Reading and Writing: Senior Great Reads

From the bestselling author of STRIKE BACK, Chris Ryan returns with a new action-packed series. Tough enough? Smart enough? Max will require all his skills just to stay alive as a Special Forces Cadet...

Captain Jack West Jr - part soldier, part scholar, all hero. The odds are stacked against him and his loyal team: nine brave companions taking on the most powerful countries on earth. From the pyramids of Egypt to the swamps of Sudan, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the boulevards of Paris: the desperate race begins for the greatest prize of all: the power to end the world or rule it.

Brand-new action-packed series from international bestseller Robert Muchamore.

  Book 1 in a dark, twisty and totally unputdownable YA series - perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and THE MAZE RUNNER. 'A terrifying and sinister look into the future that will leave your jaw on the floor.'KASS MORGAN, New York Times bestselling author of THE 100 'Your next YA obsession.'ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 'Fans of The Hunger Gamesand The Maze Runnershould look no further ... Thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.'OBSERVER Luka Kane has been inside hi-tech prison the Loop for over two years. A death sentence is hanging over his head but his day-to-day routine is mind-numbingly repetitive, broken only by the books brought to him by the sympathetic warden, Wren. Then everything starts to change: rumours of war are whispered in the courtyard and the government-issued rain stops falling. On Luka's last, desperate day, Wren issues him a terrifying warning: breaking out of the Loop might be Luka's only chance to save himself - and the world ... The first nail-biting instalment in The Loop trilogy: a must-read YA series for teens and adults alike  Prison Break meets 1984 in this cutting-edge sci-fi thriller - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner  Continue the adventure with books 2 and 3: The Blockand The Arc

THE COMING END: When Skye Rogers and her twin brother Red move to Manhattan, rumours of a coming global apocalypse are building. But this does not stop the young elite of New York from partying without a care. CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?: And then suddenly Skye is invited to join an exclusive gang known as the Secret Runners of New York. But this is no ordinary clique - they have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future. And what Skye discovers in the future is horrifying. RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN!: As society crumbles, Skye and Red race to figure out how to use their knowledge to survive the impending annihilation, they soon discover that the chaotic end of the world is perfect time for revenge.

In Underground, Volume 1, Karim Yun, a biracial taekwondo fighter, pits his skills against New York's most brutal underground martial artists. Seeking revenge against the violent gang who attacked him and ended his Olympic dreams, he's determined to battle every colorful combatant in his path. His only obstacle is the illness brought about by the violent attack, which could kill Karim if he becomes too reckless--serving as his conscience is his nurse, who is trying to push him into changing his lifestyle but is learning more about the danger and the allure of secret mixed martial arts contests. Created by black belt martial artist JR De Bard, this sports manga provides a detailed look into the world of underground fight clubs. Exploring fighters from various disciplines with realistic tactics and movements will thrill and educate readers.  Underground is rated OT for Older Teen, recommended for ages 16 and up for language and bloody, stylized violence. Saturday AM, the world's most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, and Yellow Stringer.

Welcome to New London. Everybody is happy here. Our perfect society achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family and history itself. Now everyone belongs. You can be happy too. All you need to do is take your Soma pills. Discover the brave new world of Aldous Huxley's classic novel, written in 1932, which prophesied a society which expects maximum pleasure and accepts complete surveillance - no matter what the cost.

In the second half of the 19th century, Melbourne is a veritable boom town, as hopefuls from every corner of the globe flock to the gold fields of Victoria. And where people crave gold, they also crave entertainment. Enter stage right: brothers Will and Max Worthing and their wives Mabel and Gertie. The family arrives from England in the 1880s with little else but the masterful talents that will see them rise from simple travelling performers to sophisticated entrepreneurs. Enter stage left: their rivals, Carlo and Rube. Childhood friends since meeting in a London orphanage, the two men have literally fought their way to the top and are now producers of the bawdy but hugely popular ‘Big Show Bonanza’. The fight for supremacy begins. Waiting in the wings: Comedy, tragedy, passion and betrayal; economic depression, the Black Death and the horrors of World War One.

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.

The hero of this book was not a saint, nor even a tzadik - the nearest Jewish equivalent - but he was a hero. Someone who risked his own life to make a difference to the life of another. Were his motives selfless? No. He was after all flesh and blood. A man. And a very young one. But life is not black and white. Heroes are not without their flaws. This is his story. Tholdi is a romantic. A musical prodigy whose brilliant future is extinguished when the horror unfolding across Europe arrives at his door. One day he's captivated by the beautiful, mysterious Lyuba who he meets on his sixteenth birthday; the next he wakes to the terrors of war as the Nazi-allied Romanians attack his town of Czernowitz. A ghetto is built to imprison the town's Jews before herding them onto trains bound for the concentration camps of Transnistria. With each passing day, Tholdi and his parents await their turn. And then Fate intervenes, giving them all a reprieve. At the weaving mill Tholdi secures work that spares him. He is elated. Until he discovers the two brothers who run the mill are Nazi collaborators hiding a terrible secret: the threat of transportation remains. When Tholdi sees one of the brothers with Lyuba, he glimpses a way to save himself and his family. But the stakes of his gamble are high. Will Lyuba be the key to their survival, or will Tholdi's infatuation with her become a dangerous obsession that guarantees their death? NIGHT LESSONS IN LITTLE JERUSALEM is an unforgettable debut novel of war, family and love.

To the horror of young gravedigger Ned, bodysnatchers have been visiting his churchyard in the dead of night. Until now, he'd been daydreaming about another visitor -- daughter of the manor, Obedience Wellrest. But sixteen-year-old Obedience has troubles of her own: her loving but overbearing father, and his wish to see her married to a rich man of science, Phineas Mordaunt. When Mordaunt starts to poke his nose into her family history -- in particular, the ruinous research of late Uncle Herbert -- Obedience enters a dangerous game with Death, and Ned might be the only person who can save her.

A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel. July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchhiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barrelling down Atticus Line after them. When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the cross hairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone. Or does he?.

Rabbits is a secret, dangerous and sometimes fatal underground game. The rewards for winning are unclear, but there are rumours of money, CIA recruitment or even immortality. Or it might unlock the universe's greatest secrets. But everyone knows that the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes - and the body count is rising. Since the game first started, ten iterations have taken place and the eleventh round is about to begin. K can't get enough of the game and has been trying to find a way in for years. Then Alan Scarpio, reclusive billionaire and alleged Rabbits winner, shows up out of nowhere. And he charges K with a desperate mission. Something has gone badly wrong with the game and K needs to fix it - before Eleven starts - or the world will pay the price. Five days later, Scarpio is declared missing.Two weeks after that Eleven begins, so K blows the deadline. And suddenly, the fate of the entire universe is at stake.

'Why this novel? Because we need empathy, understanding, some magic and hope more than ever in our lifetimes.' HOLLY RINGLAND 'Most novels leave us with learnings, but very few refine your character. I left more astute, more empathic, and somehow wiser after I read these pages.' HILDE HINTON Frank feared a reckoning, but what he feared more was that all the men in his family were cursed. Frank Herbert's family has gathered at Tinaroo Dam for his daughter Lily's wedding - the first time he's been back since the death of his father, Joe, a year earlier. Like Frank, the dam is at an all-time low and as the water recedes, objects begin to emerge - abstract and disquieting. Joe's father Victor - Frank's grandfather - was the butcher of Tinaroo during the dam's construction, but Joe refused to speak of him. Joe was not a talker, but he could roar. And he could smash things. What sorrow was his fury, and this place, concealing? And can Frank find a way into a future of his own making? Moving between the weekend of the wedding and the explosive year in the 1950s that would shape the Herbert men's destiny, Cool Water is an unforgettable novel about fathers and sons, what it means to be a good man, and the damage that can ripple through generations. A breathtaking story brimming with insight and emotional power by Miles Franklin-shortlisted author Myfanwy Jones. 'Myfanwy Jones has become one of my favourite authors and Cool Water should make her one for any Australian reader. This is a generational novel imbued with grace and grit.' A.S. PATRIĆ 'Cool Water leaves an enduring imprint. A vivid and profound novel that conjures old hurts from the depths and brings them to the light. I loved this novel.' KATE MILDENHALL 'Confident craftsmanship, achingly evocative imagery and depth of perception' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 'A breathtaking story, brimming with insight, and perfect for anyone who loves family dramas and the exploration of relationships.' MAMAMIA 'Crystal-clear prose . . . [An] accomplished novel' SATURDAY PAPER

From the author of the award-winning The Boy from the Mish, comes a compelling coming-of-age YA novel about sixteen-year-old Jamie Langton finding his future and navigating the challenges of racism, family and friendship in a small Australian town.

On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron Gas Station for the dragon he'd hired to help on the farm. This dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye. Sarah can't help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn't have a soul but is seemingly intent on keeping her safe from the brutal attentions of Deputy Sheriff Emmett Kelby. Kazimir knows something she doesn't. He has arrived at the farm because of a prophecy. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents - and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.

Once a year the Revenant Games take place between enemy witch and vampire kingdoms. For seventeen-year-old Bly, competing means the chance to win immortality for her best friend and resurrection for her lost sister. A dangerous plan to play both sides begins until Bly captures a vampire who shows her that forbidden passion is the deadliest game of all.

Fifteen-year-old Sam is not a famous vlogger, he's never gone viral, and he doesn't want to be the Next Big Thing. In fact he's ordinary and proud of it. None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam's off to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where everyone's busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands. Sam knows he'll never belong, even if he wanted to. And that's before he ends up on stage wearing nothing but a fur onesie ... (Back cover).

From screenwriter Don Calame comes another outrageously funny and raunchy tale of teen boys whose plans go awry -- this time, on a survivalist camping trip. Shy and scrawny Dan Weekes spends his time creating graphic novels inspired by his dream girl and looking out for his mom as she dates every man in the state of California. Then his mom drops a bomb: she and her latest beau, Hank, are engaged, and she's sending her "two favorite men" on a survivalist camping trip to "bond." Determined to trick Hank into showing his true -- flawed -- colors on the trip, Dan and his nerdy germaphobe best friend, Charlie, prepare a series of increasingly gross and embarrassing pranks. But the boys hadn't counted on a hot girl joining their trip or on getting separated from their wilderness guide--not to mention the humiliating injuries Dan suffers in the course of terrorizing his stepdad-to-be. With a man-hungry bear on their trail, no supplies, and a lot of unpleasant itching going on, can Dan see his plan through now that his very survival depends on Hank?

Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya's estranged mentor, has died and the circumstances seem suspicious. But when a letter from Arthur is delivered, sent just days before his death, and an ordinary pine chest concealing Arthur's journals including reservations in her name are revealed, Freya finds herself sucked back into a life she'd sworn to leave behind. But beware, trust no-one. Your life depends on it. Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Arthur's staunch best friend, Freya follows both clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an 'antiques enthusiasts weekend'. But not is all as it seems; the antiques are bad reproductions and the other guests are menacing and secretive. Can Freya and Carole solve the mystery surrounding the weekend before a killer strikes again?.

Thea Fox is just twelve years old when her parents are brutally slain. With Thea's help the police are able to put their murderer - a psychotic serial killer called Ray Riggs - behind bars for life. Changed forever, Thea slowly learns to come to terms with the events of that terrible night and builds a new life in a small country town where she can breathe in the smells of pine, fresh bread and her grandmother's homemade candles.But the connection that helped Thea put her parents' killer behind bars will come to haunt her. Though her Grandmother calls it a gift, to Thea it feels more like a curse because Ray feels the connection too and though Thea may try to move on, Ray isn't willing to let her go quite so easily...

Just when we need some magic in our lives, bestselling author James Patterson brings us a stirring tale of life, love, and the power of Christmas miracles. Travis McKinley's life has drifted sideways. His job, his marriage, even his children all feel disconnected and distant. Has he really accomplished nothing of consequence in his life? One Christmas Day, Travis plays a round of golf and finds himself for the first time in the zone-playing like a pro. In astonishingly short order, Travis is catapulted into the PGA Senior Open at Pebble Beach, where he advances to the final round. And while his wife, his children, and a live television audience watch, a miracle takes place that changes Travis and his family forever.

Tall, gifted and the offspring of Olympians, superstar siblings Leni and Cristian Popescu are set to row Harley Grammar to victory in the Head of the River. With six months until the big day, the twins can't lose. Or can they? When Cristian is seduced by performance-enhancing drugs, and Leni is suffocated with self-doubt, their bright futures start to fade. Juggling family, high expectations, study, break-ups, new relationships and wild parties, the pressure starts to builds. As the final moments tick by, who will make it to the start line? And who'll plummet from grace?

Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city is a battleground, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine. Tolya is half-Ukrainian, half-Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army just to stay alive. When he shoots his political officer in the street, he's taken in by a squad of insurgent Ukrainians. Tolya doesn't trust them and especially doesn't trust Solovey, the squad's young war-scarred leader. He doesn't know just how well Solovey understands the cost of looking out for life over loyalty. Then a betrayal sends both on the run. Traitor is an action-packed thriller about a world where loyalty begets lying, traitors pass as saviors, and betrayal is a matter of life or death.

Viann and Isabelle have always been close despite their differences. Younger, bolder sister Isabelle lives in Paris while Viann lives a quiet and content life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When World War II strikes and Antoine is sent off to fight, Viann and Isabelle's father sends Isabelle to help her older sister cope. As the war progresses, it's not only the sisters' relationship that is tested, but also their strength and their individual senses of right and wrong.