Guinness World Records 2022

030 GUI

Global pandemics and lockdowns haven't stopped record breakers from achieving spectacular things. Indeed, they've given many people the chance to focus on their ambitions and attain goals beyond their expectations. The changing pace of the last year has also given us the opportunity to take stock of our planet and explore the current state of the environment, as seen through our unique record-breaking lens.

Azaria: A True History by Maree Coote                                    Australian Author

Picture Book

Where wild animals and people meet, tragedy can strike, because just like the big bad wolf, the dingo is not afraid of you and me.
A beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book that sensitively explores the collision of wilderness and civilisation, explains a famous miscarriage of justice, and examines the role of the media in history-telling, in an appropriate manner for children.

Palace of Fires: Initiate Book 1 by Bill Bennett          Australian Author

Paranormal Fiction

She turned and saw them. Three black shapes in a crowd of colour, moving slowly like scuttling roaches. Three women, dressed in leathers, carrying biker helmets.
They had come here to find someone. They had come here to hunt.
Three hundred years ago, Lily's ancestor broke a solemn promise signed in blood. And now she is thrust into a shadow world where Satan is real, witches exist and evil is an ancient living thing that seeks to wreak havoc and rule. The dark is coming, and only she can stop it.

Cruella: Disney Movie Novel by Elizabeth Rudnick

Estella is a clever and creative grifter determined to make a name for herself with her designs amid the 1970’s London punk rock revolution. As a girl, Estella befriended a pair of young thieves with an appetite for mischief, and together the trio has been able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. But Estella longs for more than an existence built on stealing to make ends meet.

The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited! By Clint McElroy

Graphic Novel

In the second Adventure Zone graphic novel (adapted from the McElroy family's wildly popular D&D podcast), we rejoin hero-adjacent sort-of-comrades-in-arms Taako, Magnus, and Merle on a wild careen through a D&D railroad murder mystery. This instalment has a little of everything: a genius child detective, an axe-wielding professional wrestler, a surly wizard, cursed magical artifacts, and a pair of meat monsters.

How to Tie Knots by Tim MacWelch

799.1 MAC

Tying knots is one of life's essential skills and this illustrated back-to basics guide introduces readers to 50 essential knots to help you sort your Albright knot from your square lashing, and your anchor hitch from your barrel knot. With chapters on the different knots ordered by their uses, including climbing, camping, hiking, nautical and fishing, plus a handy glossary of terms and techniques, this book is an essential guide for everyone who likes to spend time outdoors.

Girl Gone Viral by Arvin Ahmadi

Science Fiction                                Grade 9+

For seventeen-year-old Opal Hopper, code is magic. She builds entire worlds from scratch: Mars craters, shimmering lakes, any virtual experience her heart desires. But she can't code her dad back into her life. When he disappeared after her tenth birthday, leaving only a cryptic note, Opal tried desperately to find him. And when he never turned up, she enrolled at a boarding school for technical prodigies and tried to forget. Until now. Because WAVE, the world's biggest virtual reality platform, has announced a contest where the winner gets to meet its billionaire founder. The same billionaire who worked closely with Opal's dad. The one she always believed might know where he went. The one who maybe even murdered him.

Songs that Sound like Blood by Jared Thomas                                   Australian Author

Family/Relationship Fiction                     Grade 9+

Roxy May Redding’s got music in her soul and songs in her blood. She lives in a hot dusty town and is dreaming big. She survives run-ins with the mean girls at high school, sings in her dad’s band and babysits for her wayward aunt. But Roxy wants a new start. When she gets the chance to study music in the big city, she takes it. Roxy’s new life, her new friends and her music collide in a way she could never have imagined. Being a poor student sucks... navigating her way through the pressure of a national music competition has knobs on it... singing for her dinner is soul destroying... but nothing prepares Roxy for her biggest challenge. Her crush on Ana, the local music journo, forces her to steer her way through a complex maze of emotions alien to this small town girl. Family and friends watch closely as Roxy takes a confronting journey to find out who the hell she is.

You have a Match by Emma Lord

Family/Relationship Fiction

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie… although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front. But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister. When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents—especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself. The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption.

You were Made for Me by Jenna Guillaume              Australian Author

Romance Fiction

Katie didn't mean to create a boy. A boy like a long-lost Hemsworth brother: six-foot tall with floppy hair and eyes like the sky on a clear summer's day; whose lips taste like cookie dough and whose skin smells like springtime. A boy who is completely devoted to Katie. He was meant to be perfect. But he was never meant to exist.

Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker                                Australian Author

Romance Fiction

Year: 2083. Location: London. Mission: Wake Romeo.
It's the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forwards. And only a handful of families choose to remain in the 'now', living off the scraps that were left behind. Among these are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But things are far from rosy for Jules. Romeo is in a coma, and she's estranged from her friends and family, dealing with the very real fallout of their wild romance. Then a handsome time traveller, Ellis, arrives with an important mission that makes Jules question everything she knows about life and love. Can Jules wake Romeo and rewrite her future?

A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr                         Australian Author

Family/Relationship Fiction

Meixing Lim and her family have arrived at the New House in the New Land, inherited from First Uncle who died tragically and unexpectedly while picking oranges in the backyard. Everything is vast and unknown to Meixing and not in a good way, including the house she has dubbed Big Scary. She is embarrassed by the second-hand shoes given to her by the kind neighbours, has trouble understanding the language at school, and with fitting in and making new friends. Her solace is a glasshouse in the garden that inexplicably holds the sun and the moon and all the secrets of her memory and imagination.