda are childhood friends and possibly more but their people are at war with eachother. Veda becomes a hostage. The whole island will burn unless Nico and Veda can come together and rip everything apart. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Enne Salta is a naive young lady with strengths yet to be revealed. Lost and alone in a new city which is rife with criminal gangs and corruption, Enne is in a desperate search for her lost mother. Along the way she finds out incredible truths about her mother and her family background, whilst discovering untold strengths. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Sorina is 16 and lives in the travelling city of Gomorrah - famous for it's talent shows, jynx-workers and criminality. She's the daughter of the 'Proprietor' and therefore due to inherit control over the city. This inheritance takes a deadly turn when members of her 'illusion' family start dying. Will Sorina find the killer before more of her illusions are taken from her and what will she do when she discovers the truth of how close to her the killer is? Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Written Portraits is a national writing competition that showcases young Australian writing, providing young writers with the opportunity to express inner feelings and emotions associated with being a teenager. The theme of this anthology is portrait at home. The short stories in this powerful anthology are all written by teenagers who are from a range of backgrounds. Each story expresses the sense of belonging or displacement to home, place or others. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

After losing her best friend, Piper Rhodes changes schools, determined that she and her final year will be different. Then, she meets West, the school captain and star soccer player. Despite Piper's fear of losing everything again, they fall in love, without Piper ever speaking one word to him. She suffers from anxiety, specifically Selective Mutism, an inability to speak to anyone outside her immediate family. A terrible accident forces Piper to confront some big decisions. A mature read, usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

The infamous Black Jack Anderson, Australia's most notorious pirate, was a towering black American holed up with his evil-doing gang in the treacherous seas and islands off the south west coast of Australia. The fascinating details of his life and times; his mistresses, the treachery, bloodshed and escapes are as compelling as his personality, with his resourcefulness, power and passion. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

A young girl tells the story of her family during the Great Depression in Northern England. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Biz knows how to float. She has her people, posse, her mum and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, and who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn't tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface - normal okay regular fine. This book explores issues of mental health. It is usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Ten year old Subhi is a Rohingya asylum seeker, born in an Australian permanent detention centre, Life behind the fences is all he has ever known and Subhi needs the stories of others to build memories. One night, Jimmie appears from the other side of the wires, bringing a bone sparrow necklace and a notebook, written by her dead mother. As their tales unfold, Subhi and Jimmie might find a way to freedom but not until each of them has been braver than ever before. Usually read by Years 9, 10 or above.

The soldiers she saved called her the Angel of Waterloo. The husband she loved and lost called her Hen. The patients she treated in secret called her Auntie Love. She was Henrietta Bartlett, a surgeon's daughter, a survivor of the Napoleonic Wars. But now the battlefield is just a blood-soaked memory, and Hen dreams of peace, a home, and a society that allows women to practise medicine. On the other side of the world, the newly founded colony of New South Wales seems a paradise. But Europe's wars cast long shadows .. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

The world knows the name William Shakespeare, but what of the man behind the name- the husband, lover, son and poet? Was he happy with his riches? Who was the woman he truly loved? And could the acclaimed playwright put down his pen forever to become a gentleman? Written by Australian Children's Laureate Jackie French and based on new documentary evidence, this story is a fascinating glimpse into a life that might have been and a story that has never been told. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

My name is Johannes and this is the story of how an evil ogre named Hitler swallowed Frau Marks, Helga and I. But we survived. Now we need to learn how to live, and love again. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Three women from very different backgrounds meet on the long sea voyage from their homeland of England to Sydney. They quickly bond in an unlikely friendship. Indulged and wealthy, Kat Fitzhubert, has been sold in an arranged marriage to someone in the new colony. Lady Viola Montefiore is a dark skinned lady that her family has kept hidden and then shipped to the new colony. Titiana Boot is as broad as a carthorse and as useful. Jackie French defies the myth of colonial women in the 1850s as merely wives, servants, or petty thieves. Instead she portrays them as businesswomen, farmers, bushrangers and illegal brewers. All of this happens as the convict colony reinvents itself into a land of gold rushes and illusive riches. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

In 1789, the new colony in Sydney is established. Nanberry is an Aboriginal boy who is raised by Surgeon John White and witnesses the struggles of the colonists to survive in the wilderness. Follow Nanberry and his white brother as they make their way in the world, as well as the young convict woman who becomes a lady in her own right. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Any three titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page, on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Hekja's simple but happy life changes dramatically when her village is raided by Vikings and she is captured. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 and above.

After the St Bartholomew Massacre in 16th-century France, a sea captain vows to sail until he finds a world without persecution. Centuries later, his ship is seen each sunset by a girl on an island, and is tugged off course by her cries of distress. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

This book is about Gallipoli, the place, and what happened on Gallipoli Beach, from the ANZACS first landing in April to their retreat in December 1915. Images, memorabilia, illustrations and photographs enrich the recount of the months that followed the landing. Includes images that may trouble some readers. A challenging read; usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Stacey and Laney are twins - mirror images of each other - and yet they're as different as the sun and moon. Stacey works hard at school, determined to get out of their small town. Laney skips school and sneaks out of the house to meet her boyfriend. But when Laney disappears one night, Stacey can't believe she's just run off without telling her. As the days pass and Laney doesn't return, Stacey starts dreaming of her twin. The dreams are dark and terrifying, difficult to understand and hard to shake, but at least they tell Stacey one key thing - Laney is alive. It's hard for Stacey to know what's real and what's imagined and even harder to know who to trust. All she knows for sure is that Laney needs her help. Stacey is the only one who can find her sister. Will she find her in time? Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

The love of an older brother and a girlfriend must be strong enough to overcome terrifying obstacles or Will is lost to them forever. This is Jacob's story, he is familiar with this treacherous, violent land full of intrigue, power-lust, violence, cruelty, fear, dangerous liaisons and dark secrets. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Life in the Inkworld has been far from easy. With Dustfinger dead and the evil Adderhead now in control, the story in which they are all caught has taken an unhappy turn. Even Elinor, left alone in the real world, believes her family to be lost between the covers of a book. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he has not read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. One night, a stranger comes to their door and forces Mo to reveal an extraordinary secret about the power of storytelling. Standby as what happens in the imagination becomes real. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 and above.

Any three titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page, on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Although a year has passed since the adventures of Inkheart, Meggie can't forget the extraordinary events and the characters that transformed her life. Now she dreams about getting inside the enchanted world of the book. But, Meggie needs to be careful about what she wishes for. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.