Deb Fitzpatrick

Joel and Craggs are in it together. They drink together, they flirt with petty theft together and, when Craggs turns violent, they face the consequences together too. That's until Joel's dad makes a deal with the police. Craggs is off to juvenile detention and Joel to solitary confinement. Ninety days of fending for himself in a remote bush shack with no radio, telephone or fridge. Miles from anywhere, Joel starts to like his own company, until one day the past tracks him down. Craggs is on his doorstep, and he hasn't changed a bit.

When Tessa's family accidentally hit a wild bird, the tawny frogmouth, while driving through the bush at night, they feel terrible. But the bird is alive and needs their help. What Tessa doesn't know is where that help will lead ...

Spencer Gray is just an ordinary kid, but he manages to get in to some pretty extraordinary situations. Playing soccer at school with his mates he accidentally uncovers a sinister animal smuggling operation and rescues a super-endangered potoroo. But when the smugglers discover him trying to release the potoroo, he risks becoming super-endangered himself. Trussed up and left in the bush, he needs to use all his inner strength and ingenuity to break free and get help. With good friends and a great family to back him up, Spencer manages to triumph in the end. A page-turning adventure story for middle readers.

Deliveries do not come late on a school night. They don't come in a speeding car. And they don't cry. When Poppy Campbell's dad opens the front door to find a small, very distressed child clinging to a green blanket, the family try their hardest to do the right thing. They make the little girl comfortable, call the police, and look after her while the authorities search for her family.

The southwest coast of Australia is the kind of place people escape to. Unless you have lived there all your life, in which case, you long to get away. Rosie and Cray chuck in their city jobs for Margaret River while Liza, Ferg, and Sam have been there forever, working the family farm. Under pressure from developers, the families unite against change. But when a natural disaster strikes, change is inevitable.

This is an adventure tale about resilience and agency--building one and realizing the other--and a survival story that will empower young people "'We'll be on the ground shortly, Spence, ' he said into his headset. 'Thanks for coming up with me. Can't imagine a better flight companion.'""Spencer grinned at him. 'Don't lose it now, Dad. Get this thing back on the ground safe and sound, okay'" Spencer Gray is 12 and finally old enough to join dad in his glider. His friends are going to be so jealous Going up is awesome, but when disaster strikes, Spencer will need to be nothing short of amazing.