Fishtailing by Wendy Phillips
Summary: At a time in their lives when all are vulnerable, Natalie, Tricia, Miguel and Kyle find their friendships and attractions cause them more harm than good. Haunted by abuse in her past, Natalie’s influence poisons the others who are already close to the brink themselves. Expressing themselves through free verse poems often written as highly criticised English assignments, as their connections grow more twisted and individual histories are revealed, tragedy ensues. Even the careful interventions of the school’s guidance counsellor, Ms. Nishi, can’t prevent what...
Read MoreDrummer Girl by Karen Bass
Summary: Setting her sights on becoming the drummer of The Fourth Hand (THF) after she loses her place in her brother’s band when he goes off to university, Sid is all about the music. But THF is an all guy band sending Sid mixed messages. Some members think a girl member will break up the band, and others want her to dress more provocatively for the audience at their gigs. She’s competing against a fellow student named Wes for the spot, and even though she is clearly the more skilled drummer Sid decides to change her wardrobe to become what they want and hopefully snag the spot....
Read MoreOld Man by David A. Poulsen
Summary: When Nate’s estranged father phones out of the blue, he changes Nate’s summer plans of turning his life around and winning over the attentions of his local crush. Instead Nate and his father whom he refers to as Old Man embark on a journey to Vietnam, revisiting the Old Man’s past as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Separated from his father for years, Nate gets a chance to know and see him as he truly is, someone deeply affected by the choices of the past. Not everything he learns about his father is pretty, but their travels together give Nate a different...
Read MoreLast Sam’s Cage by David A. Poulsen
Summary: Forced to put his own safety first, Eddie leaves home and takes up residence in the local zoo to get away from his mother’s boyfriend Steve who is bent on harming him. At the zoo he meets Jack, a bit of a lost soul still dealing with his grief over the tragic and violent death of his sister decades ago. Jack becomes a mentor-figure, helping Eddie when he needs it and getting him to reconsider his life choices. But when Eddie’s cash dwindles, he turns to his old ways of breaking and entering to find stuff to sell, finding himself in a world of trouble when former...
Read MoreAll You Get is Me by Yvonne Prinz
Summary: During the summer leading up to her sixteenth birthday, Aurora (known as Roar) witnesses a fatal accident that needlessly takes the life of a young Mexican mother. Roar’s father is a lawyer and an activist and is determined to make sure Tomás and his daughter Rosa receive compensation for the loss of their loved one though they are living in California and Thomás is an undocumented worker. As Roar meets and falls in love with Forest, the son of the woman whose reckless driving is responsible for the death, her world becomes tangled up in her dad’s. But Roar’s...
Read MoreAbout Amy
Amy Mathers has been passionate about reading from a very young age, and hopes others will share her enthusiasm for funding a teen book award. Read more Follow Amy
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