• Shadows by Paula Weston (Young Adult Fiction)
  

Love. Nightmares. Angels. War.

It’s been almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant.

It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who’s been appearing in Gaby’s dreams, he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense.

Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth—and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares.

Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly—who can she trust?

• Ransomwood by Sheryl Jordan (Young Adult Fiction)
  

Spurned by her lover, and with her uncle threatening to marry her off to his odious widowed brother, Gwenifer is almost relieved to be sent away to escort the magistrate’s old, blind mother to Ransomwood, where the tears of the statue of the Holy Mother are said to have healing qualities.

Together with Harry, the village halfwit, who is escaping a sentence of hanging for being in charge of an ox that trampled a child almost to death, they embark on a perilous journey … each of them looking for a different kind of healing.

• The Tribe: The Interrogation of Ashla Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina (Young Adult Fiction)

“There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below … And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.” Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe – the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind. And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

• Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes (Children’s Fiction)
  

In extraordinary circumstances, people are capable of extraordinary things… It is 1944 and Florence is occupied by Nazi German forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though – and neither have Paolo and his sister, Constanza. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings do against a whole army with only a bicycle to help them?

• Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer (Children’s Fiction)
  

Is this Armageddon for Artemis Fowl?

Opal Koboi, power-crazed pixie, is plotting to exterminate mankind and become fairy queen.

If she succeeds, the spirits of long-dead fairy warriors will rise from the earth, inhabit the nearest available bodies and wreak mass destruction. But what happens if those nearest bodies include crows, or deer, or badgers – or two curious little boys by the names of Myles and Beckett Fowl?

Yes, it’s true. Criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl’s four-year-old brothers could be involved in destroying the human race. Can Artemis and Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police stop Opal and prevent the end of the world?

• The Chronicles of Egg: Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey (Children’s Fiction)
  

Deadweather, a sweaty little pirate-infested island, is home to Egg, thirteen years old and prey to a pair of cruel and stupid older siblings. But when Egg’s family disappears in a freak accident, he finds himself living on Sunrise Island with the glamorous Pembroke family and their feisty daughter Millicent. Finally, life seems perfect.

Until someone tries to throw him off a cliff.

Suddenly, Egg is lost in a world of cutthroat pirates and powerful villains.

• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce (Picture Book)

Morris Lessmore loved words.
He loved stories.
He loved books.
But every story has its upsets…
Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds. But the power of story will save the day.

Jump aboard the pea-green boat and enter the enchanting world of Edward Lear. This collection of Lear’s best-loved nonsense verse is published to coincide with the Bicentenary of his birth in May 2012. Rediscover the Owl and the Pussycat, The Jumblies, and The Dong with a Luminous Nose. Learn what happened to The New Vestments of the old man from the Kingdom of Tess and take a stroll through Bong Tree Land. Lear’s verse and limericks have enthralled generations of families, but it is as an ornithological illustrator that he first made his name. His poems, and the original artworks that accompany them, form the heart of this beautiful book, but Lear’s sketches and drawings of birds, as well as a brief glimpse into the life of the man who declared: ‘Nonsense is the breath of my nostrils’ complete the tribute to an extraordinary and enduring talent. This specially illustrated Bicentenary edition provides not only a celebration of Edward Lear’s two-hundredth year, but a unique gift for adults and children to enjoy together for centuries to come. Every poem in this collection is brought to life with a series of stunning new illustrations by award-winning artist Robert Ingpen.

• The Spook’s Blood by Joseph Delaney (Children’s Fiction)

For Tom Ward, the Spook’s apprentice, the pressure is now on. Having bound the Fiend’s spirit temporarily he now has to come up with a permanent solution – and quickly. The tenth installment in the chilling Wardstone Chronicles. Warning: Joseph Delaney’s Spook’s tales are not to be read after dark . . .