Reading and Writing: Year 9 Great Reads

Have you ever experienced dreams so vivid it seems like you have lived them? Or had dej vu so strong you're convinced you must have been there before? For Genna, dej vu comes almost as regularly as breathing. And that's exactly what Genna thinks she is - regular. A regular schoolkid, with a best friend who teases her for her love of history class, and parents who nag her about homework. But when a strange boy turns up in her life and starts acting like he knows her, it sets in motion a chain of events that turn Genna's world upside down. Her past is a lot more complicated than she could ever have expected - and her future even more so. Because Genna isn't regular at all. It's one thing to harbour an ability she could never have imagined - and quite another to realize that the future of humanity rests on her shoulders. And there are beings out there who will kill in order to stop her ...

Growing up with the famous Bali surf at his back door, sixteen-year-old Taj had an idyllic childhood -- until ten years ago when his father was arrested for smuggling drugs. He’s been on death row in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan Jail ever since, leaving Taj in an uneasy limbo. When an execution date is set, Taj is left with one course of action: bust his dad out of jail and high-tail it back to Australia. What follows is the desperate, dangerous ride of a father and son on the run. As events unravel and time runs out, Taj uncovers startling truths about his family, his girlfriend and the stranger he is rapidly falling for. (Publisher).

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight ... and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Fifty minors facing life imprisonment will be given a second chance through a new reality show, The Kill Factor. Contestants will be led through a series of games, each aimed to teach and reform. But only one will win the prize, while the rest will face life in solitary confinement. Winning means freedom, and the kind of money that would change everything for arsonist and accidental murderer Emerson Ness. But what Emerson doesn't know is that more and more contestants will die during each challenge. And the only choice they have is to win over viewers before it's too late. (Publisher).

Jackson's life is perfect; he's top of his class, wants for nothing and is destined to be part of the Leadership that runs the country. When a violent incident leaves Jackson badly beaten and his best friend dead, everything changes. Suddenly his teachers claim not to know him, his records are deleted. Jackson doesn't exist anymore. Dumped in an Academy, where teachers are kept in cages and being a good fighter is all that matters, Jackson realises that to survive he needs to adapt, and fast. As he learns the Academy's terrible secrets, Jackson discovers that his whole life has been based on lies; the Leadership is corrupt to the core and they're coming after him. Time is running out. Can Jackson destroy the man at the heart of it all before he makes Jackson disappear for good?

A thought-provoking and hilarious romp through time and space from debut creator, Tyrell Waiters that explores what it means to be human in a world fraught with uncertainty. "This is more than a graphic novel; it's an experience. Imagination, science and adventure weave together into a visual journey that's so fun you won't want it to end." --Femi Fadugba, author of The Upper World On the edge of burnout, Vern decides to return to his family in the Sunshine State to start over. Starting a new dead-end job as a custodian at Quasar--a local science facility with a shady motive--he shrugs on his uniform, grabs a mop and bucket, and trudges off to clean up... Black holes? Space-time anomalies? Galactic ooze? Things aren't entirely what they seem at Quasar, and when Vern accidentally plugs in a mysterious machine and finds himself standing on the brink of the destruction of every planet in the Multiverse, he's presented with the greatest question of all: what is the point? Fans of Ben Passmore's personal and political comics--as well as classic sci-fi comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Rick and Morty--will enjoy this world of hyper fantasy with a touch of humor, as told by a Black creator.

Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner National Jewish Book Award finalist Neal Shusterman, Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner National Book Award winner Neal Shusterman and acclaimed illustrator Andres Vera Martinez present a graphic novel exploring the Holocaust through surreal visions and a textured canvas of heroism and hope. Courage to Dream plunges readers into the Holocaust - one of the greatest atrocities in human history - delving into the core of what it means to face the extinction of everything and everyone you hold dear. This gripping, multifaceted tapestry is woven from Jewish folklore and cultural history. Five interlocking narratives explore one common story - the tradition of resistance and uplift. Neal Shusterman and Andres Vera Martinez are internationally renowned creators who have collaborated on a masterwork that encourages the compassionate, bold reaching for a dream.

Meet Tariq Nader, a football player from Punchbowl High, who is forced by a no-nonsense new principal to join a rugby league competition in an attempt to rehabilitate the public image of Tariq's 'violent' and 'hostile' school. When his team is formed, Tariq learns there's a major catch: half of his team is made up of boys from Cronulla -- in other words, enemy territory -- and he must compete with their strongest player. At school Tariq thinks he has life all figured out -- until he falls for a new girl called Jamila, who challenges everything he thought he knew. Now, with complications on all fronts, he has to dig deep and find what it really takes to be a leader. His relationships with his extended Lebanese family and with his friends are tested like never before and he has to learn, in situations that are both comic and challenging, that his choices have consequences. (Publisher).

"John Green fans will appreciate this tale." -USA Today " A humorous, deeply human coming-of-age story."-The Washington Post Scott Ferdowsi has a track record of quitting.His best friends know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, but Scott can hardly commit to a breakfast cereal, let alone a passion. With college applications looming and his parents pushing him to settle on a "practical" career, Scott sneaks off to Washington, DC, seeking guidance from a famous psychologist who claims to know the secret to success. He never expects an adventure to unfold. But that's what Scott gets when he meets Fiora Buchanan, a ballsy college student whose life ambition is to write crossword puzzles.When the bicycle she lends him gets Scott into a high-speed chase, he knows he's in for the ride of his life. Soon, Scott finds himself sneaking into bars, attempting to pick up girls at the National Zoo, and even giving the crossword thing a try-all while opening his eyes to fundamental truths about who he is and who he wants to be.

I think it was one of us,’ Walter says … ‘We had the perfect opportunity. Everyone’s thinking it, I’m just saying it.’ The last thing Hallie and her drama classmates expect to find on a high school scavenger hunt is a dead body. In a town with a population of about thirty-six, no one has experience with murder investigations, but now everyone’s asking who killed Ms Lovelace. The drama kids thought they were the only people nerdy enough to be at school on a Sunday. When they learn that Adam Tolentino, football star, drama-club nemesis and the hottest boy in school, was there too, Hallie is given the task of finding out what he knows - but she soon learns there’s more to Adam than meets the eye. Although still grieving her favourite teacher, Hallie knows the show must go on. Managing a musical and a murder investigation is a lot, but Hallie and her friends won’t give up on Ms Lovelace - or each other.

Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody. When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song. But as evidence threatens June's stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. Deadly consequences. What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault.

"Gripping and surprising. I gulped it down." --Sarah Crossan Leah Baxter is a genius. She's a few wins away from becoming a junior chess grandmaster, and her life is on course to achieve everything her mom and coach want for her. But Leah is at stalemate--grieving for her father, and feeling suffocated. She decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and quit chess. But chess doesn't want to quit her. Soon Leah discovers her new gambit: chessboxing, a dangerous hybrid sport which will test her body and mind to their limits. Can the pawn become the queen?

Friday Night Lights meets Concussion in this powerful and important novel by Geoff Herbach, author of the Stupid Fast series, exploring the dangerous concussion crisis in football through the eyes of a high school team captain. Isaiah loves football. In fact, football saved Isaiah's life, giving him structure and discipline after his sister's death tore his family apart. But when Isaiah gets knocked out cold on the field, he learns there's a lot more to lose than football. While recovering from a concussion, Isaiah wonders what his life would look like without the game. All his friends are on the team, and Isaiah knows they can't win without him. The scholarship offer from Cornell is only on the table if he keeps playing. And without football, what would keep his family together What would prevent him from sliding back into the habits that nearly destroyed him Isaiah must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice for the sport that gave him everything, even if playing football threatens to take away his future.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper, school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It's not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times, she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course, she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings, but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work. All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating co-captain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain. I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft." Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them, that is, until they're accidentally sent out. Overnight, Sadie's carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare. Now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the ""real"" Sadie, Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate.

Sixteen-year old Louise travels with her father to the island of Lindisfarne every year, ever since she can remember - it's the place Louise's mother loved best of all. The arrival of Hassan from war-torn Syria changes everything. Louise is restless and yearning for independence, and the fiercely free and self-reliant Hassan fascinates her. He seems to know the island from long ago as if it were his home from birth. Hassan is an acrobat, maybe a sorcerer, possibly a source of great danger. The wild gang of boys who call the island their home want to cast him out. The forces of love, death and hope move Louise and Hassan towards a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in a world that is both cruel and compassionate. Lindisfarne will change their lives forever.

Magical contemporary London. Two lives about to collide. A journey of self-discovery. The first time Eli had tried taking magic that wasn't his, it had wrapped around his palms like razor wire, tight enough that he'd needed stitches. Since then, Eli had bled magic from a soul enough times that he knew the rhythm of it. He knew what kinds of magic to stay away from and which he could upsell, which would get stuck beneath his fingernails and which would crumble and turn to ash if he held on too tightly. Eli doesn't know who he is or where he came from. What he does know is that he can pluck the magic from a soul like a petal from a flower. And he knows there is nothing he wouldn't borrow, steal or destroy in order to discover his past. Malcolm knows he can raise the dead with a wave of his hand but all he really wants is to be able to save his mother. When Eli is sent to track down the legendary fang of the leopard god Osebo, he finds himself entangled with an old and ancient power. Forced to team up, Malcolm and Eli must weave through the cracks of London, unearthing magic that should have stayed buried. Until finally, they face a power greater than either of them could have imagined- the daughter of Death herself . . .

Merriwether Morgan doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble. But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen - a secret society upholding backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions - and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour.

I have never been favored by the gods. Far from it, thanks to Zeus. Living as a cursed office clerk for the Order of Thieves, I just keep my head down and hope the capricious beings who rule from Olympus won't notice me. Not an easy feat, given San Francisco is Zeus' patron city, but I make do. Until the night I tangle with a different god--the worst god. Hades. For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible--the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name mortals to compete in their stead. So why in the Underworld did Hades choose me--a sarcastic nobody with a curse on her shoulders--as his champion? And why does my heart trip every time he says I'm his? (Publisher).

When fifteen-year-old Will is sent away to stay with his grandparents in rural New South Wales, he finds the isolated farm strangely familiar; except the memories he’s channelling are not his own. But whose are they? And why does his grandfather share the same haunting link? As two stories unfold, nearly 200 years apart, two boys exiled to what feels like the end of the earth struggle to find their identities and voices in the face of abandonment and tragedy. Explores the darker moments of our convict past and how they resonate today. (Publisher).

Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct American mastodon, Mammoth is the (mostly) true story of how the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and the narrator himself came to be on sale at a 2007 natural history auction in Manhattan. Ranging from the Pleistocene Epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, including detours to Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, Mammoth illuminates a period of history when ideas about science and religion underwent significant change. By tracing how and when the fossils were unearthed, Mammoth traverses time and place to reveal humanity's role in the inexorable destruction of the natural world.

Ever since the world filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons started popping out on the reg, Jasper's life has gotten worse and worse. A teenage nobody with no friends or family, he is plagued by the life he can't remember and the person he's sure he's supposed to be. Jasper spends his days working as a checkout clerk at the Here for You discount mart, where a hell portal in aisle nine means danger every shift. But at least here he can be near the girl he's crushing on Kyle Kuan, a junior member of the monster-fighting Vanguard, who seems to hate Jasper for reasons he can't remember or understand. But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they're forced to team up and uncover the uncomfortable truth about the hell portals and the demons that haunt the world. Because the true monsters are not always what they seem, the past is not always what we wish, and like it or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose starting in aisle nine. (Publisher).

An escape room adventure book based on one of H.P. Lovecraft's most feared creations--Cthulhu. Are you ready to dive into the ruthless world of Lovecraft? You will meet the worst creature the world has ever known: Cthulhu, the ancient god who dwells in the seabed. The latter has been awakened and is determined to trigger the end of the world.    With his relentless logic, analytical mind, and sense of observation, there is no doubt you will have to be better than the old God to hope to escape his mystical traps.   Inspired by real-life escape rooms that are all the rage, these are choose-your-own escape books. The reader is stranded in a place and must escape in order to survive. To escape, you must explore the different rooms, look for clues, solve puzzles to unlock certain situations, and hope to get out alive! Use the notebook to collect your clues. Take care, because there is only one way out, so you'll have to be smarter than the one who locked you here. Good luck!

High school senior, Anna Faraday, has a remarkable singing gift that liberates something inside people, and yet, she is stuck living cautiously after a fatal accident took her brothers life. The one thing that tempts her to break free and take a risk is Chase, the hot new American guy in her grade. When a simple trip to the high school physics department sees her targeted for her voice, and a reckless car drive ruins the most romantic night of her life, Anna is then forced to sing for a secret frequency-based experiment that goes wrong. Left fading from existence, she is thrust from her carefully measured world into a terrifying reality that leads her to seek help from Rennie Parker, the last guy she ever thought shed ask--a guy invisible to her, until then. Now the one unseen and unheard, Anna knows time is running short. Will Rennie, or anyone, understand whats happened before she disappears forever?

For 35 years, the United States and Russia each had their own superhero.Three days ago, America's hero died.Today will be bad.In the face of an overwhelming attack, one young woman - unassuming and anonymous - might be America's only hope.Her codename ... COBALT BLUESHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 AUREALIS AWARDS BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

New York Times bestseller Jennifer A. Nielsen tells the extraordinary story of a Jewish girl's courageous efforts to resist the Nazis. Resistance joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content! Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people. Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works -- in the Warsaw Ghetto. Though the Jewish resistance never had much of a chance against the Nazis, they were determined to save as many lives as possible, and to live -- or die -- with honor.

This novel is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews, who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.