by N. K. Jemisin I read Jemisin’s excellent essay of the same name online in 2013 (http://nkjemisin.com/2013/09/how-long-til-black-future-month/), so when I picked up this book I was expecting a collection of essays, but was surprised (and pleased) when it turned out to be a collection of short stories instead. And what a collection it is! […]
Three Keys By Kelly Yang Mia Tang returns in this follow-up book to the amazing Front Desk. This time, Mia and her parents, along with some of their friends, are the owners of the Calivista Motel in Los Angeles. While they are always willing to welcome immigrants to their motel, there is a growing anger […]
Out Of This World By Chris Wooding Jack is just an ordinary twelve-year-old kid. His parents, however, are anything but ordinary. Jack’s dad is always putting him through grueling assault courses where Jack must fend off hidden attackers. His mom is always testing him on science and math concepts. Neither of Jack’s parents ever seem […]
By Patrick Taylor With the current pandemic keeping us apart from those we love, I am finding it important to connect in other ways. My reading choices of late seek comfort and escape and this has led me back to old friends, Doctor Fingal Flaherty O’Reilly, and Dr. Barry Laverty, GPs of the […]
Red Fox Road By Frances Greenslade Francie and her parents are on a road trip. They have left their home in Penticton and are driving to the Grand Canyon to do some hiking and camping. As they travel through Oregon, Francie’s dad decides to trust his new GPS and takes a shortcut down a remote […]
by Kathleen Rooney New York City, New Year’s Eve, 1984. A woman named Lillian Boxfish, about the same age as the century, has no particular place to be. Dressed in her favourite mink coat, she embarks on a miles-long stroll around lower Manhattan. The novel switches between Lillian’s encounters with ordinary New Yorkers and her […]
Kerry and the Knight of the Forest By Andi Watson Kerry’s parents are very sick and he is their only hope. So Kerry leaves their family farm to retrieve their lifesaving medicine. As he skirts the forest on the way back, he is led astray by what appears to be a little girl. But this […]
Tornado Brain By Cat Patrick Thirteen-year-old Frankie is different from the other kids in her life. She can’t stand loud noises and doesn’t always understand social cues. She’s been labelled “neurodivergent” – in other words, her brain works differently. Frankie is also fascinated by tornadoes, hence the term “tornado brain”. Frankie has always had two […]
Pine Island Home By Polly Horvath Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie McCready are four sisters who have travelled the world with their parents and lived in many places. During their time in Borneo, the unthinkable happens – their parents take a short vacation to Thailand and are killed in a tsunami. Luckily their Aunt Martha, […]
The Glass Hotel By Emily St. John Mandel Vincent grows up in the fictional village of Caiette, just across the water from Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. Her tiny town has no road and is accessible only by water taxi. Her unusual name (for a girl) was given to her by her mother, […]