1. The Locked Room
by Adam Cece
The clock is ticking . . .
Andy and three other kids wake up in a locked room.
The room has no windows, but it has a locked green door, with a countdown clock above it. They have less than an hour to figure out how to get out of this room. But when they do . . .?
There’s another locked room, and more locked doors. And they can’t go back.
RRP $19.99 | Penguin
2. The Last Tiger
by Julia Riew and Brad Riew
In a colonised land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens – Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition – join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.
But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of the battle over the last tiger – a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise, especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji’s affection.
RRP $26.99 | Penguin
3. Stories from Magic Beach
by Alison Lester and Robert Connolly with eleven world-class animators
Inspired by Alison Lester’s much-loved classic, this is the book of the film by Paper Planes creator Robert Connolly, featuring the work of eleven world-class animators plus live action stills, with illustrations and verses from the original book.
Ten children find themselves on a Magic Beach of their imagination. They explore caves, build giant sandcastles, poke around rock pools and converse with sea animals. They dive with horses in the waves and play with magical underwater creatures. Sandcastles are built and destroyed in terrible wars. Pirates smuggle treasure into caves. And Dreamtime serpents fly through the sky and shed their scales. The dreams of these children are limitless and the magic of the beach will be in their hearts forever.
RRP $29.99 | Allen & Unwin
4. Thunderhead
by Sophie Beer
Meet Thunderhead: awkward, music-obsessed and a magnet for bad luck. Their favourite things in life are listening to records and hanging out with their best (and only) friend Moonflower. But Thunderhead has a big secret. And when Moonflower moves schools, they’re faced with the reality of surviving the wilderness of high school alone. Make new friends? NOTHANKYOUVERYMUCH. As two big life events approach, Thunderhead posts playlists and heartfelt diary entries as an outlet to try to make sense of their changing world, to try to calm the storm brewing in their brain and to try to find the courage to unfurl their heart.
AUD $17.99 | Allen & Unwin
