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Snapshot:
Future Girl explores what it means to come of age as a Deaf teenager, against the backdrop of a near-future Melbourne on the brink of environmental catastrophe.
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.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 7 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
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Snapshot: The learning activities aim to encourage students to think critically, creatively and independently, to reflect on their learning and connect it to an audience, purpose and context. They encompass a range of forms with a focus on language, literature and literacy.
Where appropriate, they promote the integration of CT and life skills.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 5 AND ABOVE.
Omar Rising by
Amal Unbound, Omar finds a way to change the corrupt system in his new school. Omar, the son of a servant, is thrilled when he gets a scholarship to an elite school. But he's not so thrilled when he finds out that the school weeds out kids like him by requiring them to get higher grades than fee-paying kids-so it's almost impossible for scholarship students to graduate. On top of that, they aren't allowed to join clubs or teams, and have to do menial chores. It's a good thing Omar has learnt to hold on to his dreams. With the help of his friend Amal and his new school mates-and with the threat of expulsion looming over him-he sets out to do what seems impossible: change a rigged system. Omar Rising is an exciting middle-grade story about student activism, believing in yourself and fighting for justice.
Snapshot: Themes include Self-Esteem and Self-Identity, Body Image, Family Relationships, Romance & Friendship, Bravery and Confidence,.
"Teens are gonna LOVE this book. Such a sweet coming of age tale." Clementine Ford, bestselling author of Fight Like a Girl
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 7 AND ABOVE
What I like about me by
he last thing Maisie Martin thought she'd be doing this summer is entering a beauty pageant. Not when she's spend most of her life hiding her body from everyone. Now when her dad is AWOL for Christmas and her best friend starts going out with the boy she's always loved. But Maisie's got something to prove. And she's not going to let anything or anyone - including herself - hold her back.
Snapshot: REASONS FOR STUDYING THIS BOOK • To study voice and perspective, through the novel’s use of six distinct first-person voices • To explore gender politics relating to art and social media.
THEMES • Perception • Identity • Friendship • Memory • Neurodiversity • Sexual diversity • Grief • Art • Resilience • Displacement • Change
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 7 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
I am with Lanterns by
One of us is in the dark. One of us is a bully. One of us wants to be understood. One of us loves a girl who loves another. One of us remembers the past as if it just happened. One of us believes they've drawn the future. But we're all on the same map, looking for the same thing. Year Ten begins with a jolt for best friends and neighbours Wren and Milo. Along with Hari, Juliet, Ben and Adie, they tell a story of friendship, family, wild crushes, bitter feuds, and the power of a portrait. As their lives interwine, images could bring them together, and tear them apart.
Snapshot: This book is suitable for Years 11 and 12, or extension classes in Year 9 & 10. Also, for university literature courses, and teacher training/librarianship degrees. In a literature class, in addition to the features of style pointed out above, Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal fits into the study of Romantic literature (in particular, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein); Australian (specifically Qld) YA fiction; and contemporary fiction dealing with diversity/own voices, feminism, low SES representation. It is a valuable resource for people working in psychology, occupational therapy, special education and for people who are experiencing, teaching, treating or parenting those with autism/ADHD/sensory processing disorder/giftedness, or ‘twice exceptional’.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 8 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Peta Lyre's rating normal by
At sixteen, neurodivergent Peta Lyre is the success story of social training. That is, until she finds herself on a school ski trip - and falling in love with the new girl. Peta will need to decide which rules to keep, and which rules to break ...
Snapshot: Analysing how language and writing evoke mood, tone, tension and characterisation together with encouraging creative and imaginative writing.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Our Chemical Hearts by
First love is an epic disaster Henry Page has never been in love. The slo-mo, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love he's been hoping for just hasn't been on the cards-at least not yet. Henry's too busy trying to get into a semi-decent college and become editor of his school newspaper, a dream three years in the making. The rest of his spare time he spends with his best friends, Lola and Murray, playing video games and advising them on their own sordid love lives. Then he meets Grace Town, the elusive new girl in school, who wears oversized boys' clothing, walks with a cane, rarely seems to shower, and is hiding crushing secrets. She's hardly who Henry expected his dream girl to be, but when the two are chosen to edit the paper together, sparks fly. After all this time, Henry's about to learn firsthand just how disastrous the road to first love can be-and that sometimes it's the detours that end up mattering much more.
Snapshot: Inspired by and written in consultation with young Ugandan women, I Am Change is the tragic but empowering story of how a young girl finds her voice and the strength to fight for change.
Themes: Gender roles/inequality, The power of words, The female experience, Overcoming adversity, Hope Oppression.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
I am change by
They told her that her body belonged to men and her mind didn't matter. They were wrong. "What if I don't want to marry?" Lillian held her breath. She had never said the words out loud. "Not want to marry?" Her aunt frowned. "What else would you do?" Set in a Ugandan village, Lilian has learned to shrink herself to fit other people's ideas of what a girl is. In her village a girl is not meant to be smarter than her brother. A girl is not meant to go to school or enjoy her body or decide who to marry. Especially if she is poor. Inspired by and written in consultation with young Ugandan women, I Am Change is the tragic but empowering story of how a young girl finds her voice and the strength to fight for change.
Snapshot: This novel canvasses death and grief, depression and anxiety, dissociation and trauma, friendship and peer group pressure, sexuality, and moral choices. It questions community response to mental illness and the absolute necessity to have family support. It is a moving account of a girl trying to find the strength to live with a serious illness and a hard history, with the support of those who love her. It is a celebration of love and the power it has to transcend the saddest of moments and the most dire of circumstances. ‘How it feels to float’ is both a literal description of Biz’s dissociative experiences but also a metaphor – for keeping on, holding on to life and love when the current wants to pull you out to sea.
SUITABLE FOR SENIOR STUDENTS
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
How it feels to float by
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.
Snapshot: THEMES : Sexuality, Masculinity, Identity, Belonging, Mental health and suicide.
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM OUTCOMES Y10–12 English Y10–12 Health and Physical Education (Mental Health and Wellbeing)
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 10 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Invisible Boys by
One town, three boys: Zeke, a shy over-achiever, struggling with his family's Catholic expectations and the weight of his Sicilian heritage. Charlie, a hard-core rocker, who's not as tough as he looks. Hammer, a footy jock with big AFL dreams, and an even bigger ego. All three share a secret. Will revealing it make them or break them? By turns hilarious and harrowing, but ultimately hopeful, this gripping novel explores what it is grow up gay in rural Australia.
Snapshot: Rudra is an Indian-Australian boy at a crossroads, poised to step into the world of adulthood and to discover his cultural heritage and how that might truly define him. A wonderful exploration of dual heritage, cultural identity, family and the power of storytelling.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
The Honeyman and the Hunter by
he sea is inside his blood. Cursed, or blessed, on both sides. When sixteen-year-old Rudra Solace dredges up a long-hidden secret in his father's trawl net, his life in the sleepy fishing village of Patonga shifts dramatically. It is not long before Rudra is leaving Australia behind, bound for India on a journey of discovery and danger. A wonderfully compelling tale of belonging and loss, of saltwater and mangroves, of migration and accepting change; a story of decisions that, once made, break through family histories like a cyclone swell.
Snapshot: Provides material for learning and discussion across the capabilities of Literacy, Critical & Creative Thinking, Personal & Social competence, Ethical behaviour and Intercultural understanding.
SUITABLE FOR YEARS 7-10
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
When the ground is hard by
At Keziah Christian Academy, a boarding school in Swaziland, sixteen-year-old Adele Joubert is one of the top girls. She's well-mannered, a good student and, most importantly, has a white father who can pay her school fees. But on the bus back to Keziah after holiday break, Adele discovers she's been replaced by a new top girl - one whose father is wealthier than her own. Worse still, Adele now has to share a room with Lottie Diamond, a poor outcast who likes to fight and doesn't follow the rules. Soon Adele is forced to make a choice: betray Lottie to regain her social status or forge ahead with her new friend and become an outcast herself. But before Adele can decide, tragedy strikes the school, and the two girls find themselves investigating the suspicious circumstances of a classmate's disappearance.
Snapshot: Addresses the general capabilities of Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Understanding and Intercultural Understanding. Appropriate as an ‘Own Voices’ narrative – author is Chinese-Australian. The themes of this novel will strike a note with many students who are first- or second-generation migrants. School, and career advice from teachers, is a real part of the characters’ lives.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by
Anna Chiu has her hands pretty full looking after her brother and sister and helping out at her dad's restaurant, all while her mum stays in bed. Dad's new delivery boy, Rory, is a welcome distraction and even though she knows that things aren't right at home, she's starting to feel like she could just be a normal teen. But when Mum finally gets out of bed, things go from bad to worse. And as Mum's condition worsens, Anna and her family question everything they understand about themselves and each other. A nourishing tale about the crevices of culture, mental wellness and family.
The novel is especially suitable for studying in the middle years (7 to 10), depending on the nature of the students in a class. However, it meets the particular demands of the Year 8 curriculum, for example, where novels used would ‘involve some challenging and unpredictable plot sequences and a range of non-stereotypical characters. These texts explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas within […] fictional settings and represent a variety of perspectives.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 7 AND ABOVE
Snapshot: Learning areas: English, Arts, Health and Physical Education • General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability
REASONS FOR STUDYING THIS BOOK • It’s a heart-warming story about resilience, grief, friendship and love.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Anything but fine by
Luca is ready to audition for the Australian Ballet School. All it takes to crush his dreams is one missed step . . . and a broken foot. Jordan is the gorgeous rowing star and school captain of Luca's new school. Everyone says he's straight - but Luca's not so sure . . . As their unlikely bond grows stronger, Luca starts to wonder: who is he without ballet? And is he setting himself up for another heartbreak? 'Anything But Fine is everything wonderful I love in a book: characters so real they breathe, a rollercoaster of a story that made me laugh, cry, and swoon, and vivid, gorgeous writing. Brilliant.' JENNIFER NIVEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places 'In Anything But Fine, Tobias Madden delivers a stirring meditation on identity and grief. Sweet, warm and thoroughly delightful, it will quickly dance its way into your heart.' KRYSTAL SUTHERLAND, bestselling author of Our Chemical Hearts 'Anything But Fine is a gorgeous story about love, loss, friendship and hope - and about finding your true self after your one and only dream shatters into a thousand pieces.
Snapshot: The learning activities aim to encourage students to think critically, creatively and independently, to reflect on their learning, and connect it to audience, purpose and context. They aim to encompass a range of forms and include a focus on language, literature and literacy. Where appropriate, they include the integration of ICT and life skills.
SUITABLE FOR YEAR 9 AND ABOVE
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
This Is How We Change the Ending by
Sixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He's worried about a lot of things - how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop in his bedroom; his reckless friend, Merrick. Nate hangs out at the local youth centre and fills his notebooks with things he can't say. But when some of his pages are stolen, and his words are graffitied at the centre, Nate realises he has allies. He might be able to make a difference, change his life, and claim his future. Or can he?
Snapshot: Using Razorhurst as a class text (either in Stage 5 English or HSIE) could lead to in-depth discussions relating to: life during the Great Depression, loyalty, ghosts, poverty and its impact on society, crime and its consequences.
SUITABLE FOR YEARS 9 AND 10
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Razorhurst by
The setting: 1932, Razorhurst. Two competing mob bosses - Gloriana Nelson and Mr Davidson - have reached a fragile peace. Kelpie knows the dangers of the Sydney streets. Ghosts have kept her alive, steering her to food and safety, but they are also her torment. Dymphna is Gloriana Nelson's 'best girl'. She knows the highs and lows of life, but she doesn't know what this day has in store for her. When Dymphna meets Kelpie over the corpse of Jimmy Palmer, Dymphna's latest boyfriend, she pronounces herself Kelpie's new protector. But Dymphna's life is in danger too and she needs an ally. And while Jimmy's ghost wants to help, the dead cannot protect the living. Gloriana Nelson's kingdom is crumbling and Mr Davidson is determined to have all of Razorhurst - including Dymphna.
Held in Compactus
Snapshot: Set in Adelaide, the novel explores complex questions and our "real world", questions of love and loss, identity and personal growth and the nature of music and what it means to be a musician.
SUITABLE FOR YEARS 9 & 10
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
Impossible Music by
Music is Simon's life - which is why he is devastated when a ministroke obliterates his hearing. He resists attempts to help him adjust to his new state, refusing to be counselled, refusing to learn sign language, refusing to have anything to do with Deaf culture. Refusing, that is, until he meets G, a tough-as-nails girl dealing with her own newly experienced hearing loss. In an emotionally compelling tale crackling with originality, Simon's quest to create an entirely new form of music forces him into a deeper understanding of his relationship to the hearing world, of himself, and of the girl he meets along the way.
Snapshot: Belonging, family, grief and loss, stories, language, civilisation, education, religion, good intentions, prejudice, culture and exploitation, protest
SUITABLE FOR SENIOR STUDENTS
FIRST NATIONS AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR
The Yield by
"After a decade in Europe August Gondiwindi returns to Australia for the funeral of her much-loved grandfather, Albert, at Prosperous House, her only real home and also a place of great grief and devastation. Leading up to his death Poppy Gondiwindi has been compiling a dictionary of the language he was forbidden from speaking after being sent to Prosperous House as a child. Poppy was the family storyteller and August is desperate to find the precious book that he had spent his last energies compiling. The Yield also tells the story of Reverend Greenleaf, who recalls founding the first mission at Prosperous House and recording the language of the first residents, before being interred as an enemy of the people, being German, during the First World War. The Yield, in exquisite prose, carefully and delicately wrestles with questions of environmental degradation, pre-white contact agriculture, theft of language and culture, water, religion and consumption within the realm of a family mourning the death of a beloved man.
