Synopsis: In Marty Martins's novel, The Blizzard, readers are taken on a journey that touches on questions of morals and ethics, and the importance of communication between parents and their children. Melanie Hondel is the all-American high school student. She is popular, pretty, and attracts the attention of more than a few boys. One of them is Chet, who Melanie thinks is handsome enough, but whose determined self-reliance she has always found a bit strange and hardly romantic. When Melanie refuses the advances of a classmate, Tommy, and is beaten by him, she flees into a blizzard, where she falls through the ice. Her cries for help are heard by Chet, who is able to save her. They find refuge in an isolated cabin, where they shed their icy clothing and huddle together for warmth...in a bed. Rescuers arrive the next day, followed closely by Melanie's father, and there is confusion and anger. Mr. Hondel insists that Chet be arrested and refuses to accept his daughter's explanation, thereby leaving everyone convinced that Chet is dangerous. What ensues is an emotional and very important story about parental expectations, the decisions teenagers and young adults must make that impact their self-respect, their confidence, and their relationships with parents and community. This is a novel about coming of age, romantic love, and the importance of trust.

Synopsis: A fantastic Steampunk adventure in the deeps

Transforming his appearance and stealing secret documents from the French is all in a day’s work for fourteen-year-old Modo, a British secret agent. But his latest mission—to uncover the underwater mystery of something called the Ictíneo—seems impossible. There are rumors of a sea monster and a fish as big as a ship. French spies are after it, and Mr. Socrates, Modo’s master, wants to find it first. Modo and his fellow secret agent, Octavia, begin their mission in New York City, then take a steamship across the North Atlantic. During the voyage, Modo uncovers an astounding secret.
 
The Dark Deeps, the second book in Arthur Slade’s Hunchback Assignments series, is set in a fascinating Steampunk Victorian world. Modo’s underwater adventures and his encounters with the young French spy Colette Brunet, the fearless Captain Monturiol, and the dreaded Clockwork Guild guarantee a gripping read filled with danger, suspense, and brilliant inventions.

Synopsis: Set during the First World War, Age 14 is a heartbreaking and powerful story about growing up quickly in the face of war. Twelve-year-old Patrick Condon wants to escape his impoverished and tedious life in Ballybricken, County Waterford, so he hatches a plan. Not wanting to wait until he is old enough to join at sixteen, Patrick gives the army the name, John, and age, seventeen, of his older brother, and is enlisted. In the army, Patrick, now John, makes friends easily. The man's world is just what he always desired; if only there was more action. John gets all the action he is looking for when the war breaks out following the murder of the Austrian Crown Prince in 1914. Before he knows it, he is training with bayonets but it is nearly a game so long as no blood is spilled. The battle seems so far away. But the war is very real, and it is only a matter of time before John is at the front of it all. Based on a true story, this faction is about dreams, about war and peace, and the lives lost to achieve both. It is about a young boy named Patrick, and named John, the adventure and glory he so craved, and the tragic way he achieved both.

Synopsis:

'Suddenly I was back in the blurry green undersea world. And the shark was there, too. Coming straight at me. Fast!'

Sam Fox is on holidays at the Great Barrier Reef when he and a young Japanese tourist are swept off a coral shelf by a freak wave. Before they know it, a strong current has pushed them out into open water. First Sam must fight to keep himself and his new friend from drowning; then, as night falls over the inky black ocean, the underwater predators start moving in . . .

An action-packed rollercoaster ride, Shark Bait is the most thrilling (and scary) Extreme Adventure yet!

Visit puffin.com.au/extreme for more.

Synopsis: It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure….One that will change both their lives forever.

Synopsis: You may not like your sister, but are you really going to fight a war against her? James and Emily never get on - always fighting and arguing! But when James wakes up one night as his tooth is stolen by a jelly monster he follows it into a weird and wonderful world. Chocolate archers come out of the walls and fly in bubble gum balloons, giant rock candy trolls roam around, icing sugar snowmen appear and disappear, all under the direction of the Candy King who is preparing a war against the tooth fairies! Soon Emily and their cat Muffins find themselves joining the fairies, with only a toothless dragon and a phoenix with hay fever to help them fight the mighty Candy Army! "The Candy King is waiting for you." CANDY WARS is suitable for all readers aged 8 and above.

Synopsis: What do you treasure and how far would you go to find it? Peter and Farren are two brothers who think adventure is sneaking into a pub or going rabbit hunting. Little do they know! Soon the youths are on a whirlwind trip of betrayal, daggers, self-discovery and a giant reticulated python! Somehow they have to find a way to stop fighting with each other, avoid a sadistic Navy Admiral and a mysterious pirate captain whilst remembering to tap the biscuits on the side of the ship - maggots are never good for breakfast! "If you came for treasure it lies within, if you did not, what you treasure lies beyond your grasp." TREASURE LOST is suitable for all readers aged 8 years and above.