My Story: Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen White

Thirteen-year-old Margaret Ann Brady lives at an orphanage in London. Her parents have died, and she longs to join her older brother, who has immigrated to Boston, in America.

Margaret gets a job as the companion of Mrs. Carstairs, a wealthy American woman traveling home on the Titanic. And she will get the chance to travel on the grandest ship ever built.

Margaret describes in her diary the luxuries of first class through the eyes of a child who has lived her life in poverty, her adventures on the ship, and the tragedy that occurs when the Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks.

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother.

Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.

Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life.

This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.

The Hunger games: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion

The New York Times bestseller by Suzanne Collins is now a major motion picture -- and this is your guide to all of the movie's excitement, both in front of the camera and behind it.

Go behind the scenes of the making of The Hunger Games with exclusive images and interviews.

From the screenwriting process to the casting decisions to the elaborate sets and costumes to the actors' performances and directors' vision, this is the definitive companion to the breathtaking film.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.

 Irresistible boys with mischievous smiles and dangerous intentions.

 White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookupsThis is Manhattan, 1899.

Sugar sugar by Carole Wilkinson

Jackie has left Australia with a psychedelic suitcase and a dream to become a world-famous fashion designer,

She knows exactly where she's going and how she's going to get there.

So how does a weekend in Paris send her spinning off-course?

How does she end up somewhere she couldn't even find on a map?

Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers

Short
 powerful
unforgettable

Through notes, we look deep into the complex relationship between mothers and daughters, and the distances that can open up between people who live together but exist in their own worlds.


Your mum will like this one too!

Top Reads for Year 9

Student Across the Seven Seas

The Time-Traveling Fashionista

Sugar Sugar

The Luxe

Looking for Alibrandi

Life on the Refrigerator Door

My Story: Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen White



The Mortal Instruments series

The Best Day of My Life

Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood

In this, the second Phryne Fisher mystery, the 1920s' most glamorous detective flies even higher, handling a murder, a kidnapping and the usual array of beautiful young men with style and consummate ease - and all before it's time to adjourn to the Queenscliff Hotel for breakfast.

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood

The first classic Phryne Fisher mystery, featuring our delectable heroine, cocaine, communism and adventure.

Phryne leaves the tedium of English high society for Melbourne, Australia, and never looks back.

 TV tie-in edition

Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

Anh Do nearly didn't make it to Australia. His entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat.

But nothing - not murderous pirates, nor the imminent threat of death by hunger, disease or dehydration as they drifted for days - could quench their desire to make a better life in a country where freedom existed.

The Happiest Refugee tells the incredible, uplifting and inspiring life story of one of our favourite personalities. Tragedy, humour, heartache and unswerving determination - a big life with big dreams. Anh's story will move and amuse all who read it.

The Little Refugee by Anh and Suzanne Do

Giant waves crashed down on our little boat. I was terrified but my mum hugged me tight and told me, 'Everything will be okay. Don't worry, it will be okay.'

Anh Do's incredible story, familiar from his best-selling memoir The Happiest Refugee, is told here especially for young children.

This is a beautiful, touching and insightful book. Watercolour illustrations by the masterful Whatley have a Japanese-style feel in their construction, and perfectly wrap this remarkable story – one experienced by so many around the world – in visual splendour.

Most generously, 100% of the profit from The Little Refugee will be donated to the Loreto Vietnam-Australia Program, run by the dedicated Sister Trish Franklin.

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

When Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the Australian bush, they find things hideously wrong--their families are gone!

Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in their town has been taken prisoner.

As the reality of the situation hits them, they must make a decision--run and hide, give themselves up and be with their families, or fight back.

Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=f_KhErNyiq8

100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson

What if your cupboards were really...doorways?

100 Cupboards

The Chestnut King

Dandelion Fire

Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson

Henry York never dreamed his time in Kansas would open a door to adventure—much less a hundred doors. But a visit to his aunt and uncle’s farm took an amazing turn when cupboard doors, hidden behind Henry’s bedroom wall, revealed themselves to be portals to other worlds.

Now, with his time at the farm drawing to a close, Henry makes a bold decision—he must go through the cupboards to find the truth about where he’s from and who his parents are.

Following that trail will take him from one world to another, and ultimately into direct conflict with the evil of Endor.

The Chestnut King by N.D. Wilson

When Henry York found 99 cupboards hidden behind his bedroom wall, he never dreamed they were doors to entirely new worlds!

Unfortunately, Henry’s discovery freed an ancient, undying witch, whose hunger for power would destroy every world connected to the cupboards—and every person whom Henry loves. Henry must seek out the legendary Chestnut King for help.

Everything has a price, however, and the Chestnut King’s desire may be as dangerous as the witch herself.

N. D. Wilson concludes a remarkable, worlds-spanning journey that began with one boy and one hundred avenues to adventure.

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes.

Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.

100 Cupboards is the first book of a new fantasy adventure, written in the best world-hopping tradition and reinvented in N. D. Wilson’s inimitable style.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal.

But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries?

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity.

But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power.

Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price...

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death.

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The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

What book should I start with?

Begin with City of Bones, the first book in The Mortal Instruments series. City of Bones is about Clary Fray, whose search for her missing mother leads her into an alternate New York called Downworld, filled with mysterious faeries, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves, and the demons who want to destroy it all.

She also finds herself torn between two boys—her best friend, Simon, for whom she’s developing new feelings, and the mysterious Shadowhunter, Jace.

She becomes a part of the secret world of the Shadowhunters and as she does, she discovers that rescuing her mother might mean jeopardizing everything the Shadowhunters work for.


City of Bones is followed by the second book, City of Ashes, then City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls. The 6^th book in the series, City of Heavenly Fire, will be published March 2014.

Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood

Phryne Fisher is a wealthy aristocrat who lives in St Kilda, Melbourne in 1928. She is a 28-year-old detective who, with the assistance of her maid Dot and Bert and Cec (who are wharfies, taxi drivers and red raggers), solves all manner of crimes. Phryne is no ordinary aristocrat, as she can fly a plane, drives her own car and sometimes wears trousers, while maintaining style and class. 

 

Cocaine Blues

Flying Too High

Murder on the Ballarat Train

Death at Victoria Dock

The Green Mill Murder

Blood and Circuses

Ruddy Core

Urn Burial

Raisins and Almonds

Death before Wicket

Away with the Fairies

Murder in Montparnasse

The Castlemaine Murders

Queen of the Flowers

Death by Water

Murder in the Dark

Murder on a Midsummer Night

Dead Man's Chest



Who says crime doesn't play?

The exciting and opulent world of the fabulous Phryne Fisher has been brought to stunning life in the 13-part ABC TV series...

 

Episodes and Video

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/phrynefisher/episodes/

The Time-Traveling Fashionista by BiancaTuretsky

The time-traveling fashionista on board the Titanic

What if a beautiful vintage dress could take you back in time?

Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures.

But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure.

Suddenly onboard a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago, Louise relishes the glamorous life of this opulent era and slips into a life of secrets, drama, and decadence. . . .

Dreamy and imaginative, The Time-Traveling Fashionista features thirty full-color fashion illustrations to show gorgeous dresses and styles throughout history.

Miranda Kerr: Treasure Yourself

Do you want a great life?

Read the incredible life story of one of the most successful international models today with down-to-earth life lessons that anyone can relate to.


It has important lessons on self-confidence, inner beauty and acceptance and uses some of the classic wisdom that has inspired Miranda to achieve a wonderful life.

Hear Miranda Kerr talk about her book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD8Sx0l6ydA

The Gallagher Girls series

Here's the latest! Out of sight, out of time

Why not head over to the videos page to hear Ally Carter herself talk about the new Gallagher Girls book, including juicy hints about what’s in store for Cammie’s love life …

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I Have to Kill You

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

Only the Good Spy Young

Out of Sight, Out of

Are you a Gallagher Girl?

Check out: www.gallagheracademy.com Time

I loved The Hunger Games

What do I read now?

Divergent series by Veronica Roth

Divergent

Insurgent

                                        

Alone series by James Phelan

Quarantine

Chasers

Survivor

                                                                                           
The Maze Runner series by James Dashner

The Maze Runner

The Scorch Trials

                                  

Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden

Tomorrow When the War Began

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas fights to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

He wakes up one morning, memory gone, in a glade in the middle of a massive, dangerous maze, and must work with a band of "Gladers" to escape. But that's only the first of the trials he has to go through.

It's an absorbing, action-packed series – think "Harry Potter" and "The Hunger Games" combined.