'I want to be Shirley when I grow up.' RACHAEL JOHNS 'Beautiful, breathtaking and heart-wrenching.' AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY 'Elderly. Is that how the world sees me? A helpless little old lady? If only they knew. I allow myself a small smirk.' A Daring Escape When Shirley Sullivan signs her 83-year-old husband, Frank, out of the Sunset Lodge Nursing Home, she has no intention of bringing him back. A Lifetime of Memories For fifty-seven years the couple has shared love, happiness and heartbreak. And while Frank may not know who his wife is these days, he knows he wants to go home. Back to the beach where they met in the early 1960s . . . A Final Act of Love So Shirley enacts an elaborate plan to evade the authorities – and their furious daughter, Fiona – to give Frank the holiday he’d always dreamed of. And, in doing so, perhaps Shirley can make amends for a lifelong guilty secret . . . ------------------------ 'With both humour and heart, The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan takes the reader on a (literal) journey – in a Kombi van! – following one couple’s unconventional love story, and examining the lengths a person will go to to right the wrongs of a lifetime. This is Lisa Ireland’s breakout novel for sure.' SALLY HEPWORTH 'Lisa Ireland’s writing is simply magical, and Shirley’s charming and heartfelt story brought me to tears again and again. The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan is one of my favourite books, ever.' KELLY RIMMER 'This moving story, celebrating ageing and all types of love, will leave you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.' RACHAEL JOHNS

The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

An unprecedented work from the brilliant young editor of The New Republic--who is celebrated also as an incisive defender of the equality of homosexuals--Virtually Normal is an impassioned, reasoned, subtle, and uncompromising political and moral treatise that will set the terms of the homosexuality debate for the foreseeable future.

From the author of HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT, the story of a fractured family and three sisters' secretsThe Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless. Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.And so the confessions begin....

A 2020 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A 2020 Children's Book Council Notable Social Studies Book for Young People Over a quarter million underage British boys fought on the Allied front lines of the Great War, but not all of them fought on the battlefield—some fought beneath it, as revealed in this middle-grade historical adventure about a deadly underground mission. Secret Soldiers follows the journey of Thomas, a thirteen-year-old coal miner, who lies about his age to join the Claykickers, a specialized crew of soldiers known as “tunnelers,” in hopes of finding his missing older brother. Thomas works in the tunnels of the Western Front alongside three other soldier boys whose constant bickering and inexperience in mining may prove more lethal than the enemy digging toward them. But as they burrow deeper beneath the battlefield, the boys discover the men they hope to become and forge a bond of brotherhood. Secret Soldiers is another stunning story of strength, perseverance, and love from Keely Hutton. This title has common core connections.

‘Immensely talented new author.’ John Marrs, author of The One and When You Disappeared ‘Engrossing, compelling and twisty from the first page to the shocking ending. This book grabbed me and didn't let go.’ Michele Campbell author of It’s Always the Husband

An all-new graphic novel inspired by ABC's popular television series "Revenge," cowritten by series writer Ted Sullivan! Emily Thorne is a wealthy and good-natured philanthropist who recently befriended the powerful Grayson family. But Emily's real name is Amanda Clarke. Twenty years ago, the Graysons' elite social circle framed Amanda's father for a horrific crime...and Amanda plans to destroy the lives of those who stole her childhood and betrayed her father. Now, experience Amanda's first mission of revenge! After training in Japan, the untested heroine finds herself infiltrating high society in Geneva. There, she uncovers secrets about her past...but her future will be short-lived unless Amanda can defeat a surprising enemy with ties to the people who destroyed her life! Prepare for a thrilling ride into the previously unexplored past of television's most dynamic - and dangerous - girl next door!

The Sullivans Books 1–3: The Look of Love, From This Moment on, Can’t Help Falling in Love

Tate Chandler had never wanted a woman as much as he'd wanted Gemma Watkins—until the day she'd betrayed him. Yet when he learned they had a son, he demanded Gemma marry him, or he'd fight for custody. Tate was a man of honor—he'd create a family for his heir, even if it meant marrying a woman he couldn't trust. Their marriage was about duty, nothing more. But Gemma's beauty tempted him to make her his wife in every way. Could he lure her back into his bed without letting her back into his heart?

It is 1645 and ten-year-old Tirion has begun work at Llancaiach Fawr Manor. It is her first time away from home, and a chance to get away from her harsh stepfather. Taught to read and write by her real father, Tirion keeps an official diary for the eyes of the grown-ups in her life, but confides her real thoughts and feelings to her secret journal. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.