This extraordinary story of courage and faith is based on the actual experiences of three girls who fled from the repressive life of Moore River Native Settlement, following along the rabbit-proof fence back to their homelands. Assimilationist policy dictated that these girls be taken from their kin and their homes in order to be made white. Settlement life was unbearable with its chains and padlocks, barred windows, hard cold beds, and horrible food. Solitary confinement was doled out as regular punishment. The girls were not even allowed to speak their language. Of all the journeys made since white people set foot on Australian soil, the journey made by these girls born of Aboriginal mothers and white fathers speaks something to everyone.

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The story of a lifetime told in the eye of a hurricane. Maria Sirena tells stories. She does it for money—she was a favorite in the cigar factory where she worked as a lettora—and for love, spinning gossamer tales out of her own past for the benefit of friends and family. But now, like a modern-day Scheherazade, she will be asked to tell a story so that eight women can keep both hope and themselves alive. Cuba, 1963. Hurricane Flora, one of the deadliest hurricanes in recorded history, is bearing down on the island. Seven women have been evacuated from their homes and herded into the former governor's mansion, where they are watched over by another woman, a young soldier of Castro's new Cuba named Ofelia. Outside the storm is raging and the floodwaters are rising. In a single room on the top floor of the governor's mansion, Maria Sirena begins to tell the incredible story of her childhood during Cuba's Third War of Independence; of her father Augustin, a ferocious rebel; of her mother, Lulu, an astonishing woman who fought, loved, dreamed, and suffered as fiercely as her husband. Stories, however, have a way of taking on a life of their own, and, swept up by her story's momentum, Maria Sirena will reveal more about herself than she or anyone ever expected. Chantel Acevedo's The Distant Marvels has the epic scope of a contemporary Gone with the Wind and a faith in the power of storytelling equal to Martel's Life of Pi. It is a family saga, a love story, a stunning historical account of the struggle against oppressors, and a long tender plea for forgiveness. The Distant Marvels is, finally, a life-affirming novel about love that lasts a lifetime and the very art of storytelling itself.

Doris Pilkington Garimara was born on traditional birthing ground under the wintamarra tree. Her life in the Mardu camp was disrupted when as a three-year-old she was taken by the authorities to live within the confines of Moore River Native Settlement. Her remarkable story follows on from the courageous journey of her mother Molly Craig, made legendary in the recently released film, 'Rabbit-Proof Fence'.

'Packed with heart and suspense; I absolutely loved it'- Jenny Ashcroft Things aren't always as they seem... A small town can be a refuge, but while its secrets are held, it's hard to know who to trust and what to believe. The Teacher's Secret is a tender and compelling story of scandal, rumor and dislocation, and the search for grace and dignity in the midst of dishonor and humiliation. Suzanne Leal draws us into a public school in the intimate town of Brindle, Australia in which vice principal Terry comes to generational loggerheads with stand-in principal Laurie concerning teachers and their treatment of their pupils. Told over four semesters, this conflict will slowly change their lives. Perfect for fans of The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys BrayWhat Reviewers and Readers Say:'Delicately woven• a big-hearted book,' Joanne Fedler&‘Elegantly structured, unsettling, yet with moments of surprising wit,&’ Kathryn Heyman&‘Masterfully constructed, this moving novel warns us of our capacity to make or break the lives of those around us• Drawn with wit and clear-eyed affection, the inhabitants of this wonderful novel will remain with you long after you have put it down.&’ Mark Lamprell&‘A rich interweaving of beautifully drawn characters told so gently and in such exquisite detail that they grew on me until I was lost in their world.&’ Robin de Crespigny'The Teacher&’s Secret is a gutsy yet intricate examination of one of society&’s nightmares, filled with strong characters and relationships interwoven in a storyline that has the reader engrossed to the last page,&’ Robert Wainwright&‘Suzanne Leal writes with her hand on her heart, writing according to its beat• translating the ordinary into the extraordinary. An Australian talent, universally understood.&’ Charles Waterstreet&‘Suspenseful, moving and full of heart. I couldn&’t put it down.&’ Richard Glover&‘An eloquent story of a life thrown into disarray; it drew me in and held me, page after page.&’ Rachel Seiffert&‘Suzanne Leal is a writer of unusual sensitivity, with a rare ability to shed light on the dark tangle of emotional attachments which lies just below the surface of everyday life.&’ John Colle'What a great read! I could not put it down. I can imagine this book being talked about and passed around from teacher to teacher in the school staff room and from parent to parent in the school car park ...' Schooldays Magazine

This Australian Screen Classic is about the movie "Rabbit-Proof Fence" based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. The 2002 film, written by Christine Olsen and directed by Phillip Noyce, tells the story of Doris Pilkingtons mother, the then fourteen-year-old Molly Craig, her sister Daisy, aged eight, and cousin Gracie, aged eleven, who were all forcibly removed from their families at Jigalong in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 1931. Taken to the Moore River Native Settlement, a mission on the western Australian coast some 2000 kilometres from home, they were to be trained as domestic servants. Desperately home sick, Molly, Daisy and Gracie escaped, and following the rabbit-proof fence, they walked thousands of kilometres across desert back home, all the while being stalked by the authorities. In this honest and frank account Eualeyai and Kamillaroi woman, academic and award-winning author Larissa Behrendt finds much about this story that resonates: the need and desire to find ones home, ones sense of place, ones sense of self. This is undoubtedly a universal quest but for Aboriginal people taken from their families, as these children were, that search for home, that need to feel complete, is all the more powerful. (

In 1931 the authorities seized 14-year-old Molly Craig from her desert home in Jigalong, western Australia, with her younger sister Daisy and cousin Gracie. Official policy decreed that the three girls be taken to the Moore River Native Settlement, where they were to be trained as domestic servants. Their trauma was intensified by Moore River's harsh regime and Molly soon decided it was time to go home, to their mothers. And the only way home was to walk. The true story of the girls' 1600 kilometre journey back to Jigalong is now a major film directed by Phillip Noyce. (3 male, 6 female).