by Sally Rippin
‘Nick’s got the knack…Twelve is a brilliant, perceptive novel.’
Herald Sun
Paperback • rrp $19.95 • ISBN 978-1-921351-57-0
Available June 2008
THE BECKONERS
Carrie Mac
WINNER, ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD AND WHITE RAVENS AWARD
CANADIAN LIBRARIAN ASSOCIATION HONOUR BOOK
INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION
YOUNG ADULT CHOICE CITATION
Fifteen-year-old Zoe is not happy when her mother moves her and her baby sister to another new town. There she falls in with a ruthless gang of girls at school. Beck Wilson, burned with a fork by her father, is the leader of the Beckoners—with this girl gang ‘it doesn’t matter if you beckon or not, they come calling when they want.’ Out of fear and a desire to fit in, Zoe is initiated, but needs help from unlikely sources to tear loose from their intimidation, and to help the tormented April.
The Beckoners is a chilling portrait of bullying and violence, the price paid when you stand up for what is right, and what happens when adults turn a blind eye. This is a novel no teenager will be able to put down.
‘Three cheers for Carrie Mac who has had the courage to delve so uncompromisingly into a dark and terrifying side of teenage life.’ Maureen McCarthy
‘Entirely engrossing reading. It may make you feel angry and outraged, wanting to dive into the pages and offer April and Zoe advice or assistance. But, without doubt, it will have you asking…what would I do in that situation?’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Mac captures teenage torment brilliantly. No wonder she has won multiple youth-literature awards for this book.’
Sunday Telegraph
Paperback • rrp $22.95 • ISBN 978-1-921145-76-6
THE BIRTHMARK
Beth Montgomery
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLD INKY,
STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA’S
TEENAGE CHOICE BOOK AWARD, 2007
Growing up on the Pacific island of Tevua, Lily and Hector have seen plenty of war relics. But when they spot a rusty sword half-buried under a tree, they know they’ve found something special. Maybe too special.
Soon Lily’s dreams are haunted by an angry soldier and a screaming woman. What is the man trying to tell her? And why do the woman’s screams make Lily’s birthmark burn?
The Birthmark is an irresistible page turner, a debut novel that takes us to a world of adventure and secrets where the past and present collide with breathtaking results.
‘I’d love to have a friend like Lili Fasiti—brave, daring and a fast talker. She’d get you into trouble but it’d be worth it.’
J. C. Burke
‘This is the sort of book I love…a revelation.’ Phillip Gwynne
‘Beth Montgomery’s first book is compelling.’ Sunday Age
‘Exciting and intriguing.’ Magpies
‘With confidence and literary poise, she creates a tropical world inhabited by young adults of two generations with their own problems and secrets…Aimed at teenagers, her work has far wider appeal and reinforces the adage that “a good story well told” is hard to beat.’ Weekend Australian
Paperback • rrp $ 17.95 • ISBN 978-1-921145-33-9
EMIL AND KARL
Yankev Glatshteyn
VIENNA, 1938. Two boys, one Jewish, one not, fend for themselves after their parents are taken away by the Nazis. Emil and Karl, best friends, are brave and loyal in a world of persecution and cruelty. Courageous strangers risk their lives to help these defenceless children.
First published in 1940, Yankev Glatshteyn’s Emil and Karl is an eerily moving glimpse of the worst of the Holocaust to come. In his elegant translation from the original Yiddish, Jeffrey Shandler brings us this literary gem in English for the first time.
Emil and Karl is a heart-wrenching story of friendship and survival in a time of hate. It will resonate with readers of all ages.
‘One of the most haunting and beautiful books I’ve read in a long time. Emil and Karl is impossible to forget.’
Markus Zusak
‘Like The Diary of Anne Frank, Emil and Karl will stir adults as well as the book’s intended audience...a touch of hope to move readers beyond fear.’
New York Times Book Review
‘Poignant and yet devoid of sentimentality, Glatshteyn has, however, written an essentially uplifting story. Emil and Karl celebrates the immortality of trust and belief found in simple, timeless friendship.’ Age
Paperback • rrp $22.95 • ISBN 978-1-921145-67-4