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The Inheritance by Armin Greder

All this will soon be yours, respect what I have built and make it prosper.  These are the last words of the old industrialist before dying.  While the three brothers discuss how to fulfil their father's wishes, the sister lists for them the disastrous consequences that would follow:  disease; marine pollution; deforestation; the destruction of the landscape; pollution of skies and rivers.  The Inheritance tells of the greed of those who hold economic power, and reminds us that silence and inaction amount to complicity.

Underground:  Marsupial Outlaws and Other Rebels of Australia’s War in Vietnam by Mirranda Burton

It's 1965, and an old Tattersalls barrel starts rolling marbles to randomly conscript young Australian men to fight in the war in Vietnam. Melbourne housewife Jean McLean is outraged, as are her artist friends Clif and Marlene Pugh, who live in the country with their wombat, Hooper. Determined to wreck the system, Jean forms the Save Our Sons movement's Victorian branch, and she and her supporters take to the streets to protest. Meanwhile, in the small country town of Katunga, Bill Cantwell joins the Australian Army, and in Saigon, young Mai Ho is writing letters to South Vietnamese soldiers from her school desk.  And when Hooper's call-up papers arrive, he mysteriously goes underground.

Half my Luck by Samera Kammeleddine

Layla Karimi has been cursed by the evil eye.  Well, that's what Layla's superstitious grandmother tells her.  And Layla reckons it makes sense as she's sort of Australian and sort of Lebanese:  a 'halfie' who doesn't really fit into either world.  And when all hell breaks loose at the first beach party of the summer, Layla finds herself caught between her friends and the Lebanese kids who call themselves 'the Cedar Army' (of which her cousin Sufia is the Queen Bee).  One group has been wrongfully accused and Layla knows the truth that could help clear them.

Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn

When Amandla finds a mysterious address in the bottom of her mother's handbag along with a large amount of cash, she decides it's finally time to get answers about her mother's life.  What she discovers will change the shape and size of her family forever.  But with her best friends at her side, Amandla is ready to take on family secrets and the devil himself.  

These Sugar Town queens are ready to take over the world to expose the hard truths of their lives.

The Rise of the Remarkables:  The Thaumagician’s Revenge by Gareth Ward

Plum is more dangerous than ever and appears to be recruiting more aberrations – determined to re-open the rupture.  Meanwhile, the events of the Minster Schism have drained Wrench of her magic and she begins lessons with Master Tranter in attempt to re-kindle her powers.  It is here that she meets Vexanna, Thirteen’s new apprentice thaumagician.

Trouble is my Business by Lisa Walker

Olivia Grace, recently retired teen PI, has her priorities sorted.  Pass first-year law, look after her little sister, and persuade her parents to come back from a Nepali monastery to resume … well, parenting.  But after Olivia’s friend Abbey goes missing in Byron Bay, she can’t sit back and study Torts.  It’s time to go undercover as hippy-chick Nansea, in hippy-chic Byron Bay:  hub of influencers and international tourism, and home of yoga, surfing and wellness culture, against a breathtaking backdrop, a short drive from Olivia’s Gold Coast home.

Muddy People:  A Memoir by Sara El Sayed

Soos is coming of age in a household with a lot of rules.  No bikinis, despite the Queensland heat.  No boys, unless he's Muslim.  And no life insurance, not even when her father gets cancer.  Soos is trying to balance her parents' strict decrees with having friendships, crushes and the freedom to develop her own values.  With each rule Soos comes up against, she is forced to choose between doing what her parents say is right and following her instincts.

The Monster of her Age by Danielle Binks

Ellie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie.  The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved.  Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it's too late.

The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred

Harri and her best friends worship Half Light - an internationally famous boyband.  When frontman Frankie is arrested on suspicion of murdering his oldest friend Evan, Harri feels like her world's about to fall apart. But quickly she realises that she - and all the other Half Light superfans out there - know and understand much more about these boys than any detective ever could.

The Opposite of Disappearing:  Short Stories in Uncertain Times edited by Laura Norris & R. A. Stephens

We have always lived in uncertain times.  But facing a global pandemic tasks us with questioning the things we take for granted.  Everything is disappearing, but we are still here.  The opposite of disappearing is an encouraging and inspiring collection of contemporary short stories from Australian authors written during the COVID pandemic.

Ground Zero by Alan Gretz

It's September 11, 2001.  Brandon, a 9-year-old boy, goes to work for the day with his dad at the World Trade Center in New York City.  When two planes hit the towers, Brandon and his father are trapped inside a fiery nightmare as terror and confusion swirl around them.  Can they escape and what will the world be like when they do?  In present-day Afghanistan, Reshmina is an 11-year-old girl who is used to growing up in the shadow of war, but she has dreams of peace and unity.  When she ends up harbouring a wounded young American soldier, she and her entire family are put in mortal danger.

Girls in Boys’ Cars by Felicity Castagna

Rosa was never really trying to kill anyone, no matter what they said in court.  But she's ended up in juvenile jail anyway, living her life through books and wondering why her best mate Asheeka disappeared.  A novel about a complicated friendship; a road trip through NSW in a stolen car; the stories that define us; and two funny, sharp, adventurous young women who refuse to be held back any longer.