Young Adult Fiction

This book was written to represent homeschoolers and the lesser known sport of campdrafting, as

well as to encourage teenagers who feel insecure socially that it is worth making the effort to break

out of their comfort zone. It provides an authentic look at a homeschooled male teen who needs to

learn to challenge himself, in sports, in life, and in his social skills.

Nick is a fifteen-year-old boy whose best friend is his little sister, and tends to be a bit of a loner.

While Nick is the older brother Nick finds that his little sister does better in the sport of campdrafting

than he does. He tends to get nervous, makes hasty decisions and stuffs up. He feels awkward around

the other competitors. But Nick decides to join a local swim squad, he wants to challenge himself to

make some friends. Along the way he discovers he’s a competitive breaststroker, and works out how

to fit in with a mixed group of teens, growing more independent in the process. The other 4 teens have

a variety of personalities - a super friendly guy, super self-confident guy, and two girls, one who

becomes very interested in campdrafting and later asks Nick for riding lessons. He becomes good

friends with one of the guys and goes to his place to ride motorbikes. The new mates come to see him

compete at a campdraft. He is more relaxed with the other competitors this time, and is more

successful in the competition.

This book is unlike most others on the market, and will appeal because of its unique nature. Many

teens may have wondered about homeschooling. Campdrafting is a unique Australian sport that many

may not have heard of. Actual homeschoolers will feel validated to see themselves represented

positively in literature.

In Ways to Die Right, Joel's life is steeped in loss, with his mom’s battle with cancer not the first time his family has faced death. When he discovers the environmental harm of traditional burials, he decides to champion 'green burials' through a science presentation.

Joel’s mom is diagnosed with cancer, again, sending him into a spiral. He is already feeling the burden of caring for his sister’s grave, how could he possibly care for his mom’s grave as well? Then, at the cemetery, his most sacred space, he is confronted by his arch-nemesis, Trent. While Joel is striving to understand how family members can ‘forget’ their loved one by abandoning their graves, Trent wants everyone to know that graves are an important part of our human community. When Joel is given the opportunity, he champions green burials in a science presentation. The public opposition from Trent is almost more than he can take. Joel is forced to fight for himself and his beliefs, while trying to hide his biggest secret. New and old friends support him in his quest to protect the environment and find peace, while his parents see his struggles and make changes to support him.

Public speaking phenom, Lexie, is on her way to represent her school at the Speech state finals, with dreams of reaching nationals. But that is before a freckle on her cheek turns out to be a rare form of melanoma, skin cancer, that requires surgery. Now, with a large scar on her face, her world changes and she no longer recognizes herself.

Her confidence has vanished, her friendships are changing and the very thing she has always loved—public speaking—now strikes terror into her heart. When a chance encounter turns into an unexpected friendship, Lexie's feelings about her scar, and herself, are challenged. Can she find a way to explore her ordeal with her ambitions for winning the state Speech competition?

A relatable and easy read for teenagers and young adults about overcoming obstacles, navigating friendships and finding out that our worth is far more than just skin deep.

In an extraordinary stroke of luck, six high school students – Luke, Alex, Harriet, Meg, Kye, and outcast Cassie – find themselves thrust into unimaginable wealth after winning a staggering 50 million-dollar Megaball prize. Overnight, their ordinary lives transform into a world where anything is attainable, and shopping becomes difficult - not because you can’t afford anything, but because you can afford everything.

As the group begin to discover the truth behind their extraordinary good fortune, they unwittingly unravel a complex web of lies concealing not only their improbable win but also other so-called luck happening around them.

In this heart-pounding tale of wealth, deceit, and moral reckoning, the millionaires club find themselves entangled in a treacherous game where the price of fortune is higher than they ever imagined. As they attempt to shield their newfound riches and each other from the relentless pursuit of the truth, they begin to realize that luck can be far from good, and lies, once buried, have a way of clawing their way back to the surface.

Tarni can’t wait for her Senior Prom and is counting down the days. She has a checklist for everything—the shoes, the makeup, the friends, the photos, and most importantly, the dress. But Tarni’s perfect dress is a whopping $950 and she has to work extra shifts at her job to pay for it. While she slowly marks off her checklist, the elusive dress remains too expensive. Beside the dance, she still has to pay for her driver’s license and driving lessons. Add on the pressure of trying to decide what she’s going to do once school is over, and Tarni is becoming a nervous wreck.

 

Then the worst happens, by the time she saves enough for the dress, it’s sold out. How can she find her perfect dress—and in the right size in time? And will she ever get a clue on what to do after school? She will have to rely on her fashion sense and courage to make her dreams come true.

Fifteen-year-old Becca questions the influencer life that supports her family when an unexpected friendship in an online writing community challenges her to step into the 'real' life she craves.

Becca has been online influencer since she helped make promotional baking videos for her mom’s patisserie as a toddler. Now at fifteen, cutting online comments remind Becca she is no longer the cute flour-covered kid her followers first subscribed to. Her business-driven manager fuels Becca’s self-doubt by pressuring her to rebrand to a health and weight-conscious influencer. Becca vents her frustration in her poetry journal, questioning if the online life is worth sacrificing real friendships.

A teacher encourages Becca to sign up to the online writing community Poet’s Portal and there she meets @notmylife, another poster feeling trapped by family expectations. Becca and @notmylife confide in each other without giving away their identities and Becca feels like she has finally met someone who really understands her. When the two win a writing contest with their verse story 'Your dream not mine,' they receive entry to a writing workshop.

Becca and @notmylife agree to meet in person before the workshop. But Becca’s manager has booked her for a TV show on the same day as the workshop. Becca is torn as her influencer work supports her whole family. Now, she has to decide between the online life that’s never been her dream and the real-world connection she so desperately craves.

With teens increasingly aspiring to become online influencers, Like, Comment, Subscribe? aims to show the less glamorous side of the influencing lifestyle, particularly when the decision to be thrust in front of the camera is not made by themselves.
Rhiza Shorts are teen novellas for reluctant readers.

Blaine Colton had been trapped in his own body by mitochondrial disease, until revolutionary gene therapy freed him. Just when he thinks he can be a normal teenager, he is told his life-changing procedure was unapproved, making him an illegal GMO. Held at an institute where he's subjected to constant testing, refused contact with his parents and deprived of life-sustaining medication, Blaine begins to suspect something, much bigger than himself, is going on. With his body failing and desperate for answers, he resolves to escape and find Professor Merrick Ramer, the developer of his therapy. But Ramer has vanished and time is running out. Fast.

High school senior, Anna Faraday, has a remarkable singing gift that liberates something inside people, and yet, she is stuck living cautiously after a fatal accident took her brothers life. The one thing that tempts her to break free and take a risk is Chase, the hot new American guy in her grade. When a simple trip to the high school physics department sees her targeted for her voice, and a reckless car drive ruins the most romantic night of her life, Anna is then forced to sing for a secret frequency-based experiment that goes wrong. Left fading from existence, she is thrust from her carefully measured world into a terrifying reality that leads her to seek help from Rennie Parker, the last guy she ever thought shed ask— a guy invisible to her, until then. Now the one unseen and unheard, Anna knows time is running short. Will Rennie, or anyone, understand whats happened before she disappears forever?