Mark Smith’s first standalone young adult novel following his hugely successful Winter trilogy. An impassioned plea for climate change action that will inspire and empower.
IF NOT US
by Mark Smith
Text Publishing Australia, October 2021
Hesse lives in a small coastal town, where a coalmine and power station are a part of the scenery, and a part of the ever-growing problem of climate change. His mother is a member of a local environmental group campaigning to close the mine and shut down the power station. It’s a no-brainer, of course, but Hesse is more interested in surfing—and in Fenna, the new exchange student from the Netherlands. But when someone seems to be trying to derail the campaign, and his friends’ families face losing their jobs, Hesse begins to realise that things are complex. Even though he’s reluctant to step into the spotlight, with Fenna’s encouragement he decides it’s time to make a stand. Because some things are too important to leave to everyone else. And even one small, nervous voice can make a difference. When Hesse agrees to speak at a protest meeting he has no idea of the storm he is about to unleash.
Mark Smith is an award-winning author. He lives, works and surfs on Victoria’s Surf Coast. The first book in his acclaimed Winter trilogy, The Road to Winter, is widely taught in secondary schools and loved by readers of all ages, and Wilder Country, the second book of the trilogy, won the 2018 Indie Book of the Year for Young Adults.
Seventeen-year-old Poppy Winslow doesn’t know why her family has been running her entire life. Her beautiful, caring, mysterious parents won’t tell Poppy and her younger sister why they won’t disclose their true identities or why they move every few years. Poppy’s family is everything to her, but with each passing year, her curiosity has only grown, and she is beginning to wonder how she can have her own future when staying with her parents means giving up a normal life. When the family lands in San Francisco, Poppy comes across a DNA testing kit at school and seizes the chance to try and find out more about her family’s history. But she may not be ready for the shocking truth of her parents’ real identities or the fallout from her actions as the net tightens around the Winslow family. And now she must ask herself: how much of herself does she owe her family? And is it a betrayal to find her own place in the world?
Everyone likes Hani Kahn—she’s easy going and one of the most popular girls at school. But when she comes out to her friends as bisexual, they invalidate her identity, saying she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Panicked, Hani blurts out that she’s in a relationship…with a girl her friends absolutely hate—Ishita Dey. Ishita is the complete opposite of Hani. She’s an academic overachiever who hopes that becoming head girl will set her on the right track for college. But Ishita agrees to help Hani, if Hani will help her become more popular so that she stands a chance of being elected head girl. Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after. 
Welcome to Ebonwilde. 
Seventeen-year-old Dare Chase is the star of a popular ghost-hunting YouTube channel—or she was, until her boyfriend and channel co-creator dumps her right after junior year. Dare’s determined to prove she can find success on her own, and thanks to a tip from a fan, she knows just where to start: the Arrington Estate. Arrington is known for its dark past, notably the mysterious death of Atheleen Bell, a teenager who drowned in the lake thirty years prior—and whose body was inexplicably skeletal when it was recovered only hours after her death. Along with the rumors of ghosts on the premises, this is the perfect subject for Dare’s new paranormal investigative podcast. Dare herself doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more to Atheleen’s death, so she accepts an internship working to turn the old house into a museum. As she digs deeper into the mystery with the help of Quinn, the new homeowner’s daughter, and as her podcast gets more popular, it becomes clear that someone—or something—doesn’t want Dare getting too close to the truth. Soon, Dare will have to reckon with the possibility that ghosts could be more real than she thinks. Because there’s something lurking in the lake…and it hasn’t finished with her yet.