Julia Lawrinson
Bye Beautiful

She thought of Billy, and how he would never say'Bye, beautifufto someone like her, that likely no one would ever say anything like that to her in her life, and how she could not do anything to change any of it. Sandy feels like a complete outsider in this hot wheatbelt town where her policeman father has just been transferred. And then she meets Billy, the part-Aboriginal mechanic's apprentice and town heart-throb. Sandy's feelings for him are overwhelming her, but she is about to find out that her greatest rival is her own sister, the alluring, confident Marianne. Set in Western Australia in the 1960s, this is a story of secrets and heartbreak, of families and changing times, by rising star Julia Lawrinson.

David Mulligan
Angels of Kokoda

Angels ofKokoda is a riveting novel based on Australian battles along the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea during World War II. The story centres on the intertwined lives of Derek, the son of Australian missionaries at the Gona Mission, and his 'blood-brother' Morso, a native Papuan boy of the same age. At the same time that the Japanese land at Gona, the two boys and Derek's father become part of the small band of Diggers who save Australia from Japanese invasion. No account of this time and place in our history could or would be complete without the full story of the grace and dedication of the famous 'FuzzyWuzzy Angels' to whom hundreds of Australian soldiers owe their lives.

When Gracie, Daisy and Mollyaretaken from their mothers and sent away to a camp at Moore River, thousands of miles from their home country, they decide to escape. But when the only way home is along a rabbit-proof fence, and you're being chased by the police, escaping is just the start of your adventure. This younger reader's version of Doris Pilkington's amazing true story of courage and love will grab readers of all ages, and take them on a journey through a country as beautiful as it is harsh. A journey home.