Contemporary fiction books set in Australia (20)
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1.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland EN
AustraliaDescription:
Winner of the 2019 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year Award. The international bestseller, now sold to over 24 territories internationally, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart tells the enchanting and compelling story of a young girl, daughter of an abusive father, who has to learn the hard way that she can break the patterns of the past, live on her own terms and find her own strength. 'Lush, powerful ...an engrossing novel of female survival.' Bookseller + Publisher A young girl loses both her parents in a tragic event, and is taken to live with her grandmother on a flower farm. Growing up, Al... continue
2.
Flyaway by Kathleen jennings EN
Description:
'A superbly told tale of folklore-infused fantasy, full of rising dread, set in a sharply observed Australian outback town.' Garth Nix Strange what chooses to flourish here. Which plants. Which stories. Bettina Scott lives a tidy, quiet life in Runagate, tending to her delicate mother and their well-kept garden after her father and brothers disappear - until a note arrives that sends Bettina into the scrublands beyond, searching for answers about what really happened to this town, and to her family. For this is a land where superstitions hunt and folk tales dream - and power is there for the t... continue
3.
Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch EN
Description:
When May's mother dies suddenly, her and her brother Billy's loss leaves them both searching for their place in the world. While Billy takes his own destructive path, May sets off to find her father and her Aboriginal identity.
4.
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood EN
Description:
THE NEW NOVEL BY THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE WEEKEND, NOW LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 A Guardian Book of the Summer 2024 A Book of the Year for the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award Shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year Shortlisted for the ABIA Award for Literary Fiction Longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award 'A beautiful, mature work that does not flinch from life' SUNDAY TIMES 'A book about what it means to be good: simply and with great humility, it asks the big questions, leaving the reader feeling kinder, more brave, enla... continue
5.
Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko EN
Description:
When Jo Breen uses her divorce settlement to buy a neglected property in the Byron Bay hinterland, she's hoping for a tree change, and a blossoming connection to the land of her Aboriginal ancestors. What she discovers instead is sharp dissent from her teenage daughter, trouble brewing from unimpressed white neighbors, and a looming Native Title war between the local Bundjalung families. When Jo unexpectedly finds love on one side of the Native Title divide she quickly learns that living on country is only part of the recipe for the good life.
6.
Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister EN
Description:
In this “full-on villain romance” (The New York Times) a group of women on a reality dating show should be vying for the love of their Romeo, but it turns out one of them only has eyes for the showrunner. Murray O’Connell is standing on the greatest precipice of his career. As showrunner of the reality dating show Marry Me, Juliet, Murray is determined to make this season a success. Nothing and nobody will stand in his way. Except perhaps Lily Fireball, the network’s choice for this season’s villain. Lily has classic reality TV appeal: She’s feisty, dramatic, and never backs down from a fight.... continue
7.
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy EN
Description:
Against the backdrop of Darwin, that small, tropical hothouse of a port, half-outback, half-oriental, lying at the tip of northern Australia, a young and newly arrived southerner encounters the 'maestro', a Viennese refugee with a shadowed past. The occasion is a piano lesson, the first of many. 'I enjoyed Maestro enormously. Besides its thoughtfulness and bright sensuality, it has a playful quality, a love of jest, which appealed to me very much.' Helen Garner, SYDNEY REVIEW On release, MAEStRO was hailed 'a splendid achievement, a wise, deeply felt novel that continues to haunt well after on... continue
8.
The Swan Book by Alexis Wright EN
Description:
The Swan Book is set in the future, with Aboriginals still living under the Intervention in the north, in an environment fundamentally altered by climate change. It follows the life of a mute teenager called Oblivia, the victim of gang-rape by petrol-sniffing youths, from the displaced community where she lives in a hulk, in a swamp filled with rusting boats, and thousands of black swans driven from other parts of the country, to her marriage to Warren Finch, the first Aboriginal president of Australia, and her elevation to the position of First Lady, confined to a tower in a flooded and lawle... continue
9.
The Love Contract by Steph Vizard EN
Description:
Can she (pretend to) love her neighbour? An award-winning modern rom-com for all fans of fake dating, enemies-to-lovers stories. I didn't know the guy next door. And given he was now my daughter's manny, and my fake boyfriend, I needed to find out. Single mum Zoe has to return to work but there's a childcare drought and she can't find anyone to look after little Hazel. Enter Will, Zoe's nemesis and frustratingly handsome neighbour. When Will's boss mistakenly assumes Will is Hazel's father and insists he take parental leave, it seems like a simple white lie could get Zoe out of a jam and help ... continue
10.
Pictures of You : A Novel by Emma Grey EN
Description:
A PEOPLE Magazine's Best Book of November 2024 A November 2024 Book of the Month Selection A National Bestseller What would you do if you could start over? Imagine having a second chance with the one you never forgot. From the author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note comes the story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her. Evie Hudson should be grieving her dead husband, but since the car crash that claimed his life and landed her in the hospital, she can’t remember him at a... continue
11.
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding : Booktopia's 2022 Book of the Year by Holly Ringland EN
Description:
The last time Esther Wilding's beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura's disappearance, Esther's family struggles to live with their loss.
12.
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife : A Novel by Anna Johnston EN
Description:
A zany case of mistaken identity allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family in this warm, life-affirming debut novel. “A funny, heartfelt story about found family and seeing the silver lining in life. Fans of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures will especially enjoy this new novel.”—Library Journal “Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I’ll take excellent care of it.” Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it wash... continue
13.
A Room Called Earth : A Novel by Madeleine Ryan EN
Description:
“A resolute deep dive into an inner self, a transcendent character study, and a timely reminder that there’s an entire universe inside of everyone we meet. You will be moved.” —Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook “[N]uanced and uplifting.” —Buzzfeed An unforgettable story of a fiercely original young woman, whose radical perspective illuminates a new way of being in the world As a full moon rises over Melbourne, Australia, a young woman gets ready for a party. And what appears to be an ordinary night out is—through the prism of her singular perspecti... continue
14.
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey EN
Description:
You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again. Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she's grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the balls--and yet clinging to her sense of humor. Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who's determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor. When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, sh... continue
15.
Becoming Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty EN
Description:
Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest and kindest girl at Ashbury High. She likes to share her knowledge of common teen anxieties and offers lunchtime advisory sessions in the locker room. But when Bindy discovers that, despite all her hard work, nobody likes her, benevolent Bindy is banished - ruthless Bindy is about to be unleashed.
16.
The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty EN
Description:
PERFECT. adj. 1. being entirely without fault or defect: flawless. 2. Bindy Mackenzie, student at Ashbury High. 3. Jaci Moriarty's murderously funny follow-up to THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS. Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest girl at Ashbury High. She memorizes class outlines to help her teachers. She holds lunchtime therapy sessions for her fellow students. She is always kind, polite, and helpful. And she wears crazy nail polish to show she's a free spirit. But something is missing. And at the first session of the Friendship and Development Project, Bindy's worst suspicions are confirmed. Nob... continue
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The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household Debt : There's No Such Thing As an Ex-Killer by Mark Mupotsa-Russell EN
Description:
'I met my husband on the same day I committed my very last murder. There's a joke in there somewhere, about ending two men's lives.' Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things - back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate - but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges. When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it's the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt. So she creates situations where the... continue
20.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty EN
Description:
One luxury retreat in the middle of nowhere. Ten days in which no one can leave. Nine strangers seeking perfection. And each discovering the perfect lie...