CW: family and intimate partner violence
Jesse has sworn to protect his sister, Rachel, no matter what. It’s a promise that cannot be broken. A promise made in blood. But, when it comes to life or death, how can he find the courage to keep it?
Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend, or her aunt who’s tired of giving her second chances…
Revelatory and incendiary, Here Come the Dogs is a window into the youth of contemporary multicultural Australia, through the lives of three disaffected, hedonistic, aspirational and sometimes violent young men on the edge. Fresh in form and content, a hip-hop novel by a unique literary talent.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Pirriwee Public’s annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. A parent is dead. Was it murder, a tragic accident…or something else entirely? Big Little Lies is a funny, heartbreaking, challenging story of ex-husbands and second wives, new friendships, old betrayals and schoolyard politics.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Tess is trapped in a desperate situation: her violent partner is now threatening not just Tess, but their daughter as well. A chance meeting offers a way out, and a road trip back to the heart of Tess’s past.
After many waves of feminism, where are we? Are young women really either sluts or helpless dolls? Your Skirt’s Too Short seeks to enable young women and men to understand the history of gender politics and what lies ahead of them.
CW: sexual violence
Liga lives modestly in her own personal heaven, given to her by natural magic and in exchange for her earthly life. Her two daughters, gentle Branza and curious Urdda, grow up in this harmonious world, protected from the violence and village prejudice that once made their mother’s life unendurable. But the real world cannot be denied forever.
CW: rape
What does a young footballer do to cut loose? At night, some play what they think of as pranks, or games: night games with women. Sometimes those involve consensual sex, sometimes not, and often the lines are blurred.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Seventeen-year-old Iliad Piper is angry at the world. Growing up with a violent father and abused mother, she doesn’t know how to do relationships, family or friends. Ily takes off her armour for nobody, until she meets Jared.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
World-famous freediver Storm Hisray hits Grace Cain like a bolt from the blue. Instantly smitten, she abandons her life in the city to follow him to his idyllic Pacific island. As their world narrows to the two of them, Grace learns that Storm hides as many secrets as the sea. She starts to realise that she is in deeper and more dangerous water than she has ever imagined possible.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Tessa and Nick are trapped in a car after a corner taken too fast. Injured, stranded in the wilderness, the focus is on survival. But Tessa isn’t sure if she wants to be found. Not after what she saw. Not after what she remembered.
Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked gang of college girls are going to get even. The lesson: don’t mess with Unity girls.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
We all love someone. We all fear something. Sometimes they live right next door – or even closer. On Hope Street, everyone comes from different places, but to find peace they will have to discover what unites them.
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Jess would never have looked twice at Nicu if her friends hadn’t left her in the lurch. Nicu thinks Jess is beautiful. As Nicu and Jess get closer, their secrets come to the surface like bruises. The only safe place they have is with each other. But they can’t be together, forever, and stay safe – can they?
CW: family and intimate partner violence
Ange is a hairdresser who is convinced that there is something more to her life. When Mukasa walks into the salon and flirts with her over his haircut, she’s sure that he’s what she’s been waiting for. But their relationship in Australia is inverted when Ange travels with Mukasa to his home country of Uganda.
When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole – a handsome, funny sports star who adores her – she can’t believe she’s finally found her soul mate. As the months pass, though, Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose “love” she no longer recognizes.
CW: sexual violence
Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a broken-down property in the middle of nowhere. Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be there with eight other girls, forced to wear strange uniforms, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious armed jailers and a ‘nurse’. The girls all have something in common, but what is it?
