Moonlight and Dust

An intriguing, fast-paced debut YA fantasy novel, featuring sixteen-year-old Torres Strait Islander Zillah, who is caught up in the world of exclusive high school parties after her sister has a mysterious accident. For fans of kick-arse girls, enigmatic boys, true friendships, family secrets and illicit magic.

There's something dangerous in the air. It shimmers in the night, wrapped in the warm, humid breeze. I stand on the kerb outside my cousin's house waiting for my sister.

Zillah has always been a good girl - nothing like her rebellious big sister Nik. After Nik has an accident that leaves her comatose, Zillah has to find a way to navigate life and high school in Cairns without Nik's guiding light.

Determined to fit in, Zillah seeks out the secrets of her school's after-hours party scene and discovers Moondust - a sparkling elixir with magical properties. Could this have something to do with Nik's accident? To find out, she must plunge further into a world of moonlit parties and take out-of-character risks.

As Zillah unravels what might be going on at Craigmont High, she forges friendships with other Island students and starts falling for a boy who might know more about Nik than he lets on. But Zillah is not entirely sure who she can trust. And she has no idea of the danger they're all in.

A wonderful new voice in YA fantasy with a unique story about family and friendship, mysterious parties and unknowable secrets.

This book is a standalone

Recommended age: Ages 14–18 years (upper secondary / YA readers), older readers will also enjoy this mysteriously intoxicating story

Genre: YA fantasy / Magical realism

Jasmin McGaughey is a Torres Strait Islander and African American writer and editor. She is the author of the Little Ash series presented by Ash Barty and illustrated by Jade Goodwin. Jasmin started her publishing journey as a black&write! editor intern while she studied a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing followed by a Masters by research, investigating fantasy literature written by people of colour. In 2023, she won a Queensland Premier's Young Publishers and Writers Award. She has written for Overland, Kill Your Darlings, SBS Voices and Griffith Review and recently co-edited Words to Sing the World Alive. Jasmin's always loved storytelling, and she is proud to be able to work and learn in this field.