Booklists

Dylan Alcott has never let his disability get in the way of what he wanted to achieve. His family treated him no differently to any other kid, and it was the best thing they ever did. Growing up, Dylan always had a positive attitude to life. So when he discovered sport, he'd have a go at anything and could always be found at the centre of the action, giving his best and playing to win. Then he tried wheelchair basketball and tennis and was hooked. Fast forward ten years or so, and the now three-time Paralympic gold medallist, Order of Australia recipient, world No 1 tennis champion, Logie winner and philanthropist combines elite sport with a love for music. But Dylan's greatest passion is changing the way those with disabilities are perceived, and to inspire young people - whether they have disabilities or are able-bodied - to achieve their dreams. It's a passion that drives him every day of his life. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerising storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations - and whose story inspires us to do the same. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

What's important is our story, our whole story, including those moments when we feel a little vulnerable . . . Michelle Robinson started life sharing a bedroom with her older brother Craig, in their family's upstairs apartment in her great-aunt's house. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, poured their love and energy into their children. She would go on to become Michelle Obama, the inspirational First Lady of the United States of America. Now adapted for younger readers, with new photographs and a new introduction from Michelle Obama herself, this memoir tells a very personal, and completely inspiring, story of how, through hard work and determination, the girl from the South Side of Chicago built an extraordinary life. Usually read by students inn years 9, 10, or above.

From paddle-boarding down the Thames in a Santa hat, to wild swimming in a glacial river, Bill considers the exhilaration of the outdoors, as well as the quieter pleasures of clearing out your moth-eaten grey t-shirts. He attempts to see beyond the mumbo-jumbo of the wellness industry and aims for the heart of real joy and contentment - and how we can all achieve it. This collection of funny, meditative and thoughtful essays seeks out simplicity and clarity as a corrective to the endless background noise of anxiety-inducing news chatter. Whether it's whooping aloud while cycling through a pine forest, putting pen to paper, or immersing yourself in music, Bill's guide to happiness is an antidote to the frenetic whirl of modern life. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

By thirteen, Mariatu had experienced rape, genital mutilation, an unwanted pregnancy and witnessed the horrors of war in Sierra Leone. Both her hands were amputated when she was captured by rebel soldiers. Her honest and unembellished account of her life is inspiring with its hope for a better future and the great love that the survivors share. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

BLAKWORK is a powerful collection of memoir, reportage, fiction, satire and critique through which the themes of great loss and the desire for a different future, emerge. Through her innovative and powerful poetic voice, Whittaker merges her own personal experiences with her research into Australian history and political decisions, to create a fearless and unsparing portrayal of the Australia presented through other interpretations; a portrayal that challenges the readers' understanding and invites them to rethink the identity and place projected onto the traditional custodians of the land. Usually read by students in year 9, 10 and above.

In 2012, Combat Engineer Curtis McGrath was serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan when, in the line of duty, he stepped on a land mine. Just months later, Curtis was up and walking on prosthetic legs, motivated by the opportunity to march with his unit in their welcome-home ceremony. Kayaking gave him a new sense of purpose and a year later, Curtis captained the Australian team at the inaugural Invictus Games in London, founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or ill veterans. Then, within four years of his injury, Curtis won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Now a ten-time world champion gold medallist, Curtis is passionate about the power of sport to transform lives, he's ready at last to share his extraordinary story, and how he has approached every setback and challenge with courage, resilience, humour and grit. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

The Book That Made Me is a celebration of the books that influenced some of the most acclaimed authors from Australia and the world. A perfect collection of personal stories from fantastic authors such as Markus Zusak, Jaclyn Moriarty, Shaun Tan, Mal Peet, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Simon French, Fiona Wood, Simmone Howell, Bernard Beckett, Ursula Dubosarsky, Rachael Craw, Sue Lawson, Felicity Castagna, Benjamin Law, Cath Crowley, Kate Constable, James Roy, Alison Croggon, Will Kostakis and Randa Abdel-Fattah. What stories inspired them, and made them who they are today? Read this book and find out! Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Brontide is a coming of age story about four boys and their lot in life. Recounted through storytelling sessions at their school over a period of five days, these boys chronicle their lives. They are at times demanding, occasionally rude, always funny and unexpectedly profound. The boys like to challenge themselves and the rules, and soon realise that not everything goes to plan. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

In 1987, Cola Bilkuei, a young boy from Sudan, was forcibly recruited into the Sudan People's Liberation Army. In a military training camp, Cola and hundreds of other children were systematically brutalised to turn them into child soldiers to fight a savage civil war. The book recounts his harrowing, fourteen year journey through seven African countries to reach Australia as a refugee. Some strong language in context. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Tom Daley captured the hearts of the nation with his unforgettable medal-winning performance in the London 2012 Olympics. At the 2020 Games in Tokyo, he triumphed to win gold and became the most decorated British diver of all time. In this deeply personal book, Tom explores the experiences that have shaped him and the qualities to which he owes his contentment and success; from the resilience he developed competing at world-class level, to the courage he discovered while reclaiming the narrative around his identity, and the perspective that family life has brought him. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above

Australian refugee stories is a unique anthology of essays, interviews, and stories written by children and young adults. The stories are the finest of hundreds collected through a nationwide schools competition in 2002. The essays and stories represent many different countries and themes. Some focus on survival, some on horrors, some on the experiences and alienation of a new world. This book is usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above, and contains stories featuring difficult and potentially confronting subjects and experiences.

From small steps to great leaps ... Gene understands stories - comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn't get sports. As a kid, his friends called him "Stick" and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it's all anyone can talk about. The men's varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that's been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realises that their story is just as thrilling as anything he's seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn't know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons's lives, but his own life as well. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 or above.

'Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States and the first African-American president. This memoir has been adapted for young adults and explores family, race and identity. It is a revealing portrait of a young Black man asking questions about self discovery and belonging, long before he became one of the most important voices in America. The son of a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father, Obama was born in Hawaii, where he lived until he was six when he moved with his mother and stepfather to Indonesia. At twelve he returned to Hawaii to live with his Grandparents. Obama explores the challenges of high school and college, living in New York, becoming a community organiser in Chigago and travelling to Kenya. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 or above.

En Pointe is the real-life story of how an aspiring ballerina became an inspiring young actor after overcoming a life-threatening illness. Miracles really can happen, even if they're not the ones you asked for. This book contains references to medical procedures and mental health themes, and is usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

The autobiographical highs and lows of a creative human's life in the world are captured in a collection of personal comics. Go on a journey of self discovery and appreciation with Noelle Stevenson. Usually read by students in year 9, 10 and above.

Following on from Dahl's childhood experiences, explored in his autobiography, Boy, this book tells the hilarious and true stories of his experiences working for Shell Oil in Africa and becoming a fighter pilot during World War II. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia? This anthology, compiled by award-winning author Anita Heiss, attempts to showcase as many diverse voices, experiences and stories as possible in order to answer that question. Each account reveals, to some degree, the impacts of invasion and colonisation - on language, on country, on ways of life, and on how people are treated daily in the community, the education system, the workplace and friendship groups. Accounts from well-known authors and high-profile identities sit alongside newly discovered voices of all ages, with experiences spanning coastal and desert regions, cities and remote communities. All of them speak to the heart - sometimes calling for empathy, oftentimes challenging stereotypes, always demanding respect. This groundbreaking anthology aims to enlighten, inspire and educate about the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia today. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Suburban Australia. Sweltering heat. A three bedroom blonde-brick house, a family of five with a beaten-up Ford Falcon. Vegemite on toast. Maxine Beneba Clarke's life is just like all the other Aussie kids on her street. Except for one, glaring, inescapably obvious thing. A challenging read. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

For more than a century and a half, a grim tale has passed down through Michael Veitch's family: the story of the Ticonderoga, a clipper ship that sailed from Liverpool in August 1852, crammed with poor but hopeful emigrants - mostly Scottish victims of the clearances and the potato famine. Hoping for a better life in Australia. Three months later, a ghost ship crept into Port Phillip Bay flying the dreaded yellow flag of contagion. Deadly typhus had erupted, killing a quarter of the passengers and leaving many more desperately ill. Sharks followed the ship. Panic stuck Melbourne. James William Henry Veitch was the ship's assistant surgeon, on his first appointment to sea. Annie Morrison was a volunteer who helped him. Michael Veitch is their great-great grandson and Hell Ship is a well researched narrative which brings to life the hardships and horrors endured by those who came by sea to seek a new life in Australia. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Samuel Johnson and Hilde Hinton, along with their late sister, Connie, have raised more than ten million dollars for cancer research. In this book, they have written a collection of simple stories about ordinary Australians who have faced extraordinary circumstances. All of these regular people, people you would meet on the street, have found reasons to stay positive and focused on believing in the power of kindness and positive thinking. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

The harrowing, true story of Laura Wolff, a survivor of the holocaust and one of Schindler's women, who lost all her family but found love and friendship during her terrible experience in German concentration camps. Contains adult themes. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Stan Walker is one of Aotearoa's most famous singers. But nothing ever came easy for Stan. What were the chances of success for a kid whose parents had both been in jail? Whose world had been filled with drugs and violence and things no kid should even know about? In this young readers' edition of his bestselling autobiography, follow Stan's journey of overcoming impossible odds to achieve his dreams and make peace with his past. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, and above.

Meet Me at the Intersection is an anthology of short fiction, memoir and poetry by authors who are First Nations, People of Colour, LGBTIQA+ or living with disability. The focus of the anthology is on Australian life as seen through each author's unique, and seldom heard, perspective. With works by Ellen van Neerven, Graham Akhurst, Kyle Lynch, Ezekiel Kwaymullina, Olivia Muscat, Mimi Lee, Jessica Walton, Kelly Gardiner, Rafeif Ismail, Yvette Walker, Amra Pajalic, Melanie Rodriga, Omar Sakr, Wendy Chen, Jordi Kerr, Rebecca Lim, Michelle Aung Thin and Alice Pung, this anthology is designed to challenge the dominant, homogenous story of privilege and power that rarely admits "outsider" voices. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

What use is music your body can't hold, that can't take you from this world? Each of these poems is a portrait of someone with or reputed to have had Marfan Syndrome. Many of the poems emerge out of personal interviews, while others are portraits of public figures: Abraham Lincoln, Akhenaten, Mary Queen of Scots , Edith Sitwell, Niccolo Paganini, John Tavener, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Robert Johnson, among others. Usually read by students in Year 9, 10 & above.

An autobiography of three generations of Sally Morgan's Aboriginal family that traces her search for identity. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

In the 1930s, Australian Nancy Wake was a young woman enjoying a bohemian life in Paris. After witnessing an horrific scene of Nazi violence, Nancy decided to help rid Europe of the Nazis. What began as a courier job became a highly successful escape network for Allied soldiers, perfectly camouflaged by Nancy's high-society life in Marseille. A compelling story. Coarse language may offend some readers. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

From the lessons of a high-performance athlete's career to appreciating the small things in life - this inspiring illustrated book, for fans of Ellyse Perry, features stories and reflections from her childhood and career on the themes of dreaming, belief, work, resilience, acceptance, opportunity, balance and perseverance - and their importance in everything we do.Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

Shaping the Fractured Self showcases twenty-eight of Australia's finest poets who happen to live with chronic illness and pain. The autobiographical short essays, in conjunction with the three poems from each of the poets, capture the body in trauma in its many and varied moods. Because those who live with chronic illness and pain experience shifts in their relationship to it on a yearly, monthly or daily basis, so do the words they use to describe it. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

This is the thrilling true story of the life of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovitch and the millions of Russians who lived during a time of great upheaval, horror and hardship at the hands of two of history's cruellest dictators; Stalin and Hitler. At a time of great despair, Shostakovitch' seventh symphony would become a symbol of great hope, and the story of how it comes to be shared with the world is nearly too incredible to be believed. Usually read by students in years 9, 10 and above.

This biography traces five generations of an Australian Italian family. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

A young girl tells the story of her family during the Great Depression in Northern England. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

Robert Hoge was born with a giant tumor on his forehead, severly distorted facial features, and legs that were twisted and useless. His mother was so horrified she initially refused to look at her son, let alone bring him home. But home he went, to a life that was, against all odds, filled with joy, optimism, and general boyhood naughtiness. Ugly is Robert's account of his life, from his birth to the arrival of his own daughter. It's a story of an extraordinary person living an ordinary life, which given the incredible hardships he had to overcome, is possibly his greatest achievement of all. Usually read by students in year 9, 10 and above.

It's 1965, and an old Tattersalls barrel starts rolling marbles to randomly conscript young Australian men to fight in the war in Vietnam. Melbourne housewife Jean McLean is outraged, as are her artist friends Clif and Marlene Pugh, who live in the country with their wombat, Hooper. Determined to wreck the system, Jean forms the Save Our Sons movement's Victorian branch, and she and her supporters take to the streets to protest. Meanwhile, in the small country town of Katunga, Bill Cantwell joins the Australian Army, and in Saigon, young Mai Ho is writing letters to South Vietnamese soldiers from her school desk. And when Hooper's call-up papers arrive, he mysteriously goes underground... Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

The story of Jack McPee, an itinerant station and mine worker, from the Pilbara region of Australia.Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

In this powerful and emotional book, Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai shares various stories of displacement, including her own. Part memoir, part communal storytelling, the book introduces readers to some of the incredible girls Malala has met on her many journeys and lets each tell her story -- girls who have lost their community, relatives and often the only world they've ever known, but have not lost hope, with dreams for a better, safer world. Usually read by students in years 9, 10, or above.

Join Eddie Woo, award winning teacher and star of the Woo-tube channel) as he tells us how he came to love maths. Eddie mingles anecdotes with facts to bring the world of maths to life and make it fun, even for the most sceptical maths student. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.

At twenty-one, Yassmin worked on a remote Australian oil and gas rig. She was the only woman and certainly the only Sudanese born Muslim woman. When she was two, Yassmin moved to Brisbane and has been tackling barriers ever since. She founded Youth Without Borders, helping young people to work for positive change in their communities. This is the story of how she got there, where she's going and how she wants the world to change. Usually read by students in Years 9, 10 or above.