Eva is already sprouting some feathers. She is desperate to
rescue her father from being permanently trapped in owl form as well as to stop
her own transformation. To add to the drama, there are the Hunters who roam
looking for those who are Gripps-affected and effectively isolating them and
banishing them.
Eva loves their new little weird and quirky house and she also likes Farwood very much but she is pretty much an outsider and friendless until she meets new boy, Harvey. Harvey also has secrets but he quickly becomes her staunchest ally and her partner in her mission to find the mysterious and long-hidden book that will reveal answers to help not only the girl and her family but all those who are in the grip of the Gripps.
The SS Admella was shipwrecked off the coast of South Australia in1859.
It is one of the worst disasters in Australian maritime history.
Building on the facts of this disaster, Helen Edwards presents two brilliant stories, a century apart, in two voices and alternate chapters.
Daisy is fourteen years old at the beginning of August 1859, when she travels on the SS Admella.
She is studying her much-loved Botany, intending that to become her future.
With her parents and little sister Marigold, the family plans a journey to Melbourne by ship.
Daisy is initially reluctant to board another ship as her journey from England to Australia at three years old, was a terrible experience which remains a beacon of fear in her mind.
The cats are the alter personalities of Oliver’s best friend and co-worker, Agatha, the result of a spell cast on her which has shortened her life span.
Oliver receives a request from a law firm managing the affairs of the deceased, Phillip Thomas, to examine an immense collection of books, and choose those appropriate for the Library.
While searching through the editions and comparing their condition with the old library copies, Agatha discovers discrepancies in several historical titles regarding the borders of their Kingdom, Hallarum, a fault, if discovered, could endanger their safety.
She lost two parents on that day, as her grief-strcken father took off shortly after his wife’s death.
Pippi, broken and filled with anger, is left with Uncle Isaac, her last family member.
Isaac, worn by life, has become befuddled. But Pippi is always ready to fill his empty mind's thoughts and his mouth's forgotten words for him.
But for how long will she be able to do so?
When she falls off the bow of their fishing boat, she is saved by the giant octopus, Octavia.
Uncle Isaac decides that it is time to tell Pippi that with her mother’s death, she has inherited the burden of Keeper of the Octopus.
It is holiday time for Lina. She is not going to her usual destination, but somewhere different, where her father sends her.
She is headed for Misty Valley, also known as Absurd Avenue.
She discovers the reason for this name is due to the unusual occurrences that continuously take place, and the oddest people that come and go in this place.
It turns out to be exactly what her father called it. Different!
She ends up at Picotto Hall, owned by the elderly and crusty, Pippity Picotto. A strange and mysterious boarding house where the boarders earn their keep in one form or another.
Lina is allocated The Clown Room, with the most perfect surroundings and her own bathroom.
Especially for Harry Potter fans come a set of books called the Pocket Potters: Little Guides to the harry Potter Stories.
There are three titles in the series out now: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. And they're like a special gift book. Hardcover, full colour, and packed with information.
Each book is focused on one of the characters (Harry, Hermione, or Ron).
Working your way through the 32 pages in each book, you're treated to a potted summary of the character's experiences throughout the Harry Potter series.
The books are highly illustrated, highlighting what's memorable or important about the character and their life at Hogwarts, and at home.
They progress through the school years with events like being sorted into their houses, playing quidditch, and learning magical spells.
The Prime Council takes over the Radiant Palace. New laws suppressing the citizens are enforced till they are unable to survive. The burrows become their home.
Poverty prevails.
Warnings are not circulated before the cyclone hits. The burrows flood. All those caught within, drown, including eight-year-old Cori’s parents.
Life is preparing Cori for a great adventure when she discovers information about the artificers that created OceanForged Armour.
Orin is courageous and modest. With his friends Beatrix and Pascal, he goes in search of a missing villager. They are well equipped for any attack by the goblins who have recently overrun the village, due to their their mentor Bruno, who has been training them for the Village Guard.
But life has other plans for them all.
When Orin and friends lead an attack on the fiends sent to destroy Draeland, a power is released in Orin.
The setting is Melbourne, 1932.
The Depression has imposed poverty on most of the population. But 12-year-old Moonie’s family have a comfortable income.
Their thriving fruit and vegetable business also supports De Di’s generosity to door knockers and the homeless.
Right at the beginning of the book, Ma Mi is sent away to recover from an unnamed illness.
The children are not told where she is so are unable to communicate with her.
Moonie, with her mother's gift for sewing, believes if she makes her a dress in time for her birthday, it will bring her home.
Abracadabra!
Alakazoo!
Bubbily, bobbily, boffity, boo!
Clutch your
cauldrons and crystal balls,
Dance with dragons down the halls…
The day the river first speaks to Bo and she sees the first vision.
It is a day of revelations. She meets Billy River and notices someone watching her through binoculars from the ridge.
The day a stranger chases her through the lanes to steal the jewel from her.
Bo and Billy’s lives will become entwined. Both changed forever.
With great celebration, her impoverished family lists the things they could buy with the money when the jewel is sold.
But Bo
cannot be parted from the precious item which becomes the centre of hers and
Billy’s world, with its magical purpose that slowly reveals itself.
Then, together, Bo and Billy find the second jewel, the Brightest Sun, which will fulfill a promise on the night of the eclipse, a few weeks away.
There are many that will do anything to get their hands on the Jewels of the Eclipse, and the secrets that come with them.
A brilliant story, written in emotive and immersive prose about grief, love, friendship, sacrifice and redemption from the author of The Miniaturist.
Another
complex, carefully designed plot takes the reader on a journey through the
impossible, using twists and turns that will magnetize.
The descriptions are magical pictures created by a writer who paints with words. Her use of language is extraordinary.
This is a book readers will never forget. The
characters are outstanding. People are not who they first appear to be. This does not become apparent until the curves in the story are all set.
The settings are so descriptive that at times it feels like the reader is in the story, watching things happen from up close.
You can
almost hear the crashing of the waves, the whistling and sighing of the wind.
This is the best thing I have read this year. Don’t miss it!
Title: Hidden Treasure
Author:
Jessie Burton
Publisher: Bloomsbury, $17.99
Publication Date: 13 March 2025
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781526662897
For ages: 12+
Type: Middle Grade Fiction
The terrible Grimshaws appear pillars of kindness and charity to the community, due to maintaining friendships with people in high places.
But they are far from that.
The foster kids are used as a source of income through generous donations for the children’s care. In reality, they are treated with heartless cruelty.
Finn is locked in the basement for great lengths of time. But his resourceful nature and strong-mind has discovered ways to really educate himself.
He has cultivated a friendship with Riya, from an apartment opposite, via flashlight signals and notes hidden in a special place.
Poverty and drought has swamped the State to the point where, even the butcher’s meager bone remains taste like a banquet.
Amidst this lack, business at the Coles Book Arcade in Bourke Street, is slowing significantly.
Mr and Mrs Coles with their two eldest children sail off to Sydney.
Due to the slump, they are considering closing the store and opening one in a more viable location to secure the children’s livelihood.
Pearl and Valentine remain to keep shop under the watchful eye of the Manager, Mr Pike.
Pearl decides to use her limited magic to spruce up neglected areas. Removing this financial pressure, she hopes her parents will reconsider the move.
This is the highlight of the week for both of them. For Gramps claims to have lived many roles in his lifetime.
These he recalls in minute
detail, in an animated, flowing and lighthearted narrative, full of excitement and non-stop action.
But no story compares to the one about the time
that he was known as the famous magician, The Astonishing Alfredo. With
his white dove, Montgomery, the Mysterious Bird of Mystery, who sang a
song at the end of each show, the two brought the house down.
The stories the old man shares with his grandson are so incredible, so imaginative and unlikely, the boy finds it hard to accept them as truth.
Her mother sent her away. She was too different. Too much. Too difficult.
She is picked up by Fern and taken to the fairy realm.
Rosemary ends up at Fern’s School for Wayward Fae.
Half human and half fae, Rosemary has the power to see how people are going to die. It seems that all the students own a magical gift.
Partnered with Trym, a banshee who is deaf, can lip
read and speak, and whose scream can kill, Rosemary begins a new life, a
different one where she can be herself; be wanted and loved.
The Christmas Star is the narrator of this delightful
rhyming picture book full of rhythm and metre. This is Laura Motherway's first book.
From up high, it sees everyone sharing the joy they feel on the eve of the best day of the year.
It shines for everyone, no matter
who or where.
Through the day, the children played in the sun, in
water, and on the sand.
A wonderful child-filled double spread full of activity,
reflects the freedom and joy youngsters find when on the beach.