{"title":"Vikki Wakefield","description":"\u003cp\u003eVikki Wakefield is an acclaimed Australian author celebrated for her captivating storytelling and exploration of complex themes. Known for crafting narratives that resonate with both young adult and adult audiences, Wakefield's novels often delve into the intricacies of growing up, identity, and the challenges faced by her characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong her notable works, \u003cem\u003eAfter You Were Gone\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTo the River\u003c\/em\u003e are compelling reads in the Crime \u0026amp; Thriller genre, showcasing Wakefield's skill in weaving suspenseful and engaging tales. These stories offer readers a gripping exploration into the depths of human emotions and the mysteries that intertwine with them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHer Young Adult novels, including \u003cem\u003eAll I Ever Wanted\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBallad for a Mad Girl\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eFriday Brown\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eInbetween Days\u003c\/em\u003e, present a thoughtful journey through the trials of adolescence. Wakefield's keen insight into the teenage psyche and her ability to address issues like family dynamics, love, and self-discovery make these books perennial favourites among young readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis Is How We Change The Ending\u003c\/em\u003e, another exemplary Young Adult entry, captivates with its raw and realistic portrayal of young life, illustrating Wakefield's knack for creating authentic characters and narratives that leave a lasting impression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor those seeking books that offer more than just entertainment, Vikki Wakefield's works provide readers with thought-provoking themes and beautifully crafted prose that capture the essence of life's complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"after-you-were-gone-by-vikki-wakefield-9781922458001","title":"After You Were Gone","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA daughter abducted, an anonymous caller, a descent into madness—the first adult crime thriller by beloved Australian author Vikki Wakefield will have you on the edge of your seat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat happens to a family when a child goes missing?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a busy street market, Abbie lets go of six-year-old Sarah's hand. She isn't a bad mother, just exhausted. When she turns around, her daughter isn't there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSix years later, Abbie is in love and getting married. But her fragile peace is constantly threatened—not knowing what happened to Sarah is like living with a curse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen she receives a phone call from an unknown number. A man claims to know what happened to Sarah, but if Abbie tells anyone or fails to follow his instructions, she'll never find out. How far will Abbie go to know the truth?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePrize-winning and hugely popular author Vikki Wakefield turns her hand to the psychological thriller in this \u003cem\u003eunputdownable\u003c\/em\u003e novel that will disturb your dreams!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46541783662828,"sku":"9781922458001","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12991133482872.jpg?v=1749688082"},{"product_id":"all-i-ever-wanted-by-vikki-wakefield-9781921758300","title":"All I Ever Wanted","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAll I Ever Wanted\u003c\/em\u003e by Vikki Wakefield tells the story of Mim, a young girl who knows what she wants and where she wants to go—anywhere but home. Stuck in the suburbs with her disengaged mother, who won't get off the couch, and with two brothers in prison, Mim has set herself rules to live by, but she's starting to break them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMim's latest challenge is retrieving a lost package for her mother. But what does that make her—a drug runner? Her life is further complicated by a monstrous dog named Gargoyle hidden in the back shed and by Jordan, the boy she sent Valentines to for years, who has suddenly become a creep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe divide between Mim and her best friend Tahnee seems to be widening, and the mysterious moaning of the girl next door adds another layer of intrigue to her already chaotic world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver the nine days leading up to her seventeenth birthday, Mim's life is turned upside down. While she is determined to solve her problems herself, by the end, she learns who her true friends are, and gains a new perspective on everything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46541882228972,"sku":"9781921758300","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5994123482872.jpg?v=1749692955"},{"product_id":"ballad-for-a-mad-girl-by-vikki-wakefield-9781925355291","title":"Ballad for a Mad Girl","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone knows seventeen-year-old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She's a prankster and a risk-taker, and she's not afraid of anything—except losing. As part of the long-running feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a challenge to walk the pipe. That night she experiences something she can't explain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe funny girl isn't laughing anymore. She's haunted by voices and visions, but nobody believes a girl who cries wolf. As she's drawn deeper into a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding missing girl Hannah Holt, the thin veil between this world and the next begins to slip. She can no longer tell what's real or imagined—all she knows is the ghosts of Swanston, including that of her own mother, are restless. It seems one of them has granted her an extraordinary gift at a terrible price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEverything about her is changing—her body, her thoughts, even her actions seem to belong to a stranger. Grace is losing herself, and her friends don't understand. Is she moving closer to the truth? Or is she heading for madness?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBallad for a Mad Girl\u003c\/em\u003e is a suspenseful and haunting novel that explores the blurred lines between reality and imagination, the burden of secrets, and the search for truth deep within oneself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46542693957868,"sku":"9781925355291","price":22.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781925355291.jpg?v=1749764918"},{"product_id":"friday-brown-by-vikki-wakefield-9781921922701","title":"Friday Brown","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeventeen-year-old Friday Brown is on the run—escaping memories of her mother and the family curse. She’s also fleeing a grandfather who’d like her to stay. Lost, alone, and afraid, she encounters Silence, a street kid, and joins his gang led by the beautiful, charismatic Arden.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Silence is involved in a crime, the group escapes to a ghost town in the outback. In Murungal Creek, the town of never leaving, Friday must confront the ghosts of her past. She will learn that sometimes you have to stay to finish what you started, and often, before you can discover who you truly are, you have to become someone you never intended to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFriday Brown\u003c\/em\u003e by Vikki Wakefield is a compelling tale of self-discovery and facing the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46544520347884,"sku":"9781921922701","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7638133482872.jpg?v=1749776573"},{"product_id":"this-is-how-we-change-the-ending-by-vikki-wakefield-9781922268136","title":"This Is How We Change The Ending","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gritty, ultimately triumphant novel from one of Australia's most loved YA writers, the author of the award-winning \u003cem\u003eFriday Brown\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSixteen-year-old Nate McKee is doing his best to be invisible. He's worried about a lot of things—how his dad treats Nance and his twin half-brothers; the hydro crop growing in his bedroom; the way his friend Merrick always drags him into fights. And he has never forgiven his mother for leaving.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut none of it is his fight, right? He's just waiting for his time. Nate hangs out at YouthWorks, the local youth centre threatened with closure, and fills his notebooks with the things he can't say. But when some of his pages are stolen and his words are graffitied on the wall of the centre, Nate realises he has allies. He might be able to make a difference, change his life, and claim his future. Or can he?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis Is How We Change The Ending\u003c\/em\u003e is a story that will have you on the edge of your seat, hoping Nate will find a way out, despite the odds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46556444164332,"sku":"9781922268136","price":22.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11092483482872.jpg?v=1750148318"},{"product_id":"to-the-river-by-vikki-wakefield-9781922790590","title":"To the River","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA compulsively readable psychological thriller from the award-winning author of \u003cem\u003eAfter You Were Gone\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Kelly family has always been trouble. When a fire in a remote caravan community kills nine people, including 17-year-old Sabine Kelly's mother and sister, Sabine confesses to the murders. Shortly after, she escapes custody and disappears.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRecently made redundant from marriage, motherhood and her career, journalist Rachel Weirdermann has long suspected Sabine made her way back to the river. Now, twelve years after the 'Caravan Murders', she has the time and the tenacity to corner a fugitive and land the story of the year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRachel's ambition lights the fuse leading to a brutal chain of events, and the web Sabine weaves will force Rachel to question everything she believes. Vikki Wakefield's compelling story is about class, corruption, love, loyalty, and the vindication of truth and justice. And a brave dog called Blue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTo the River\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping exploration of human nature and the lengths to which people will go to protect what they hold dear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46675787743468,"sku":"9781922790590","price":40.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16317023482872.jpg?v=1752945291"},{"product_id":"inbetween-days-by-vikki-wakefield-9781922182364","title":"Inbetween Days","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJacklin Bates has life figured out—dropped out of school, moved in with her runaway sister, and in love with an older boy. But why does she have a sinking feeling that she still needs her mum?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps it's because she's stuck in Mobius—a dying town with the macabre suicide forest as its only attraction—stuck working in the roadhouse and babysitting her boss's demented father.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eInbetween Days\u003c\/em\u003e explores Jacklin's struggle with independence, family ties, and the haunting pull of her past. It is a poignant tale set against the backdrop of a town where life seems to be at a standstill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46730260316396,"sku":"9781922182364","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10234763482872.jpg?v=1755026802"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/vikki-wakefield.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}