8REL - Realistic Fiction: Home

A moving family drama about change and loss, and having the courage and strength to surf the big breaks. Nat loves the surf - a love he shares with his dad, a former surfing champion. But his dad's business has collapsed, meaning that his family will lose the house near the lake and surf beach. Nat finds that life is unpredictable and, like the waves, you have to ride what comes as best you can.

Leslie live sin Canada and thinks life is great until her father decides to take the whole family to Israel......Horror turns to intrigue when Lesley meets a Palestinian boy Mustapha on the river Jordan.

Life is made up of three parts- in The First Third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made. That's how Billy's grandmother explains it, anyway. She's given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it's his job to glue their family back together. No pressure or anything. Fixing his family's not going to be easy and Billy's not ready for change. But as he soon discovers, the first third has to end some time. And then what?

After decades of staying together "for the kids" and building a family on a foundation of lies and domestic violence, Sarah's parents have reached the end. Now Sarah must come to grips with years spent sleepwalking in the ruins of their toxic marriage. As Sarah herself often observes, nothing about her pain is remotely original and yet it still hurts

Only a generation removed from being Pennsylvania potato farmers, property developers Gottfried and Marla Hemmings now sit atop a seven-figure bank account, wealth they've declined to pass on to their adult children or teenage grandchildren. As the rot beneath the surface of the Hemmings' suburban respectability begins to spread, the far-flung grandchildren gradually find their ways back to one another, just in time to uncover the terrible cost of maintaining the family name.

Starting middle school brings all the usual challenges - until the unthinkable happens, and Fern and her family must find a way to heal. Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible. It seems as though everyone in her family has better things to do than pay attention to her: Mom (when she's not meditating) helps Dad run the family restaurant; Sarah is taking a gap year after high school; and Holden pretends that Mom and Dad and everyone else doesn't know he's gay, even as he fends off bullies at school. Then there's Charlie: three years old, a "surprise" baby, the center of everyone's world. He's devoted to Fern, but he's annoying, too, always getting his way, always dirty, always commanding attention. If it wasn't for Ran, Fern's calm and positive best friend, there'd be nowhere to turn. Ran's mantra, "All will be well," is soothing in a way that nothing else seems to be. And when Ran says it, Fern can almost believe it's true. But then tragedy strikes- and Fern feels not only more alone than ever, but also responsible for the accident that has wrenched her family apart. All will not be well. Or at least all will never be the same.

Sixteen-year-old Elijah is completely mellow and his 23-year-old brother Danny is completely not, and they can barely tolerate one another. So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents' perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah's nightmare as they're forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren't together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love

Sam is in his first year of high school and has been saving his paper-round money for months to buy the one thing he yearns for - a boat. Suddenly his bank balance is doubled by an unknown person. But who is it? As Sam investigates he watches in dismay as his family life is turned upside down; and he is forced to make a decision that will change everything.

Bobby Seed has questions. What's another word for 'thesaurus'? How can I tell Bel I want her as my girl friend, not my girlfriend? How much pain is Mum in today? Has she taken her pills? And sometimes, secretly, Why us? Bobby's little brother Danny has questions too. Will Bobby let him have Rice Krispies for dinner? And can he stay up late on the computer? And why won't Mum's stupid illness just GO AWAY? But it's Mum's question for Bobby that could turn everything on its head. It's the Big One. The Unthinkable One. If Bobby agrees, he won't just be soothing her pain. He'll be helping to end it. Would he? Could he?

Bobby Seed has questions. What's another word for 'thesaurus'? How can I tell Bel I want her as my girl friend, not my girlfriend? How much pain is Mum in today? Has she taken her pills? And sometimes, secretly, Why us? Bobby's little brother Danny has questions too. Will Bobby let him have Rice Krispies for dinner? And can he stay up late on the computer? And why won't Mum's stupid illness just GO AWAY? But it's Mum's question for Bobby that could turn everything on its head. It's the Big One. The Unthinkable One. If Bobby agrees, he won't just be soothing her pain. He'll be helping to end it. Would he? Could he?

After their father's reckless death, the Gallagher family must find new directions. Dinny's mum finds a new form of freedom, but the paths the boys are choosing are pointing them in dangerous directions. Fourteen-year-old Dinny is in danger of repeating his father's behaviour, and his older brother Carl sees an opportunity for independence. But when Carl becomes involved in the aggressive agenda of an anti-immigration group, a different crisis develops, leading the family to tragedy, insight, and rebirth.

Foster suddenly recognised the feeling that rolled over him and made him feel sick. It was this: Dad was going away somewhere all on his own. And Foster was missing him. Foster Sumner is seven years old. He likes toy soldiers, tadpole hunting, going to school and the beach. Best of all, he likes listening to his dad's stories. But then Foster's dad starts forgetting things. No one is too worried at first. Foster and Dad giggle about it. But the forgetting gets worse. And suddenly no one is laughing anymore.

Hunter is stuck in a car with his family as they travel up the Queensland coast. It is a journey that his mum thinks will bring the family closer together, especially now that his stepdad and baby brother are part of the mix. But with tension and secrets sizzling beneath the happy family facade, the road trip soon turns into Hunter's worst nightmare. The further away from home he gets the more he can't shake thoughts of the accident that took his dad away from them. Forced out of his comfort zone, Hunter tries to embrace life on the road. Between campsites he parties with friendly backpackers on the beach, has one too many close encouters with wild animals and finally meets a girl who actually understands how he feels. But is it enough to help him deal with the real reason his family set off of their journey in the first place?

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart?

Since her sister died, seventy-five year-old Meg has been on her own. She doesn't mind, not really -- not with Atticus, her African grey parrot, to keep her company -- but after her house is broken into by a knife-wielding intruder, she decides it might be good to have some company after all... Andy Chan, second-year university student, has to give up his student flat and find a homeshare. Living with an elderly Australian woman is harder than he'd expected, though, and soon he's struggling with more than his studies.

The Swimmer. The Rebel. The Nerd. All Ryan, Harley and Miles had in common was Isaac. They lived different lives, had different interests and kept different secrets. But they shared the same best friend. They were sidekicks. And now that Isaac's gone, what does that make them?

After a party gets raided by the police, four teenagers who barely know each other find themselves on the run in a car with a trunk full of stolen drugs--and in the next few hours they will make decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives.

A boy's chance encounter with a scruffy dog leads to an unforgettable friendship in this deeply moving story about life, loss and the meaning of family. Ben Coffin has never felt like he fits in. A former foster kid, he keeps his head down at school to avoid bullies and spends his afternoons reading sci-fi books at the library. But all that changes when he finds a scruffy abandoned dog named Flip and befriends the librarian's daughter, Halley. For the first time, Ben starts to feel like he belongs in his own life. Then everything changes, and suddenly Ben is more alone than ever. But with a little help from Halley's magician father, Ben discovers his place in the world and learns to see his own magic through others' eyes.

When Tom gets a puppy he calls Spider, it changes both their lvies. Tom finally has a special friend all of his own - which is just what he needs as he struggles with a difficult new school and trouble at home. And Spider has someone to love him. But the course of their love does not run entirely smoothly, as they embark on a grueling journey of separation and reunion. 'Dog' is a book about trust, standing up for yourself, and learning to love.

When a teenage boy's widowed mom gets a job as a stripper, it makes for some tricky social maneuvering in this coming-of-age story.

Is it possible for two very different teenagers to fall in love despite high barbed-wire fences and a political wilderness between them? Anahita is passionate, curious and determined. She is also an Iranian asylum seeker who is only allowed out of detention to attend school. On weekdays, during school hours, she can be a 'regular Australian girl'. Jono needs the distraction of an infatuation. In the past year his mum has walked out, he's been dumped and his sister has moved away. Lost and depressed, Jono feels as if he's been left behind with his Vietnamese single father, Kenny.

When Joe meets Candy, it seems like a regular boy-meets-girl scenario. But then Joe is drawn into Candy's world--a world of drugs, violence, and desperation. As the dark truth about Candy's life emerges, Joe finds himself facing real danger at every twist and turn.

Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Can you love someone you can never touch? Stella and Will both suffer from cystic fibrosis. Being together means they could pass an infection. Stella is waiting for a lung transplant; Will is on a clinical drug trial. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. Staying six feet apart doesn't feel like safety, it feels like punishment. Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

When Lucy, Elena, and Michael receive their summer reading list, they are excited to seeTo Kill A Mockingbird included. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a plot to get the entire town talking about the well-known Harper Lee classic. They plan controversial ways to get people to read the book, including re-shelving copies of the book in bookstores so that people think they are missing and starting a website committed to "destroying the mockingbird." Their efforts are successful when all of the hullabaloo starts to direct more people to the book. But soon, their exploits start to spin out of control and they unwittingly start a mini revolution in the name of books.

Starrphyre is your average dorky 16-year-old, although with one difference. He has a very weird girly name, thanks to his hippy parents. A long hot summer stretches ahead of Starrphyre and all he wants is one date with his dream girl, Candace McAllister. But how can he get her to notice him?

The story of a teenage girl who's literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she's ever known.

Meet Sophia: former child prodigy and 17-year-old maths mastermind. She's been having panic attacks since she learned that after high school, former prodigies either cure cancer or go crazy. It's a lot of pressure. So Sophia doesn't have the patience for games right now. She especially doesn't have the patience to figure out why all these mysterious playing cards keep turning up inside her textbooks. Meet Joshua: highly intelligent, cheerfully unambitious, and an amateur magician. He's Sophia's classmate, and he's admired her for as long as he can remember. He thinks the time is perfect to tell Sophia how he feels. He doesn't know how wrong he is...

When bullies almost kill Ambrose Bukowski by putting a peanut in his sandwich, it's his mother who has the extreme reaction. From now on, Ambrose has to be home-schooled. Then Ambrose strikes up an unlikely friendship with the landlord's son, Cosmo, an ex-con who's been in prison. They have nothing in common except for Scrabble. But a small deception grows out of control when Ambrose convinces a reluctant Cosmo to take him to a Scrabble club. Could this spell disaster for Ambrose?

What if you were somewhere you never expected to be and met someone with your name?

CJ has been banished to the country to live with his grandparents. No one asks him if he wants to be there. No one really cares. And now matter how hard he tries to outrun it, trouble seems to follow him however he goes.

Mike Klingenberg is a troubled fourteen-year-old from a disfunctional family in Berlin who thinks of himself as boring, so when a Russian juvenile delinquent called Tschick begins to pay attention to him and include Mike in his criminal activities, he is excited - until those activities lead to disaster on the autobahn.

After fathering a baby, Josh moves in with his karate-loving uncle and tries to forget. But he can't forget. So many things bring back memories of last year and the night that changed everything. Every day the pain, the shame, and the just not knowing are never far from his thoughts. Why is he such a loser? How could he have done what he did?

A teenage boy trying redeem his life by working in an African refuge for orphans and the sick finds himself caught up in the midst of human trafficking.

In the summer of 1988, twelve-year-old Chuck Bell is sent to stay with his grandparents, where he discovers jazz and basketball and learns more about his family's past.

A captivating coming of age story for younger teens, set in New Guinea around the time of independence.

Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you. Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge

Since the sudden death of his younger sister, Munro Maddux has been stuck. Flashbacks. Anger. Chest pains. And a voice -- taunting, barking, biting -- that his counsellor calls 'the Coyote'. Munro knows a student exchange will not be the stuff of Disney movies. But in Australia he intends to move beyond his troubled past.

Hendrix's father has a vision - to see Hendrix run for Australia at the Olympics. Hendrix's days are completely mapped out - what he eats, when he trains, when he sleeps - even the air he breathes. A girl was never meant to part of that vision, especially in the lead-up to the Nationals. But when Hendrix literally bowls Emily over on a training run, he just can't get her out of his head, and chinks begin to appear in his training regime as he falls for her. But Emily has a deadly secret that she's reluctant to share even with Hendrix. As their bond grows and Hendrix strays further from his father's strict schedule, the tension builds to a heart-wrenching climax.

A wonderful debut novel that captures the essence of real, messy teenage lives: of action and consequence, of poor choices and fragile friendships, of standing up for what is right, and the attempt to make sense of a world when everything feels like it's falling apart.

Fourteen year old nerd-boy Dan is not quite coping with a reversal of family fortune, moving house, new school hell, a mother with a failing wedding cake business and a just-out gay dad, and an impossible crush on the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now he's narrowed it down to just six impossible things....

Under cover of darkness, two brothers cross a war-ravaged countryside carrying a secret bundle. One night they stumble acres a deserted village reduced to ruins. But at the end of a blackened street they discover a miracle: a zoo filled animals in need of hope.

Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny when hundreds of whales beach themselves and threaten the future of the Maori tribe.

Adam feels the weight of the world upon his shoulders. His sister no longer speaks. His Mum works two jobs. Then his grandfather dies and donates a very special gift - his heart. William is the recipient. He has no family and feels rootless and alone. In fact, he feels no particular reason to live. And then he meets Adam's family. William has received much, but it appears that he has much to offer Adam and his family too.

When Pip heads into the wilderness with Dad on the traditional McLeod first hunting trip he faces a dramatic choice. He discovers what it means to confront issues of life and death, and threatened by the ultimate loss, to learn what matters most of all.

A powerful and moving story about one boy caught up in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

One paper plane flies straight and fast and true. Dylan's. Twelve-year-old Dylan Webber lives in outback Western Australia in a small country town. When he discovers he has a talent for folding and flying paper planes, Dylan begins a journey to reach the World Junior Paper Plane Championships in Japan. Along the way he makes unlikely new friends, clashes with powerful rivals and comes to terms with his family's past before facing his greatest challenge - to create a paper plane that will compete with the best in the world.

All eleven-year old Alex wants is to launch his iPod into space. With a series of audio recordings, he will show other lifeforms out in the cosmos what life on Earth, his Earth, is really like. But for a boy with a long-dead dad, a troubled mum, and a mostly-not-around brother, Alex struggles with the big questions: Where do I come from? Who's out there? And, above all, How can I be brave? Determined to find answers, Alex sets out on a remarkable road trip that will turn his whole world upside down.

After ignoring warnings to stop dating his teacher, Garrett is taken from his home in the middle of the night and sent to Lake Harmony, a boot camp that uses unorthodox and brutal methods to train students to obey their parents. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards. Garret knows that he doesn't deserve to be there, but months of physical and psychological abuse are destroying him. Is escape his only way out?

Dane Washington lives by two rules: don't hit girls and don't hit special kids. Billy D has Down syndrome and thinks a fierce boy who won't hit him could come in useful. Billy D has a puzzle to solve, after all, and he has the perfect plan to make Dane help him. Billy is sure the riddles in his atlas are really clues left by his missing dad. Together, Billy and Dane must embark on an epic road trip, although most of the clues lead to dead ends. What Dane doesn't realize is that Billy D isn't as innocent as he seems and the biggest secret is hidden close to home...

It's a hot summer, and life's going all right for Jackson and his family on the Mish. It's almost Christmas, school's out, and he's hanging with his mates, teasing the visiting tourists, avoiding the racist boys in town. Just like every year, Jackson's Aunty and annoying little cousins visit from the city, but this time a mysterious boy with a troubled past comes with them. As their friendship evolves, Jackson must confront the changing shapes of his relationships with his friends, family and community. And he must face his darkest secret, a secret he thought he'd locked away for good

Kid Kabula is a risk taker, but when he decides to ride his bike at top speed through the centre of the local mall, he doesn't realise just exactly how dangerous that's going to be. And when Fats Charvetto, leader of the hairiest, dirtiest and meanest bikie gang in town, wants to know exactly who just knocked him flying into a pet shop pond display, it's Stevie Goodes, local refundables collector, who dobs in the Kid. Look out, Victory Gardens - a turf war is starting, but Stevie and the Kid will be dodgin' bikies and keepinitreal for as long as it takes.

A heartfelt story of a teenage boy living in the conflict zone of Afghanistan.

It's September 11, 2001. Brandon, a 9-year-old boy, goes to work for the day with his dad at the World Trade Center in New York City. When two planes hit the towers, Brandon and his father are trapped inside a fiery nightmare as terror and confusion swirl around them. Can they escape and what will the world be like when they do? In present-day Afghanistan, Reshmina is an 11-year-old girl who is used to growing up in the shadow of war, but she has dreams of peace and unity. When she ends up harboring a wounded young American soldier, she and her entire family are put in mortal danger.

A moving novel about one child's life in the middle of the drug war in Mexico.

A gripping story of one child's experience of the civil war in Syria.

What happens when you mix teenage boys, a fight club and ethnic rivalries? You get war. Romeo Makhlouf knows the rules. Stick with your own kind. Don't dob on your mates; even on your enemies. Respect the family. But even unwritten rules are made for breaking.

Robbie knows bad things happen in Walgaree. But it's nothing to do with him. That's the way the Aborigines have always been treated. But in the summer of 1965 racial tensions in the town are at boiling point, and something headed Walgaree's way will blow things apart. It's time for Robbie to take a stand. And nothing can ever be the same again. A novel based on true events

Jayden lives with his father on the edge of a small country town. He stutters and is addicted to playing video games as a first person shooter. His best friend is Shannon, the girl next door, who knows how to handle a rifle. When Shannon's mother returns home from a five-and-a-half year prison sentence for manslaughter, the town waits to see whether her sociopathic stepson, Pete, will exact revenge for the death of his father. When Jayden gets caught with .22 ammunition at school and is suspended, things begin to fall apart. Over the next ten days, as he roams the dark, ugly side of a town struggling with bikie gangs and drugs, a massacre in America hits the headlines and Pete gears up for a violent assault. Will it be left to Jayden to stop him?

Written from Daniel's point of view, this perceptive first-person narrative is sometimes painful, sometimes amusing, and always rewarding." --Booklist (starred review) Daniel is the back-up punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really means he's the water boy. He spends football practice perfectly arranging water cups--and hoping no one notices. Then Daniel gets a note: "I need your help," it says, signed, Fellow Star Child--whatever that means. And suddenly Daniel, a total no one at school, is swept up in a mystery that might change everything for him.

Spider stew. That is what Anika is made of. But she keeps it under wraps - one step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl at school , will make here life a living hell.

Wonder is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old, but he is far from ordinary. Born with a terrible facial deformity, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. Auggie sees himself as just an ordinary kid and all he wants is to be accepted. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

15-year-old Bug has a secret. Actually, he has a lot of secrets. Bug's secrets have secrets by this point. Number one: his parents don't know he is playing basketball again. Number two: his new teammates have no idea he isn't allowed to play, and they definitely don't know why. Number three: Bug's (pretty much only) friend at his new school has no clue he lied about her to get the basketball team together. Bug will do anything to keep his secrets, keep his new team and keep his life from falling apart. Because no one can know secret number four: Bug risks his life every time he steps out onto the basketball court.

Fox Swift is an 11-year-old football star. When his family moves from the city to the small country town of Davinal, Fox has to choose which of the town's two teams to join: the rich Dragons, which attracts all the best young footballers, or the Diggers, a struggling club, battling to field a side each week. After a run-in with the school bully, who turns out to be captain of the Dragons, Fox decides to join the Diggers, can he turn the club around?

Nong Vang dreams that one day he'll be an MMA superstar. He can trash-talk with as much force as his deadly kicks. But being a hero in his real life hinges on more than his first amateur MMA fight--it means struggling through school and protecting his family from his bully big brother. Can he find the courage and skill to succeed inside the cage and out?