They say music is the universal language… Since an alien selected her to be his time-travelling partner, Joss has met an assassin, confronted an anti-alien lobby and had her freewheeling lifestyle nipped in the bud by the high security that surrounds the first Chorian to study on Earth! But life with Mavkel is not really that bad, especially considering harmonica-playing Joss is fascinated by Chorians – a harmonising species who communicate through song. Only, Mavkel is sick – he is pining for his lost twin, and his will to live is draining away. Joss wants to help but this means breaking the rules and going back to the petri dish where it all began. SINGING tHE DOGStAR BLUES won the 1998 Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was shortlisted for the 1999 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction. It was also listed as a Children's Book Council Notable Book, and an American Library Association Best Book (2004). Ages 14+
