Twelve-year-old Iris has been sent to Spain on a mission: to make sure her elderly and unusual aunt, Ursula, leaves her fortune-and her sprawling estate-to Iris's scheming parents. But from the moment Iris arrives at Bosque de Nubes, she realises something isn't quite right. There is an odd feeling around the house, where time moves slowly and Iris's eyes play tricks on her. While outside, in the wild and untamed forest, a mysterious animal moves through the shadows. Just what is Aunt Ursula hiding? But when Iris discovers a painting named Iris and the Tiger, she sets out to uncover the animal's real identity-putting her life in terrible danger. Leanne Hall is an author of novels for young adults including the Text Prize-winning This Is Shyness and its sequel Queen of the Night. Iris and the Tiger is her first work for younger readers. Leanne has had shorter pieces published in Meanjin, Age, Best Australian Stories and the anthology Growing Up Asian In Australia. Her work plays with the borders of reality and fantasy. Leanne has worked in the arts, educational publishing and as a bookseller, but her enduring passion is for youth literature. 'The surrealist magic is the most refreshing element of the book: it's a kind of magical realism that is unusual in children's and YA fantasy...Iris and the Tiger will appeal to older primary and younger high-school readers who like magic and are, like Iris, bored by teen romances.' Books & Publishing