The tower at Hollow Wattle

A haunting coming‑of‑age story set in a small Australian town, the novel follows Noah Morne, a quiet, withdrawn boy drawn inexplicably to the rust‑eaten water tower that looms over Hollow Wattle. Hoping to escape the echoes of his abusive past, Noah slips into the orbit of the local cool kids — Ryan, Lila, and their friends — who introduce him to booze, weed, and a world he never thought he’d be part of.   Their acceptance is shaky at best: Noah is often the punchline of their “just joking” cruelty, though Lila’s gentle protectiveness becomes a rare source of warmth, sparking a tender crush he tries to hide.   As Noah grows closer to Lila, Ryan’s behaviour shifts. What begins as rough teasing slowly hardens into something sharper, fuelled by a creeping suspicion he can’t quite articulate. His unease mirrors the town’s own rising tension, as the tower’s presence deepens and strange undercurrents stir beneath Hollow Wattle’s surface.   When the truth behind Noah’s pull to the tower finally surfaces, it becomes clear that its rusted heights have been waiting for him — deliberately, and for far longer than he ever understood.