Specks in the Sky

This debut novel written by Ben Rice is actually two novellas back-to-back: you read one, flip it over, and there's the other. It's a nice touch that suits these playful stories, written about children for adults. Pobby and Dingan concerns two imaginary friends who disappear down an Aussie opal mine. Their human pal, Kellyanne, begins to waste away with worry, while her brother, Ashmol, mobilises the whole town to search for them.

The Specks in the Sky are a team of crack parachutists who set up camp in the rundown camel safari where tomboy Ryder lives with her mother and sister. The men are uncannily perfect but events take a turn for the gory. These are giddily tall tales that wrongfoot you at every turn and still manage to charm your socks off.