Kirsty Murray: 14 books

Bridie's world is torn apart when her parents and baby brother die in the Great Hunger. She leaves Ireland, and strikes out alone to claim a life for herself in Australia, on the other side of the ocean. Bridie's Fire is heart-warming story of courage and resilience. It affirms Kirsty Murray's...

*Daisy opened her mouth and lies flew out. Her face so pink and white, her lips so plump and sweet, her lies so vile. I had to cover my ears. I shut my eyes, wanting to block out the courtroom, to neither see nor hear the evil: but Tilly grabbed my arm and twisted the skin on my wrist in a...

When Alice decides to start a book club, she imagines sharing cupcakes and stories with her best friends. She's not at all sure she wants know-it-all Sophie to be a member . . .

One girl - could she be the last girl alive? One boy, pursued by reckless men who have kidnapped him from his fathers. Bo and Callum go in search of a safe haven, a place to call home. But where can they turn and who can they trust? When every stranger is a threat, does their only hope lie...

Paddy secretly boards a ship bound for Australia, only to be shipwrecked at the end of the voyage. Once rescued, he faces the big question: how is he to make his way in this strange new land? On the road with a travelling circus, on the run with a wild child, sleeping rough on the mean streets of...

On Tiney Flynn's seventeenth birthday, every church bell tolled as if heralding a new year, a new era. Tiney stood in the garden, purple jacaranda petals fluttering down around her. One by one, her sisters came outside to join her; first Nette, then Minna and lastly Thea. It was 11 November 1918....

The room was full of moon shadows and dancing light. But it was the wall around the window that Lucy couldn't stop staring at, the one with the painting of Spring. It was as bright as a sunny day and the tiny yellow flowers that covered the fields were moving, as if a breeze had blown through the...

'Don't worry,' said Bill. 'You can hide out here until you get your strength back. That is, if you don't mind an old man, a dog and a few ghosts for company.' Colm is on the run, determined to escape from the cruelties of Bindoon Boys' Home. He strikes up an unexpected friendship with old Billy...

I keep thinking I'll see him any moment. It's crazy. I don't even know what he looks like. And it shouldn't matter that I can't find him. I've been fine for 14 years without him. Sorry, this is a stupid email. Hope everything in Sydney is cool. MLK She was just about to log off when a new message...

Before he came to Zarconi's, Gus didn't even know he had grandparents, let alone ones who juggled knives and ate fire. Now he's caught up in their world of magicians, stilt-walkers, tattooed tenthands, elephant turds - and there's a snake-girl who might become his best friend or his worst enemy. This...

Things unravel so fast. One day Sam is a kid with a straightforward life, next moment he's sucked into a time warp and flung back a hundred years. Meeting Flea, Gertie and the gang is just the start of a crazy adventure with Sam on the run from police, sleeping outside the morgue, laying bets on horse...

When the future looks dark, courageous kids bring light and hope into the world. Forty true stories celebrate kids who have protested, prayed, rebelled, saved lives, earned a fortune, lost everything, become world-famous, or fought to survive war and oppression. Fearless kids, feral kids, Olympic...

When the rain stops it's time to go puddle hunting. Ruby and Banjo and Mum go up the street, and into the park, over the bridge and down to the riverflats where the puddles lie waiting... Splosh it, Ruby! Splosh it, Banjo! Splosh it, Mum! A glorious celebration of splashing and squelching all the way home.

To the first Europeans who came to Australia, everything seemed topsy turvy. Christmas was in the summer and trees shed their bark but not their leaves. And the animals were bizarre. There was a bird that laughed like a donkey and a type of greyhound that bound along on its hind legs like a hare. There...