by Laini Taylor As a young orphan, Lazlo Strange loved nothing more than listening to a good story. At the monastery where Lazlo was raised, an old monk would tell him countless stories of a wondrous place far from their war torn land. Two hundred years ago this mysterious land of riches was cut […]
Masterminds By Gordon Korman Growing up in a town like Serenity has its perks: there’s no crime, no poverty, and honesty is valued above all. Kids like Eli, Randy, Tori, Amber, Malik and Hector are 13 years old and have known each other their entire lives. In their small town of 185 people, they pretty much […]
The Japanese LoverBy Isabel Allende The Japanese Lover is a love story steeped in history, using San Francisco as a backdrop for its measured progression. The book opens with Irina, a care aide at Lark House, a seniors’ home in San Francisco. Irina’s life begins in poverty in her native Moldova. As an immigrant to […]
Smoke Gets In Your EyesBy Caitlin DoughtyIn preparation for Caitlin Doughty’s second book I thought I would re-read her first. This member of the Order of the Good Death is a YouTube favourite of mine. I regularly enjoy her Morbid Minutes and Ask A Mortician series.Doughty writes very much like she speaks, making this an […]
by Janie Chang Dragon Springs Road by B.C. author Janie Chang combines historical fiction and fantasy to present a coming of age story for a Eurasian girl named Jialing. Jialing is abandoned by her mother and taken on as a bond slave by the Yang family. She develops a friendship of sorts with the family’s […]
Minds of WinterBy Ed O’Loughlin In 1845, the Erebus, an Arctic exploration vessel captained by Sir John Franklin was lost to the harsh conditions of the North. Neither man nor artifact was ever recovered from this expedition and there has been much speculation about what happened to the ship and its crew. However, historians […]
Revenge On The Fly By Sylvia McNicoll It’s the summer of 1912 and William Alton is traveling from Ireland to Canada to start a new life. William and his father, Arthur, will be reunited with Will’s Uncle Charlie and Will is to start school. The impoverished Altons have lost both Will’s mom and sister, Colleen, […]
by Heidi HeiligNix has spent her life sailing aboard her father’s ship, the Temptation. It’s not your average boat, though. As a Navigator, Nix’s father can steer the Temptation through space and time. As long as he has a map, he can take them there – even fantastical, supposedly imaginary places. Nix has spent […]
By Natasha Tarpley A mystery with history, The Harlem Charade unites three very different kids who must solve a brutal attack on a senior while tracking down some precious paintings that could help save their Harlem neighbourhood. Jin is being raised by her grandparents and spends a lot of time in their bodega (corner grocery […]
by Adam SilveraGriffin is a sixteen-year-old boy suffering in the aftermath of the loss of his ex-boyfriend Theo, who has just died in a drowning accident in California. On top of grieving the death of his first love, Griffin is also struggling with worsening symptoms of his OCD, the deterioration of his friendship with another […]