Red by Libby Gleeson

Allen and Unwin, 2012. ISBN 9781741758535.
(Age: 12+) The young girl, covered in mud is lucky to have escaped a freakish cyclone that hit Sydney. Around her, the landscape is decimated. She is lucky that a young boy, named Peri, has come to her rescue.
Unfortunately, that is where her luck runs out. She can't remember who she is, where she lives or even whether she has a family. Only the name, Jay Martin, is fixed firmly in her head.
Peri decides to call her Red, a reference to her flaming curls. He takes her to a refuge centre for cyclone victims after she promises not to involve the police. He has his own reasons for distrusting them. Red is able to locate someone who knows her and slowly snippets of a former life flutter in her memory.
As Red starts to piece the jigsaw of her life together she isn't rewarded with a sense of comfort or belonging. Instead, she learns that before the cyclone she was entrusted with a grave mission, one that puts her life in real danger. Is she capable of accomplishing the task and how can she tell who the enemy is?
This is a fast paced, thrilling book guaranteed to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Once started, it is hard to put down. John Grisham for younger readers!
Tina Cain