Alana Oakley (Set)


Book Description

Alana Oakley is a fresh and upbeat mystery series. Gutsy and bold, teen sleuth Alana Oakley, along with her unique group of friends, deftly wrangles misdeeds, mysteries, and her slightly absurd mother. This set is fast-paced with just the right balance of comedy, crazy antics, and serious messages for readers. Features include: Alana is your typical girl-next-door...with a twist! Loyal, lippy, and level-headed, she's the best person to have around in a crisis. Smart, cool mystery series for readers ages 10 to 13 years old. Multicultural theme with characters who will empower girls and encourage them to feel good about their individuality.




Alana Oakley: Torment & Trickery


Book Description

Alana Oakley returns with her high-school mates - Khalilah, Maddie and Sofia to face new challenges as a Year 8 student at Gibson High and, as usual, Mum isn't making it easy. You'd think, after winning a song-writing contest and meeting the world's hottest rock stars, that life in Year 8 would be sweet, but no, Mum, has other ideas - like getting caught speeding on national television. Alana goes from hero to zero faster than a Ferrari! Awful? It gets worse. Alana still has to dodge Nurse Cathy, get through Shakespeare Week, survive the soccer match against the undefeated Football Academy's Bruisers, and detention with their History teacher, Mrs Snell, who has a personal collection of medieval torture artefacts. When the gypsy cousin of Alana's superstitious friend, Sofia, predicts they will meet a tall, dark, mysterious stranger, Alana doesn't know who it's meant to be - Bad-Boy Flynn who has just started school or Teen Expert, Dr Gray, who starts dating her mum. There's something dodgy about both of them so Alana sets out to uncover the mysteries. But Alana gets more than she bargains for. She gets trouble. Double-trouble. Is Flynn the serial arsonist who is setting schools alight? Is Dr Gray a modern Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Can Alana solve the mysteries before her birthday? And will her birthday be another Epic Fail? All will be revealed in another of the chaotic adventures that Alana calls Life. Welcome back to her world!




Torment and Trickery


Book Description




Mystery and Mayhem


Book Description

The mysterious disappearance of a friend's precious charm sets sassy and savvy sleuth Alana Oakley on the warpath. But Alana quickly realizes that having Attitude with a capital "A" isn't enough to solve the case. She invokes her savvy self to duel with the military-inspired Coach Kusmuk, dodge the over-exuberant Nurse Cathy, and deal with her impulsive and accident-prone mother, who is one click away from Internet-dating a mass murderer! The biggest mystery of all: What spectacular disaster will her mother have planned for her birthday this year?




Alana Oakley: Mystery and Mayhem


Book Description

Alana Oakley is 12 going on 24. She has to be when her impulsive, accident-prone mother, Emma, attracts so much chaos. Alana's dad's passing three years ago has forced Alana to become the grown-up of the family, spinning the mother-daughter relationship on its head. Mystery and Mayhem starts with Alana's first year in high school at the progressive, experimental Gibson High. Year 7 is packed with the usual excitement and perils. But when Alana's superstitious friend, Sofia, loses her magic eight-ball charm, life begins to take a mysterious detour. Alana's sleuthing career takes off, but not without first having to overcome the over-exuberant Nurse Cathy, the military-inspired Coach Kusmuk and her impetuous mother who has now taken up Internet-dating! The biggest mystery of all is whether Alana's birthday wish will come true: Will this year be different or will it go horribly, spectacularly wrong, as usual? Better call the fire department... just in case.




Bloodsuckers and Blunders


Book Description

Alana Oakley suspects her new neighbors are vampires. Her friends hope Alana is right. Everything they've read about vampires sounds so very cool and the new neighbors are so very hot. Despite her friends' warped sensibilities, Alana is determined to reveal the neighbors' bloody secret. If only her mom would stay out of trouble, Alana would have this mystery in the bag. Hard to know what Alana is dreading more this year: the kiss of immortality from a vampire or her mother throwing her a birthday party, but don't bother asking the woman in Alana's living room...she's already dead.




Torment and Trickery


Book Description

Sassy, savvy sleuth Alana Oakley is at it again. There's school newbie, Flynn, and the Teen Expert, Dr. Gray, who's dating her mom, to investigate. But as Alana starts probing she gets more than she bargains for. Is Bad-Boy Flynn the serial arsonist setting schools on fire? Is Gray a modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Can Alana solve both mysteries before her birthday? And will her birthday be another Epic Fail? All will be revealed in another chaotic adventure Alana calls Life.




Torment and Trickery


Book Description

Sassy, savvy sleuth Alana Oakley is at it again. There's school newbie, Flynn, and the Teen Expert, Dr. Gray, who's dating her mom, to investigate. But as Alana starts probing she gets more than she bargains for. Is Bad-Boy Flynn the serial arsonist setting schools on fire? Is Gray a modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Can Alana solve both mysteries before her birthday? And will her birthday be another Epic Fail? All will be revealed in another chaotic adventure Alana calls Life.




Pretty Girls


Book Description

Pretty Girls is a visceral narrative of violence, personal tragedy and female resilience set against the backdrop of one of Australia’s most politically charged communities, Redfern, where sinister racial tensions underpin everything. Evie is a woman in her mid-thirties who returns to her hometown to meet with her dying father. In coming back to the place where she grew up she has to revisit her history of violence – the death of her mother, the suicide of her brother and the domestic violence that occurred in her home. Her father only has a short time to live – she expects to find him a changed man. But he’s not. He’s unrepentant and unapologetic for his actions. Evie has to reclaim her story – she’s not just a pretty girl, she won’t just sit down, be quiet, stay still – but getting there is more than tough, more than an ordeal – it’s a mammoth display of tenacity and strength. Pretty Girls is ultimately a story of triumph. Evie rises from the ashes of a hellish past and re-writes her story. There is a part of Evie in every woman and Pretty Girls seeks to start a movement. "I know there are other people out there, just like me. People who think they are alone in life and that their cards have been dealt... But now I know there's always time for change and there's always a better path. You just have to look for it." - Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Boy




Canister on Fire


Book Description

Canister! On! Fire! tells the remarkable, but little known story of Australian tanks in the Vietnam War. Based on twelve years of research, including personal letters and diaries, extensive searches of official records and numerous interviews, this book brings to life a previously little-known aspect of the conflict. It is the story of a select group of soldiers, both regular and conscript, serving their country against all odds. The 53- tonne Centurion tanks were not only involved in intense fighting in conjunction with infantry to capture enemy defences and defeat attacks, but also fought their own battles against enemy mines, ambushes, and an unforgiving terrain and climate. This book takes the reader inside the tanks to share the experiences of their crews in action in the jungle. We see the gunner, trying to survive the heat inside the turret, while identifying designated targets; the operator trying to maintain communications, while keeping the guns loaded; the driver, trying to see his way forward, while keeping his head down; and the commander, trying to locate enemy positions, while directing his driver and giving fire orders to his gunner. The account also reveals how the mechanics beat overwhelming challenges to maintain the twenty-year-old tanks, while the field engineers risked their lives protecting them against mines. (hbk.).