Best Selling Books by Sonya Hartnett

Indigo and Ravel are identical twins. When one threatens to break out of their obsessive, dependent relationship, there are disastrous consequences. A dark, brilliant novel with Gothic overtones, from this extraordinary young writer.

The year is 1977, and Adrian is nine. He lives with his gran and his uncle Rory; his best friend is Clinton Tull. He loves to draw and he wants a dog; he''s afraid of quicksand and self-combustion. Adrian watches his suburban world, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighbourhood children might set ...

With masterful nuance and vividly drawn characters, Sonya Hartnett’s novel visits a suburban neighborhood where psychological menace lurks below the surface. Colt Jenson and his younger brother, Bastian, have moved to a new, working-class suburb. The Jensons are different. Their father, Rex, showers them with gifts — toys, bikes, all that glitters most — and makes them the envy of the neighborhood. To the local kids, the Jensons are a family out of a movie, and Rex a hero — successful, attentive, attractive, always there to lend a hand. But to Colt he''s an impossible figure: unbearable, suffocating. Has Colt got Rex wrong, or has he seen something in his father that will destroy their fragile new lives? This brilliant and unflinching new novel reveals internationally acclaimed author Sonya Hartnett at her most intriguing and psychologically complex.

"A complex, introspective novel with vivid characters. . . . Hauntingly beautiful." — School Library Journal Two loners in a country town find cause for hope when one of them encounters a long-lost animal in this taut, shimmering tale about daring to live a life beyond expectations.

In France during World War I, four French children learn about honesty, loyalty, and courage from an English army deserter who tells them a series of stories related to his small, silver donkey charm.

Award-winning Sonya Hartnett spins a tale for younger readers about mischief, siblings, and taking matters into your own hands. Sadie and Ratz are the names of Hannah’s hands. They aren’t animals, but they behave like wild beasts, says Dad. For one thing, they’re always after four-year-old Baby Boy (whom Sadie wishes were a dog). They jump onto his head and try to rub his ears off. Baby Boy knows how to turn the tables, though, and when he spills milk on the carpet, he tells Grandma that Sadie and Ratz pushed him. But when Baby Boy goes too far, Hannah may have to send Sadie and Ratz on vacation to prove their innocence. Multi-award-winning author Sonya Hartnett brings her original sensibility, wry humor, and engaging characters to a younger audience, aided by Ann James’s inviting illustrations.

"A startling coming-of-age story. . . . Through Harper, Hartnett captures the humanity of her spirited, slightly eccentric, and then nearly broken characters." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Harper Flute believes that her younger brother Tin, with his uncanny ability to dig, was born to burrow. While their family struggles to survive in a bleak landscape during the Great Depression, the silent and elusive little Tin begins to tunnel beneath their tiny shanty. As time passes, Tin becomes a wild thing, leaving his family further and further behind. Sonya Hartnett tells a breathtakingly original coming-of-age story through the clear eyes of an observant child, with exquisite prose, richly drawn characters, and a touch of magical realism.

Award winning children''s author, Sonya Hartnett, weaves a compelling drama of friendship and choice that is perfect reading for the 15+ market. Louie has finished with her old life, and stepped into a world of sinners. For her, nothing is going to be the same again. This darkly funny, disturbing novel explores a lawless world where morality is a nuisance, everything can be bought, and the prices paid are high.

When a mysterious child appears in her living room one day, the elderly Maddy tells him the story of her love for the wild and free-spirited Feather, who tried but failed to live a conventional life with her, and her search for him on a fantastical voyage across the seas.

Master storyteller Sonya Hartnett crafts a magical and moving fable about war and redemption . . . and what it means to be free. When the Germans attack their Romany encampment during World War II, Andrej and his younger brother, Tomas, flee through a ravaged countryside under cover of darkness, guarding a secret bundle. Their journey leads to a bombed-out town, where the boys discover a hidden wonder: a zoo filled with creatures in need of hope. Like Andrej and Tomas, the animals--wolf and eagle, monkey and bear, lioness and seal, kangaroo and llama-- have stories to share and a mission to reclaim their lives.

SURRENDER is a mesmerizing psychological thriller from extraordinary novelist Sonya Hartnett. I am dying: it’s a beautiful word. Like the long slow sigh of a cello: dying. But the sound of it is the only beautiful thing about it. As life slips away, Gabriel looks back over his brief twenty years, which have been clouded by frustration and humiliation. A small, unforgiving town and distant, punitive parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends - his dog, Surrender, and the unruly wild boy, Finnigan, a shadowy doppelganger with whom the meek Gabriel once made a boyhood pact. But when a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realizes how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. As events begin to spiral violently out of control, it becomes devastatingly clear that only the most extreme measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.

The Willows own a decaying caravan park. When trusting Oliver befriends an outsider intent on uncovering the secrets of their family, the Willows'' world is blown apart in a shocking climax. Published to much acclaim, Sleeping Dogs was the winner of both the 1996 Victorian Premier''s Literary Award Sheaffer Pen Prize and the 1996 Miles Franklin Inaugural Kathleen Mitchell Award.

"Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Nine-year-old Adrian watches his world closely, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighborhood children might set out to buy ice cream one summer’s day and never be seen again...In a suburb that is no longer safe and innocent, in a broken family of self-absorbed souls, Sonya Hartnett sets the story of a lone little boy — unwanted, unloved, and intensely curious — a story as achingly beautiful as it is shattering. A Children’s Literature Choice List Title Two starred reviews (Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews)

Internationally acclaimed author Sonya Hartnett tells a hauntingly beautiful story set during World War II. Cecily and Jeremy have been sent to live with their uncle Peregrine in the English countryside, safe from the war, along with a young refugee named May. But when Cecily and May find two mysterious boys hiding in the ruins of a nearby castle, an extraordinary adventure begins.

Struggling with insecurity stemming from her cruel-spirited and fickle friends and her own adolescent awkwardness, 14-year-old Plum worshipfully emulates a glamorous young wife who lives in her 1980s Australian suburb, unaware that the woman hides a personal agenda. By the author of Surrender.

As life slips away, Gabriel looks back over his brief twenty years that have been clouded by frustration and humiliation. A small town and distant parents ensure that he is never allowed to forget the horrific mistake he made as a child. He has only two friends – his dog Surrender, and the unruly wild boy Finnigan, with whom he made a boyhood pact. When a series of arson attacks grips the town, Gabriel realises how unpredictable and dangerous Finnigan is. Events begin to spiral out of control, and it becomes clear that only the most extreme of measures will rid Gabriel of Finnigan for good.

Sometimes, when there is evil enough, that evil comes to life, and sets up home with you...''He draws her close, envelops her as if with wings. She does not resist him or the kisses over her face and when he tilts her chin up, she lets him, exposing the flesh of her throat. When she goes home that day she will wear the marks of the devil, the clinging smell of oil, the bruising of her neck.'' This is a chilling and disturbing novel from the author of Sleeping Dogs and Wilful Blue.

A chilling, subtle, deeply absorbing mystery. Seven gifted young artists are collected together in a monastery. But tensions build, and death follows.

The forest is earth and leaves, sun and shade, feather and blood and bone. It is the old way, the true way the wild way to live. But, for Kian, wilderness is not home.