Booklists

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat - but real life isn't always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she's the only child of a young, single mum, and her life is decidedly less privileged. And even though her mom knows she's bisexual, she hasn't mustered the courage to tell her friends - not even her openly gay BFF, Simon. With some messy dynamics emerging in this once tight-knit group of friends, senior year suddenly gets even more complicated for Leah, as she realises she's falling not for the guy who's taking her to prom, but for the girl who's dating her best friend. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above

Eighteen-year-old art student Susan Arkshaw arrives in London in search of her father. But before she can question crime boss Frank Thringley he's turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is one of the youngest members of a secret society of booksellers with magical powers who police the mythic Old World wherever it impinges on the New World - in addition to running several bookshops, of course! Merlin also has a quest of his own: to find the Old World entity who arranged the murder of his mother. Soon they become involved in an even more urgent task to recover the grail that is the source of the left-handed booksellers' power, before it is used to destroy the booksellers and rouse the hordes of the mythic past. As the search for the grail becomes strangely intertwined with both their quests, they start to wonder... Is Susan's long-lost father a bookseller, or something altogether more mysterious?

Any three titles read from this series can be included as official Challenge books; up to five more titles can be included as your personal choice books. To see the individual book titles and their PRC ID numbers, go to the Series lists on the Booklists page, on the website. Or, you can search for a series name or the individual titles by using the Search function on the top left hand corner of the screen.

Layla has ended the school year on a high and can't wait to spend the holidays hanging out with her friends and designing a prize-winning Grand Designs Tourismo invention. But Layla's plans are interrupted when her grandmother in Sudan falls ill and the family rush to be with her. The last time Layla went to Sudan she was only a young child. Now she feels torn between her Sudanese and Australian identities. As political tensions in Sudan erupt, so too do tensions between Layla and her family. Layla is determined not to lose her place in the invention team, but will she go against her parents' wishes? What would a Kandaka do? Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Will's brother was shot last night. This morning, he steps onto the elevator, on his way to get revenge. But as the elevator doors open on each floor on the way down to the lobby, ghosts from his past join him. What will he decide to do when he gets to the end of his journey? A powerful verse novel, Long Way Down deals with gun violence and the impact of a cycle of generational trauma. It is usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Will's brother was shot last night. This morning, he steps onto the elevator, on his way to get revenge. But as the elevator doors open on each floor on the way down to the lobby, ghosts from his past join him. What will he decide to do when he gets to the end of his journey? This graphic novel version of Reynold's Long Way Down deals with gun violence and the impact of a cycle of generational trauma. It is usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

It's been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town's children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers' mysterious circumstances are brought back into the light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road . . . Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, asks for Wendy's help to rescue the missing kids. But, in order to find them, Wendy must confront what's waiting for her in the woods. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Sixteen-year-old Ana is a poet and a lover of language. Except that since she moved to New Jersey from Argentina, she can barely find the words to express how she feels. At first Ana just wants to return home. Then she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class, and discovers the universal language of racing hearts. But when she begins to spend time with Neo, the Greek Cypriot boy from ESL, Ana wonders how figuring out what her heart wants can be even more confusing than the grammar they're both trying to master. After all, the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.