Showing results by publisher "Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd" in Literature & Fiction

Hideous Beauty is a touching tale of LGBTQ+ identity from award-winning author William Hussey. Dylan is forced to come out after his secret relationship with Ellis is exposed on social media, but to his surprise, everyone is really supportive or appears to be. But Dylan’s and El’s happiness is short-lived and following a tragic accident, Dylan begins to realise how little he knows about the boy he loves...or those closest to him.

An ambitious and complex novel with a multi-faceted and vivid depiction of a group of young people in the grip of drug addiction, told in many different voices, from the addicts themselves to the friends watching from the outside who try to prevent tragedy. It was a love story. Me, Gemma and junk. I thought it was going to last forever. It was the biggest adventure of my life. Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn’t want to be tied down - not to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, somehow, finally, you have to come down.

That girl is such a mess. Why can't she be like her sisters? Blah, blah, blah. That's all Mia Campbell-Richardson ever hears. From her parents, her teachers and her never-do-wrong older sister, Grace. So what if she parties too hard and studies too little? Who cares if she tends to end up with the wrong guys or says the wrong things at the wrong times? She's still a good friend (except when she isn't). And she still knows the way things should go (except when they don't).

My name is Betty Rafferty. A few weeks ago I had to leave school and go out to work in a cake shop, serving fancy cakes to rude, rich people. No choice. But since then so much has happened. It all started when old Miss Warby took our pay away. And we walked out! The whole city – well, all us union members – are going out on strike. Even my dog Earnshaw has joined in! Life on the picket line in the lashing rain isn’t much fun. Lots of people, like Peter Lawlor, just don’t understand how unfair everything is. But we workers have to stand together – no matter what!

Lexi's angry. And it's getting worse. If only she could stop losing her temper and behave herself, her step-father would accept her, her mum would love her like she used to and her step-brother would declare his crushing desire to spend the rest of his life with her. She wants these things so badly she determines to swallow her anger and make her family proud. But pushing fury down doesn't make it disappear. Instead, it simmers below the surface waiting to erupt. There'll be fireworks when it does.

It only taykes one person to start a revolushun. Life in Bearmouth is one of hard labour, the sunlit world above the mine a distant memory. Reward will come in the next life with the benevolence of the Mayker. New accepts everything - that is, until the mysterious Devlin arrives. Suddenly, Newt starts to look at Bearmouth with a fresh perspective, questioning the system and setting in motion a chain of events that could destroy their entire world. In this powerful and brilliantly original debut novel, friendship creates strength, courage is hard-won and hope is the path to freedom.

Both harrowing and life-affirming, the final novel from Carnegie Medal-winning author Mal Peet is the sweeping coming-of-age adventure of a mixed race boy transported to North America. Born from a street liaison between a poor young woman and an African soldier in the 1900s, Beck is soon orphaned and sent to the Catholic Brothers in Canada. Shipped to work on a farm, his escape takes him across the continent in a search for belonging.

There is the secret of Birdy's dead grandmother's cat - how the boys tortured it and Birdy Flynn had to drown her in the river to stop her suffering. There's the secret of Mrs Cope, the popular teacher who touched Birdy in the cupboard. There's the secret of the gypsy girl at school, whom Birdy likes, but she can't tell anyone. Because Birdy's other secret is that while she plays and fights as good as the boys, she is a girl, and she doesn't always feel like a girl is supposed to.

Dylan is struggling. He's struggling with the acne that has declared war on his face, struggling with his pushy younger sister, with his nagging mum and his dad, who never has time for him anymore; struggling with his old phone-me-down; and struggling with his constant preoccupation with girls and what might happen if he manages to snag one. Struggling, but surviving. But when Dylan's creative-writing piece is read out in class, it sets off a chain of events that sends him on a frantic roller coaster of emotions.

Hilariously funny yet painfully poignant, this is a powerful and insightful story from a well-loved Australian writer. Dylan is struggling. He’s struggling with the acne that has declared war on his face, struggling with his pushy younger sister, with his nagging mum and his dad who never has time for him anymore, struggling with his old phone-me-down and struggling with his constant preoccupation with girls, and what might happen if he manages to snag one?

Since his mother's death, Bully has lost his old life. Living rough with his dog, Jack, he can't imagine his future. But one day, in the last birthday card she ever gave him, he finds a winning lottery ticket, a last gift from his mum that suddenly offers such hope. If only he can get to his prize on time. Life is not that simple. Bully's struggle to survive has just got a whole lot harder. They're after him on the streets, everyone wants a piece of him.

What would you do if your father sent you a key that could unlock the most powerful secret of the ancient world? Would you get involved, at the risk of bringing its terrible magic back to life? In this novel that pits Good, Love, and Nature against Evil, Hate and Artifice, two teenagers, Jake and Helen, meet as contestants at a literary festival in Florence, Italy.

Trout walks the streets at night, obsessing over Undine and the events in the Bay, haunted by the image of his own death. In his search for answers he is drawn back to the chaosphere and to Max, who may hold the key to Undine's magic. But can he trust the mysterious Max?

Four major stress factors: a marriage break-up, moving house, loss of income for the family, and a new school. Link James and his sister Claire get the lot! How does a boy from the wealthy side of town cope with the tough guys at Westlands? How does the bad boy tag his father gave him influence his life? The constant moving threads of Link's life up their tempo as he becomes a victim of his own perceptions and actions.

Dino really fancies fit, sexy Jackie, but she just won’t give him what he wants. Jonathan likes Deborah, but she’s a bit fat - what will his mates say? Ben’s been secretly shagging his teacher for ages. He used to love it, but what if he wants it to stop? Three lads discovering sex for the first time. But do any of them really know what they’re doing?

Charmwood High, and Year 8 plans to turn the school play, Romeo and Juliet, into a rock musical. Everything's moving along until someone mentions Equal Opportunity. There aren't enough roles for girls in this production. For the narrator, Peter Nutt, Equal Opportunity means more opportunities for teachers like Poxon and girls like Ravolini to get at him. And then there's Millie Miletic from the Holy Family of the Little Sisters by the Sea: she's in love!

David Martinesi is a first generation Italian Australian growing up in an inner city suburb. He is fighting the shadows cast by his Italian upbringing, and this summer he is quietly waiting for change. Change comes when he is befriended by confident, street-wise Nathan. But tragedy comes too...

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified, and alone. Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Solèy; men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him to Toussaint l’Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt.

Joel is growing up. He is getting interested in girls. Just look at his New Year's resolutions: 1 - to see a naked lady; 2 - to toughen himself up so that he can live to be a hundred; and 3 - to see the sea. They all look pretty impossible for a motherless boy in Northern Sweden. Especially as his sailor dad is keen to drown his sadness in drink, and all the local matrons are narrowly watching the pair of them.

A gorgeously spooky book about magic, family, power and love. Being sixteen is confusing and unpredictable enough for anyone. But if you’re Undine, you also begin hearing voices calling you home in the middle of the night…and then you suddenly produce a storm out of thin air. Your best friend Trout insists on falling messily in love with you, while you end up with a crush on his older brother.