Real+Life

**The Tuckshop Kid** Pat Flynn

Hungry? Need Lunch? Mum's packed you curried banana and pickle sandwiches again? Only got a $1.25 to your name? Then you need to see Matt, because Matt has an amazing talent. . . Some kids are good at footy, or handball, or tennis. Not Matt, though. Matt is an expert at Tuckshop. ($1.25 = sausage roll and small choc milk, by the way . . . ) In the dog-eat-pie world of the playground, when your best friend is the lunch lady, and hunger can be just around the corner, someone like Matt can go a long way. But of course, being the best at anything does have its problems. Even tuckshop.

Penguin



 Tim Winton
 * Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo**

Thirteen-year-old Lockie Leonard is new in town and has nothing going for him except for the fact that he's a hot-shot surfer. He falls in love with the beautiful Vicki and, amazingly, she likes him too. Suddenly Lockie is famous and popular, but he still has a lot to learn about love.

Good Reads


 * //Talking book available//**

**Alex Jackson: Grommet** Pat Flynn

Alex Jackson can pull moves on a skateboard other Year 8s only dream about. But when it comes to being popular at high school, standing up to the school bully, and falling in love, he has a lot to learn. He might be in for some spills, but he's going to ride the only way he knows how – on the edge.

Penguin



**To the Light** Pat Flynn

Jamie loves surfing. Jamie doesn’t like school. At the beach there’s best mates Mitchell and Scott, but at school there’s bullies like Rory, who insists on calling Jamie ‘James’ and Jamie’s sister, Sky, who is ranked most popular girl in the school. How can Jamie compete? With the final surfing event of the year approaching, Jamie is determined to do well, and a chance meeting with a stranger who rides a Malibu may just be the catalyst. //To the Light// is a fun book about surfing, school, siblings and what it means to be ‘in’. The interest of the surfing lessons is supplemented by some gentle life lessons, wrapped in an entertaining package. There is a surprise twist at the end that will have readers leafing back through to see how they could have missed it. Sally Murphy





**Diary of a Wimpy Kid** Jeff Kinney

Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship.

Good Reads

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​**Where There's Smoke** John Heffernan

There's smoke over the hills, but nobody in Edenville seems too concerned, even though it's fire season and the bush is tinder-dry. Luke has made friends in this town, his mum has found a job she likes, and it's starting to look as if they'll stay for a while. But Luke knows that good things don't last, and everything he has come to rely on is threatened by a much bigger event, one that could destroy everyone and everything.

Readings