New to the shelves

How to Repaint a Life by Steven Herrick

Isaac is running from his old life when he steps off the bus in a small town. He doesn’t plan on sticking around and has nowhere to stay, but a local café owner's kindness offers him a chance to change his story. Then Isaac meets Sophie and learns he’s not the only one wanting to repaint his life.

Self / Less by Aviva

A world where self-expression is banned. A world where survival is everything. A girl who will be heard. Seventeen-year-old Teddy lives in the walled-in city Metropolis. Radical laws condemn all forms of self-expression and creativity, and the lives of the people are carefully constructed and controlled by the City Council: We watch because We care. When Teddy finds out the truth behind one of the City's biggest lies, she slips out into the darkness of the City after curfew. She is captured by a stranger and held prisoner in an old bomb shelter that lies beneath the City. Here, Teddy discovers that there is a world beneath Metropolis, a world where a growing web of clans are fighting to keep their humanity alive, and waiting for a leader to unite them and lead them back up into the light.

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

Kiva's purpose goes beyond survival to vengeance. For the past ten years, her only goal was to reunite with her family and destroy the people responsible for ruining their lives. But now that she has escaped Zalindov, her mission has become more complicated than ever. As Kiva settles into her new life in the capital, she discovers she wasn't the only one who suffered while she was in Zalindov - her siblings and their beliefs have changed, too. Soon it's not just her enemies she's keeping secrets from, but her own family as well. Outside the city walls, tensions are brewing from the rebels, along with whispers of a growing threat from the northern kingdoms. Kiva's allegiances are more important than ever, but she's beginning to question where they truly lie. To survive this time, she'll have to navigate a complicated web of lies before both sides of the battle turn against her and she loses everything.

The Break by Phillip Gwynne

Growing up with the famous Bali surf at his back door, sixteen-year-old Taj had an idyllic childhood -- until ten years ago when his father was arrested for smuggling drugs. He’s been on death row in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan Jail ever since, leaving Taj in an uneasy limbo. When an execution date is set, Taj is left with one course of action: bust his dad out of jail and high-tail it back to Australia. What follows is the desperate, dangerous ride of a father and son on the run. As events unravel and time runs out, Taj uncovers startling truths about his family, his girlfriend and the stranger he is rapidly falling for.

If Not Us by Mark Smith

Hesse lives a small coastal town, where a coal mine and power station are a part of the scenery, and a part of the ever-growing problem of climate change. His mum is a member of a local environmental group campaigning to close the mine and shut down the power station. It’s a no-brainer, of course, but Hesse is more interested in surfing -- and in Fenna, the new exchange student from the Netherlands. But when someone seems to be trying to derail the campaign, and his friends’ families face losing their jobs, Hesse begins to realise that things are complex. Even though he’s reluctant to step into the spotlight, with Fenna’s encouragement he decides it’s time to make a stand. Because some things are too important to leave to everyone else. And even one small, nervous voice can make a difference. When Hesse agrees to speak at a protest meeting he has no idea of the storm he is about to unleash.

Within the Ward by Emily Larkin

Paige is immersed in a dream reality called ‘The journey’. If patients finish The journey, then they can go home. Secrets are exposed as Paige bonds with other teens who don’t belong. The journey is meant to be a cure – but Paige soon discovers dark forces within the hospital, and that the dream reality is the stuff of nightmares. Paige and her friends have limited chances to show progress, before it’s too late. Can they escape the ward? And can Paige find reasons to live?

Dark Rise by C S Pacat

The dark will rise! Who will stand? Who will fall? The ancient world of magic is no more - its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are widely forgotten. Only the Stewards remember, and keep their vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns. Sixteen-year-old Will is taken in by the Stewards and trained to fight for the side of Light. Katherine is descended from the champion of the Light who long ago bested the Dark King. As fears of the Dark King's return grow, Will and Katherine join forces with a handful of young heroes of the Light and set themselves to challenge Simon, a descendant of the Dark, who is building an army and preparing to anoint himself the Dark King. But as the descendants of Light and Dark take up their destined roles and choose their sides in battle, a secret is revealed that threatens to tear everyone apart.

The Great Dream Robbery by Greg James & Chris Smith

Unlike most 12 year-olds, Maya Clayton is desperate to go to bed early. Falling asleep is the only chance she has to save her dad - the brilliant but slightly odd Professor Dexter. The Professor invented a device that allows you to visit other people's dreams. But the devious Lilith Delamere has trapped him inside a nightmare and Maya and the mysterious Dream Bandits must find a way to rescue him before it's too late! Maya will face a dangerous journey and some difficult choices. But sometimes all you need is a dream . . . and a bit of courage.

The Arrow

Keeping our school community connected

Edition No. 16 · 25 Nov 2021

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