Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael. Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart -- and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents' politics seem much more complicated. Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholarship. As tensions rise, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.

"I need to see Sitti Zeynab one last time. To know if I will have the courage to go ahead with my plan. The two nurses look frazzled and smile wearily at me. 'We must leave now,' they say in urgent tones. 'I won't be long,' I reassure them and I jump up onto the back of the ambulance. "I can smell the air of her village, pure and scented. I can see her village as though it were Bethlehem itself. I can smell the almond trees. Hear my heels click on the courtyard tiles. See myself jumping two steps at a time down the limestone stairs. I can see Sitti Zeynab sitting in the front porch of the house. I only have to remember that walk through her memories and I know I can make my promise. I've already lost once. I refuse to lose again. 'Stay alive,' I whisper. 'And you shall touch that soil again.'" Thirteen-year-old Hayaat is on a mission. She believes a handful of soil from her grandmother's ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. The only problem is the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, as well as the check points, the curfews, the permit system and Hayaat's best friend Samy, who is mainly interested in football and the latest elimination on X-Factor, but always manages to attract trouble. But luck is on their side. Hayaat and Samy have a curfew-free day to travel to Jerusalem. However, while their journey may only be a few kilometres long, it may take a lifetime to complete.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a student visa must be in want of an Australian wife. Twenty-eight-year old Esma has a masters in human resource management, never orders just a salad, is well-travelled, has excellent taste in music, watches the ABC news, has the Guardian saved as an app on her iPhone, knows all the two-letter words in Scrabble and can tell the difference between a Ford and a Holden. Armed with a check-list, she's on the hunt for Mr Right, who must be a Muslim. Tired of failed matchmaking, online dating sites and people calling her 'old fashioned', Esma forms a 'No Sex in the City' club with her friends Lisa, Ruby and Nirvana. Esma's quest for The One was never going to be easy but when family, friends and meddling employers are thrown into the equation, her path to true love suddenly takes a great big detour. This is the first adult novel from the award-winning YA author of Does My Head Look Big in This?, Ten Things I Hate About Me, and Where The Streets Had a Name.

Randa Abdel-Fattah's new novel about finding your place in life . . . and learning to accept yourself and your culture. At school I'm Aussie-blonde Jamie -- one of the crowd. At home I'm Muslim Jamilah -- driven mad by my Stone Age dad. I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can't keep it up for much longer... Jamie just wants to fit in. She doesn't want to be seen as a stereotypical Muslim girl, so she does everything possible to hide that part of herself. Even if it means pushing her friends away because she's afraid to let them know her dad forbids her from hanging out with boys or that she secretly loves to play the darabuka (Arabic drums).

Sixteen-year-old Noah is a troublemaker. His father is a hotshot barrister. This is not a good combination. When Noah gets caught mucking up at school, his dad sends him to work at his aunt's law firm during the holidays to 'learn responsibility' and 'fix his attitude'. There he meets Jacinta – the cute intern who knows her way around a photocopier, and Casey – the wicked witch of the firm. Noah becomes involved in a case where a woman has been killed during a mugging gone wrong. There's a grieving husband, a guilty employer, and an open and shut case involving lots of money. But right and wrong, and crime and punishment are soon entangled as Noah realises that things are seldom what they seem.

Lara Zany is known throughout the school yard as the Friendship Matchmaker--kids call on her expertise and follow her hard-and-fast rules to find best friendships. Lara's documented everything from friendship categories (the BOBF, or Bus Only Best Friend; the TL, or Total Loner; the LBC, or Loner By Choice) to strategies (BJF, or the Bungee Jump Friend; FTFP, or Field Trip Faux Pas). But when new kid in school Emily Wong questions Lara's methods, the two decide to compete by each finding a TL a best friend. But Lara, an LBC, doesn't bank on finding her own best friendship in the most unlikely of places. . . . In the tradition of "Clueless," this reimagining of Jane Austen's "Emma "for middle school readers is a funny and heartwarming story of celebrating individuality and finding acceptance.

Lara's friendship matchmaking days are over now that she has an Official Best Friend (OBF) in Tanya. But when when a new boy named Majur transfers to their grade and outplays Chris Martin, the school bully, on the soccer field, Chris's rule is suddenly over. Now alone and unable to make friends on his own, Chris turns to Lara Zany who can't resist the challenge. Finding Chris a friend isn't her only challenge-Lara must balance her new friendship with Tany and Emily, plus make sure Majur, a refugee from Sudan, fits in. Lara Zany has her work cut out for her in this charming sequel about finding true friends despite big differences.

Before Mina, my life was like a completed jigsaw puzzle but Mina has pushed the puzzle onto the floor. I have to start all over again, figuring out where the pieces go. When Michael meets Mina, they are at a rally for refugees - standing on opposite sides. Mina fled Afghanistan with her mother via a refugee camp, a leaky boat and a detention centre. Michael's parents have founded a new political party called Aussie Values. They want to stop the boats. Mina wants to stop the hate. When Mina wins a scholarship to Michael's private school, their lives crash together blindingly. A novel for anyone who wants to fight for love, and against injustice.

When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth... Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full-time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else. Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.

Although there are 22 separate Arab nationalities representing an enormous variety of cultural backgrounds and experiences, the portrayal of Arabs in Australia tends to range from homogenising (at best) to racist pop-culture caricatures.Edited by award-winning author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, and activist and poet Sara Saleh, and featuring contributors Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Ruby Hamad and Paula Abood, among many others, this collection explores the experience of living as a member of the Arab diaspora in Australia and includes stories of family, ethnicity, history, grief, isolation, belonging and identity.CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE:Paula Abood | Nokomi Achkar | Michael Mohammed Ahmad | Rooan Al Kalmashi | Ryan Al-Natour | Rawah Arja | Hana Assafiri | Sarah Ayoub | Omar Bensaidi | Sara El Sayed | Asma Fahmi | Farid Farid | Ruby Hamad | Abdulrahman Hammoud | Lamisse Hamouda | Amani Haydar | Miran Hosny | Lora Inak | Elias Jahshan | Nicola Joseph and Huna...

OUR STORIES is a funny, relatable and engaging new early chapter book series that celebrates Australia's multicultural society with authors and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds.Friday is always the best day at Mohammed's house. It's doughnut day! But this week, his family is fasting for Ramadan. They aren't going to eat or drink until the sun sets. Mohammed wants to fast too, but it's so hard. Can he wait that long for his very special doughnut?