Discovery HSC English: Self-Discovery

After a disastrous holiday with his girlfriend in Madrid, Lawrence Williams takes the train back to Paris where he is studying art history. Lawrence is twenty years old and discovering how to see the world, which means he doesn't mind too much when he gets stranded at the border.
That's when Élodie Lavelle enters his field of vision. She might be twice his age but she's amused by the boy's earnest charm. She decides to entertain herself by educating him in the rules of her society, treating him to an unforgettable evening in Biarritz.
But Élodie has not counted on what Lawrence might teach her in return, or how much their unlikely encounter will mark them both.

In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and eighteen-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers do everything to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side: the insurgents, physical fatigue, and the mental stress that comes from constant danger. Bound together since basic training when their tough-as-nails Sergeant ordered Bartle to watch over Murphy, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes impossible actions.

Meet Ed Kennedy - cab driving prodigy, pathetic card player and useless at sex (self proclaimed)...His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence - until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first Ace turns up. That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
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Late on a hot summer night at the tail end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by a knock on his window. His visitor is Jasper Jones. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. Jasper takes him to his secret glade in the bush, and it is here that Charlie bears witness to a horrible discovery.

Adelaide, 1977. It is the year Elvis died but for twelve-year-old Jake Taylor that doesn't really mean much. His world revolves around school; Rose Avenue, the street where he and his mum, Harry, live; and the courthouse where Harry is a barrister. His best friend, Robbie Duncan, lives only a few houses away and for them the Christmas holidays are for cricket, tennis and swimming at the pool or the beach. But then Rory Macbeath moves into the red brick house at the end of the avenue and everything starts to change. Rory and his family have emigrated to Australia from Glasgow and he and Robbie hit it off instantly. Jake has his doubts. But after long days and nights of swimming, fishing and daring each other into trouble, Jake comes to know Rory has talents and courage beyond anyone he has ever known. Like Harry, Rory Macbeath stands up to bullies. Harry does it in the courtroom. Rory does it closer to home. After a fishing trip with Robbie's dad, Mr Duncan brings Rory and the boys back to his house for dinner. But Rory disappears and everyone on Rose Avenue is about to discover why. For Jake and Rory nothing will ever be the same.

A collection of essays and memoir pieces on the topic of reading, in particular, what it means for writers to be readers and how that has shaped their life. The Simple Act of Reading will support Sydney Story Factory by emphasising the importance of reading in shaping an individual's future.

After a brilliant but asocial mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.

A master auctioneer becomes obsessed with an extremely reclusive heiress who collects fine art.

A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world.

A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.