Spring Holiday Reading

• Imagine sitting in your garden, soaking up the sun while getting lost in a good book
• Or perhaps you could unwind by the river, with the gentle sounds of nature as your backdrop
• For a fun and social twist, organise a book picnic in the park with family or friends, where everyone brings their favorite read to enjoy together

Piper's mum wants her to be 'normal', to pass as hearing and get a good job. But when peak oil hits and Melbourne lurches towards environmental catastrophe, Piper has more important things to worry about, such as how to get food. When she meets Marley, a CODA (child of Deaf adult), a door opens into a new world - where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience is created through growing your own food rather than it being delivered on a truck. As she dives into learning Auslan, sign language that is exquisitely beautiful and expressive, Piper finds herself falling hard for Marley. But Marley, who has grown up in the Deaf community yet is not Deaf, is struggling to find his place in the hearing world. How can they be together?

When longtime rivals Rowan Roth and Neil McNair confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to make their relationship work as they begin school in different places.
In Boston, Rowan is eager to be among other aspiring novelists, learning from a creative writing professor she adores. She’s just not sure why she suddenly can’t seem to find her voice.
In New York, Neil embraces the chaos of the city, clicking with a new friend group more easily than he anticipated. But when his past refuses to leave him alone, he doesn’t know how to handle his rapidly changing mental health—or how to talk about it with the girl he loves.
Over a year of late-night phone calls, weekend visits, and East Coast adventures, Rowan and Neil fall for each other again and again as they grapple with the uncertainty of their new lives. They’ve spent so many years at odds with each other—now that they’re finally on the same team, what does the future hold for them?

To save her cursed brother, Tamsin travelled to Avalon - the mysterious world of Arthurian legend. She survived, only to see it fall and the two people she trusted most betray her. Now, back in the mortal world, Tamsin makes a shocking discovery: she is the one who is cursed.

Meanwhile, Lord Death is harvesting souls with his Wild Hunt. To stop him, Tamsin must find the legendary Mirror of Beasts - even if it means enlisting the help of Emrys, her rival-turned-lover-turned-enemy who abandoned her in Avalon.

But can Tamsin break her curse before it breaks her?

After waiting tables at the dumpling shop and dealing with her aunt's big expectations, Zhi just wants to find time for her friends, get through high school . . . and make sure no one finds out she's half spider demon. But then she accidentally kills and eats a man in front of Dior Panne-Nix, the most popular girl in school . . .And she's about to find out she's not the scariest thing hiding in the shadows.

Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price...

Merriwether Morgan doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble. But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen - a secret society upholding backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions - and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour. An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the nightmarish Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn't rescue Teddy, she'll lose him forever. But the further she travels into Deeping Fen's foul waters, the more Merry wonders if she can possibly save her friend - or if she's walking straight into a trap. Because there's nothing the Toadmen love more than a damsel in distress . . .

Princess Ying Yue believed in love...once upon a time. Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial palace: whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared. Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world. This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love, the kind of love she always dreamed of. But there is darkness in this new world, too. It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

The beloved classic novel, the basis of the classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock
As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them. All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away.
And eventually they do – one marries, the other runs as far from home as she can manage.
Years later, however, tragedy will bring the sisters back together. And they’ll find that no matter what else may happen, they’ll always have each other. An enchanting tale of love, forgiveness and family, Practical Magic is beloved of readers of all ages.

Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King, and kickstarted a Resistance throughout the land. Now she's running from the one person she had wanted to run to. Kai Azer is now Ilya's enforcer, loyal to his brother Kit, the new king, He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice. Across the deadly Scorches, and deep into the hostile city of Dor, Kai pursues the one person he wishes he didn't have to. But in a city without Elites, the balance between the hunter and hunted shifts. How far will he go for duty, and what will she do to survive?

Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they'd always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn - an Ordinary - has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death. Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, it's a mysterious man from the market who comes to her rescue. Mak's shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low-level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love, and their lives.

Loki has always been burdened by the glorious purpose of subduing those around him. So when he finds the chance to regain the Tesseract after being captured by the Avengers, Loki uses its power to teleport to a safe location ... only to be captured by the mysterious Time Variance Authority! Now Loki has to fight alongside the TVA to take down variant versions of himself in the multiverse! Will Loki take down the variants or will his mischievous side compel him to join them? Relive the multiverse adventure of the first season of Loki in this exciting retelling.

Civil unrest in London has reached an all-time high after years of a growing authoritarian regime, and it's no longer safe for Clem and her half-sister Billie in the city. Clem tells of their treacherous journey to Scotland, by road and then by sea, fleeing with nothing but a notebook filled with stories and memories of home. But is there something Clem's not saying? And how will this journey - and the sisters' story - end? With the start of a new life? Or a mirror held up to the past? A dystopian story that imagines London as the epicentre of the refugee crisis.

Shane Daniels and Romany Zetz have been drawn into a war that is not their own. Lives will be destroyed, families will be torn apart. Trust will be broken.

When the war is over, some will return to a changed world. Will they discover that glory is a lie?

Claire G. Coleman's new novel takes us to a familiar world to ask what we have learned from the past. THE OLD LIE might not be quite what you expect.

Maria Petranelli will do anything to get away from her overbearing Italian-Australian family. She’s over their constant heckling about getting a boyfriend, their unspoken belief that she’s not normal, and their loudly spoken belief that she’s incapable of doing, well, anything. So when her family declares she ‘couldn’t handle living in Italy’, Maria immediately signs up to go there on student exchange. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything …
Despite months of mental preparation for every possible scenario, Maria is out of her depth in Italy. She struggles with the language, immediately gets scammed, and is bewildered by her growing attraction to Kennedy, the sweet-but-hopeless American exchange student who is determined to be her friend … if only Maria would let her. When the two girls accidentally witness a crime, Maria discovers just what she can and can’t handle. Being kidnapped in the boot of a car and driven off into the Italian countryside? Maybe. But working out her feelings for Kennedy before it’s too late?

Maria Petranelli is prepared for anything … except this.

Eleanor Jones stirs up more mystery and danger in this fast-paced YA mystery. Things have settled down in Cooinda and Eleanor Jones is getting used to her new normal - spending time with her friends, going to school, and working on a project at the local old age home. But just as things start to feel calm, a series of events once again rock Eleanor's world- Troy's ex-girlfriend is back in town and, during a visit to the old age home, Eleanor's buddy Nance admits to witnessing a murder, swearing Eleanor to secrecy. In an effort to definitely not be concerned about Troy's ex, Eleanor throws herself into solving the mystery of the murder Nance spoke about. Enlisting the help of new friend and genealogy expert Jem to research Nance's past, Eleanor soon realises that digging into old secrets can sometimes be incredibly dangerous indeed.

Most people’s births aren’t immortalized in a police report. Olivia was born during the infamous Camp Lost Lake murders but, when she begins questioning the events surrounding her birth, she finds there’s a lot more to that tragic night. Most people don’t spend their childhood on the run. Reagan’s mother might be considered guilty of murder, but Reagan knows she’s innocent. Tired of running, she returns to Camp to clear her mother’s name. Only, someone wants the past to remain buried - and will kill again to do so. If they’re to stay alive, Olivia and Reagan must work together fast to uncover the truth.

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year's game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.

Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year's game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits-physically, mentally, and emotionally-it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.

For all of Kat's life, it's just been her and her mother, Jamie - except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven't spoken since. Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job, at billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn't know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father, a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland's youngest daughter. Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer's crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can't trust anyone, except each other.

After three years away, seventeen-year-old Brodie McKellon has returned to live with her eccentric grandmother above the last remaining Dead Letter Office - the place letters go when no one is left to claim them.
Soon, Brodie is consumed by an unsolved mystery - the unclaimed letters of a group of teens who seemed to vanish many years ago - while also attempting to reconcile with her former best friends, Elliot and Levi.
As the trio is drawn into the riddle of the dead letter writers, they discover that the past is never truly past, and that it's never too late for old wrongs to be put right . . .

When it's your job to break-up bad relationships, there's only one rule. DON'T fall in love.
Best friends August and Valentine have an unusual summer job. They are hired by parents to break up bad high school relationships.
Valentine (the brains of the operation) believes that they're making the world a little better, steering relationships off a cliff so the kids can someday find true love.
August doesn't believe in soul mates. In fact, he thinks the idea of falling head over heels is ridiculous. That is until he meets the one girl who changes everything - Ella.
The only problem is, she's their new case. So of course, everything he's told her is a lie...even his name.
Can August and Valentine pull this break up off, without breaking their own hearts?

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist. After all, life isn't a scene from the movies, is it? Then, through a misted-up bus window one freezing day, she sees a man she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic... and then her bus drives away. Laurie thinks she'll never see the boy from the bus again. At a party later that year, her best friend Sarah introduces her to the new love of her life. Who is, of course, the boy from the bus. Determined to let him go, Laurie gets on with her life. What if fate has other plans?

Five Nights at Freddy's fans won't want to miss this pulse-pounding collection of three novella-length tales that will keep even the bravest player up at night . . .What do you wish for most? It's a question that Oswald, Sarah, and Millie think they know the answer to. Oswald wishes his summer wasn't so boring, Sarah wishes to be beautiful, and Millie wishes she could just disappear from the face of the earth. But in the twisted world of Five Nights at Freddy's, their hearts' deepest desires have an unexpected cost. In this volume, Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon spins three sinister novella-length stories from different corners of his series' canon, featuring cover art from fan-favorite artist Lady Fiszi. Readers beware: This collection of terrifying tales is enough to unsettle even the most hardened Five Nights at Freddy's fans.

Squid Game meets They Both Die at the End in the first in a thrilling new YA series. Nominated for the 2024 Carnegie Medal for writing An Amazon best YA Book of the Year 2023 We are in an epidemic. An epidemic of unhappiness. Friends, here is the good news: HappyHead has the answer. When Seb is offered a place on a radical retreat designed to solve the national crisis of teenage unhappiness, he is determined to change how people see him and make his parents proud. But as he finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Finn, Seb starts to question the true nature of the challenges they must undergo. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there may be no escape...

Maddy is allergic to the world; stepping outside the sterile sanctuary of her home could kill her. But then Olly moves in next door. And just like that, Maddy realizes there's more to life than just being alive. You only get one chance at first love. And Maddy is ready to risk everything, everything to see where it leads.

When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin's essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favourite magazine ... and a massive secret to keep.
Eliza made her essay up. She's never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?
Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She'll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend — he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza's carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?

Unleash your inner artist and explore the world of collage as you create these works of wearable art. Ideal for those aged 12-17 years.

Mon 23 Sep 2024, 1pm

Indooroopilly Library, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Level 4, 322 Moggill Road, Indooroopilly

Drop in and challenge your friends to board games at the Wynnum Library. Ideal for teens aged 13-17 years.

Mon 23 Sep 2024, 3pm

Wynnum Library, 145 Florence Street, Wynnum

Design and create your own bookmarks and book reviews! Completed bookmarks can be displayed in the library space for others to read and enjoy! All materials supplied. Ideal for those aged 12-17 years.

Tue 24 Sep 2024, 2pm

Toowong Library, Toowong Village Shopping Centre, 9 Sherwood Road, Toowong

This event will give you the chance to discuss and learn about the fantastic and diverse world of manga, anime and graphic novels. Meet other people, share your favourite series, and test your knowledge with manga trivia. Ideal for those aged 12 years and older.

Tue 24 Sep 2024, 2pm

Mt Gravatt Library, 8 Creek Road, Mt Gravatt

Bring along your friends or meet new ones at this monthly gathering. Hangout and enjoy activities featuring your favourite YA reads, comics and manga, craft, games and pop culture. Ideal for those aged 12-17 years.

Wed 25 Sep 2024, 4pm

Wynnum Library, 145 Florence Street, Wynnum

Images for books are sourced either from the author's websites or are book and film covers, used as permitted under copyright for promotion. Other images were created by the author using Canva.

Flower pressing instructions from: Better Homes & Gardens

About AHS Library

Blog: All Hallows' School Library (allhallowsschoollibrary.com)

Instagram: @ahsbrisbanelibrary

Email: Library@ahs.qld.edu.au
Website: https://allhallows.libguides.com/home
Location: 547 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley QLD, Australia
Phone: 32309531