Books
A word after a word after a word is power.
- Margaret Atwood -
Title:
Out of the Box
A One-stop guide to navigating neurodivergence
The only Australian book that brings together expert advice, lived experience, interviews and up-to-date resources to help neurodivergent children thrive.
An increasing number of Australian children are being diagnosed with variations in their brain development. These can include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and dyslexia.
Authors Madonna King and Rebecca Sparrow have surveyed and interviewed almost 2000 Australians - including medical experts, educators, neurodivergent children and their parents - to gather together the best and most useful tips to ensure neurodivergent children take their rightful place in classrooms and beyond.
Out of the Box offers best-practice advice on navigating diagnosis and ongoing challenges, such as finding friends and learning at school. It also provides vital advice for teens, including driving, living independently and applying for jobs.
This essential guide provides hope, insight and practical help for the neurodivergent child's journey and the parents, teachers, friends and family who share it.
Title:
Ask Me Anything
(heartfelt answers to 65 anonymous questions from teenage girls)
‘How do you know if your friends really like you?’
‘What does it feel like to be actually happy?’
‘I’m ugly. How will I ever get a boyfriend?’
‘How can I feel closer to my mum who died?’
Inside this book you’ll find honest and deeply personal questions from teenage girls, just like you.
Bestselling author Rebecca Sparrow’s answers will make you laugh and cry and offer just the right measure of advice and comfort whenever or wherever you need it most.
Praise for Ask Me Anything:
‘Every one of Rebecca Sparrow’s wise words is like a warm hug to the teenage soul.’
Lisa Wilkinson,
TODAY
‘Every teenage girl needs Rebecca Sparrow in her life.’
Robin Bailey,
radio and television presenter
‘Real, down-to-earth answers, delivered with empathy and heart.’
Caroline Overington,
journalist and associate editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly
“A ‘How to Survive High School and Beyond’ manual . . . written by your best friend”
Frances Whiting,
author and journalist
Title:
Find Your Feet
(the 8 things I wish I’d known before I left high school)
Everybody knows finishing high school and deciding what to do next can be tough. Should you go to university? TAFE? Get an apprenticeship? Or just travel the world? Plus there’s all the new pressures – like budgets, living out of home, making choices about a career you aren’t sure of, relationships, eating well, making friends and … the list goes on!
So how do you get through it? Glad you asked. From the author of The Girl Most Likely and Find Your Tribe (and 9 other things I wish I’d known in high school) comes the follow-up book, Find Your Feet (the 8 things I wish I’d known before I left high school), a practical, humorous, guide for girls to help them navigate their post year-12 years and beyond. This little book will be invaluable and a must-read for those who need a little help in surviving the years after school.
Praise for Find Your Feet:
‘Rebecca Sparrow is the big sister I never had, and she gives advice I would loved to have received. She is worth listening to. The fact that she includes reliable sources lets me trust her even more …’
Good Reading Magazine
‘An important and uplifting book. Her advice is so smart and universal that I found myself taking notes to apply to my own life. [Find Your Feet] should be considered by anyone working with teenagers.’
BooksPublishing
‘There’s wisdom, persuasion, honesty and a lovely sense of bonhomie all delivering sensible advice in a reader-friendly format. A valuable GPS for teen girls.’
Courier-Mail
‘Rebecca Sparrow gives tough, wise love in a vibrant, honest voice.’
Magpies
‘… Written with a serious but humorous style … [Find Your Tribe and Find Your Feet] offer a great foundation for dealing with some of the concerns girls face in high school and beyond.’
Women’s Agenda Blog
‘In a warm, funny voice with which teenage girls will connect, Rebecca Sparrow discusses the freedom and responsibilities that come after high school.’
Brisbane’s Child Magazine
‘Sparrow manages to chat her way through a range of topicsincluding wisdom, persuasion, honesty and a lovely sense of bonhomie, all delivering sensible advice.’
Daily Telegraph
TITLE:
Find Your Tribe
(AND 9 OTHER THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN IN HIGH SCHOOL)
The little black book of information that every teenage girl should read. Everybody knows high school can be tough. There are days when your favourite teacher tells you off. When the person you have a crush on fails to notice you even exist. When your best friend behaves more like your worst enemy. And when even the C-grade netball team thinks you’d be a dead weight and have the defending skills of a stapler. So how do you get through it? Glad you asked. From the author of The Girl Most Likely comes Find Your Tribe (and 9 other things I wish I’d known in high school), a practical, humorous, guide for girls to help them negotiate their teen years and beyond.
Laugh along with Rebecca as she reveals a few of her own less-than-shining-high-school-moments (like the time she accidentally set fire to her fake finger nails) but know that whether it’s finding your tribe, your classroom or your confidence, this little black book will be an invaluable guide.
Praise for Find Your Tribe:
“An insightful book that is inspiring, uplifting, motivating and really funny! Packed with common sense tools to get through those tricky teenage years.”
Sarah Murdoch
‘Peppered with LOL anecdotes from Rebecca’s own school days, it’s the perfect antidote for any first year nerves.’
Dolly
Sparrow is gifted writer with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop-culture and sense of what’s important in life. Definitely one for the satchel!’
Girl with a Satchel
‘A concise, informative, chatty and highly relevant book for those beginning high school.’
Reading Time
TITLE:
The Girl Most Likely
When you were 17, what did you think your life would be like when you hit 27?
At 17, Rachel Hill was the girl most likely to succeed. At 27, with an Honours degree and a career as a travel writer, she wonders if marriage is the only thing missing from this perfect trifecta. But one disastrous life decision changes everything. Suddenly Rachel is living back at home in her childhood bedroom – a room still celebrating 1987. She’s also working as a nanny for a surly six-year-old, proof reading erotic fiction and crucifying movie theme songs on the piano.With Su-su-sudio in the cassette deck, Rachel tumbles head first into a quarter life crisis. As she revisits her idea of perfection, she finds that happiness is living the life you want to live, rather than the one you’re expected to.
Praise for The Girl Most Likely:
“Irresistibly funny …”
The Daily Telegraph
“You’ll enjoy every page of this fresh and funny first novel.”
Woman’s Day
“Laugh-out-loud hilarious.”
B Magazine
“Rebecca Sparrow deserves a big round of applause for this impossible to put down, quirky story with terrific characters and laughs aplenty.”
NW Magazine
TITLE:
The Year Nick McGowan Came To Stay
Rachel Hill is the girl most likely to succeed. And the girl most likely to have everything under control … that is, until her father invites Nick McGowan, the hottest boy at school, to live with them. Rachel sees a recipe for disaster, but her best friend Zoë thinks it’s the perfect opportunity for lerve. Nick and Rachel get off on the wrong foot. Nick immediately labels Rachel as spoilt and uptight. Rachel dismisses Nick as lazy and unfocused. But a secret from Nick’s path draws them together and makes the year Nick McGowan came to stay one that Rachel will never forget.
Praise for The Year Nick McGowan Came To Stay
“An insightful book that is inspiring, uplifting, motivating and really funny! Packed with common sense tools to get through those tricky teenage years.”
Sarah Murdoch
‘Peppered with LOL anecdotes from Rebecca’s own school days, it’s the perfect antidote for any first year nerves.’
Dolly
Sparrow is gifted writer with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop-culture and sense of what’s important in life. Definitely one for the satchel!’
Girl with a Satchel
‘A concise, informative, chatty and highly relevant book for those beginning high school.’
Reading Time
TITLE:
(CO-WRITTEN WITH NICK EARLS)
Everyone knows that Joel and Cat hate each other. Then they end up partners in a writing assignment. By the second paragraph they’re in the thick of an all-out tandem story war. Then Cat’s dad and Joel’s mum start dating, and they can finally agree on something – it’s got to stop. But will sparks fly between Joel and Cat for all the right reasons as they go about setting a few things straight?
A very funny, very clever “tandem” story but two of Australia’s favourite authors.
Praise for Joel and Cat Set The Story Straight
“Nick and Rebecca are a match made in heaven.”
The Age
“One of the funniest and most memorable reads of the year in YA fiction”
Sydney Morning Herald.
“Laugh-out-loud hilarious.”
B Magazine
“Rebecca Sparrow deserves a big round of applause for this impossible to put down, quirky story with terrific characters and laughs aplenty.”
NW Magazine
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