The Award 'will be made to outstanding books of fiction, drama, or poetry which require of the reader a degree of maturity to appreciate the topics, themes and scope of emotional involvement. Note: from 1946 to 1986 this award was known as 'Book of the Year'.

The Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers has been presented annually since 1946 by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Outstanding Australian books (fiction, drama, illustrated text, poetry or graphic novels) for 13 – 18-year olds This enthralling, well-wrought novel was the Australian ''1989 Book of the Year for Older Children.Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers Shifting the point of view also allows readers to experience both Brenton's angst and Victoria's perspective as a newcomer. Garden as if you will live forever.'' Rubinstein uses the provocative device of alternative conclusions here-weighting the reader's dice only slightly-and skillfully realizes the Trethewans' discord and affection with nicely selected detail that makes them unique as well as familiar. Brenton is given a choice: to leave this doomed world and go with her, or to stay and try to make peace by following Victoria's dad's precept: ''Live as if you will die tomorrow. Unused to Earth's infections, however, she soon needs urgently to return home.

Cal finds this civilization's customs curiously wrong-minded, and she hints that it will prove ephemeral. Then Brenton and Victoria encounter Cal, who seems to be an aboriginal child (thus the object of prejudice) but is actually an extraterrestrial anthropologist from the future. Victoria has spent several years in Nigeria with her loving, sensible parents but now that she's 12, they've sent her home to Australia for school and to spend holidays with the also loving, but troubled, Trethewan family, whose constant bickering is particularly exacerbated by 14-year-old Breton-an intense loner who tries to expunge his terror of the nuclear threat by decorating his room with reminders of it and whose favorite pastime is a sort of Dungeons and Dragons game book, Labyrinth of Dead Ends, for which alternatives are chosen by throwing dice.

Beyond the labyrinth gillian rubinstein