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Showing 1 - 20 of 95 items
By Eden Robinson. 2017
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary…
mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer, and now she's dead. Bestseller. 2017.By Maureen Jennings. 2017
November 1917. The Great War is grinding on. Initially, Canadians are mostly eager to fight for the Empire, but the…
carnage is horrendous and with enforced conscription, the enthusiasm for war is dimming. William Murdoch is a widower, a senior detective who, thanks to the new temperance laws, spends his time tracking down bootleggers and tipplers. His wife, Amy, died giving birth to their second child, a girl who lived only a few hours more. Murdoch, racked by grief, withdrew from his four-year-old son Jack, which he deeply regrets. Now, Jack is twenty-one and has returned from France after being wounded. It is soon apparent that he is deeply troubled and bound by shared secrets to another soldier, Percy McKinnon. The night after Jack and McKinnon arrive home, a young man is found beaten to death in the impoverished area of Toronto known as the Ward. Soon after, Murdoch has to deal with a tragic suicide, also a young man. Two more attacks follow in quick succession. The only common denominator is that all of the men were exempted from conscription. Increasingly worried that Jack knows more than he is letting on, Murdoch must solve these crimes before more innocents lose their lives. Sequel to "A journeyman to grief". 2017.By Jonathan Auxier. 2018
Nineteenth-century England. After her father's disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her…
most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem. Winner of the 2018 Governor General’s Award for Young People's Literature. Grades 4-7. 2018.By David Bezmozgis. 2019
In the title story, a father and his young daughter stumble into a bizarre version of his immigrant childhood. A…
mysterious tech conference brings a writer to Montreal where he discovers new designs on the past in "How it Used to Be." A grandfather's Yiddish letters expose a love affair and a wartime secret in "Little Rooster." In "Roman's Song," Roman's desire to help a new immigrant brings him into contact with a sordid underworld. At his father's request, Victor returns to Riga, the city of his birth, and has his loyalties tested by the man he might have been in "A New Gravestone for an Old Grave." And, in the noir-inspired "The Russian Riviera," Kostya leaves Russia to pursue a boxing career only to find himself working as a doorman in a garish nightclub in the Toronto suburbs.By Alix Ohlin. 2019
"Evocative...traces [its] characters over long arcs of time and place with equal amounts grace and wit. Most revelatory is the…
way that each [sister] fights to find her own life as an artist outside the expectations of others and the demands of a male-dominated world."--Vogue A masterful achievement: a joint coming-of-age story and an achingly poignant portrait of the strange, painful, ultimately life-sustaining bonds between sisters. Lark and Robin are half-sisters whose similarities end at being named for birds. While Lark is shy and studious, Robin is wild and artistic. Raised in Montreal by their disinterested single mother, they form a fierce team in childhood regardless of their differences. As they grow up, Lark excels at school and Robin becomes an extraordinary pianist. At seventeen, Lark flees to America to attend college, where she finds her calling in documentary films, and her sister soon joins her. Later, in New York City, they find themselves tested: Lark struggles with self-doubt, and Robin chafes against the demands of Juilliard. Under pressure, their bond grows strained and ultimately is broken, and their paths abruptly diverge. Years later, Lark's life is in tatters and Robin's is wilder than ever. As Lark tries to take charge of her destiny, she discovers that despite the difficulties of their relationship, there is only one person she can truly rely on: her sister. In this gripping, unforgettable novel about art, ambition, sisterhood, motherhood, and self-knowledge, Alix Ohlin traces the rich and complicated lives of two indelible women. Dazzlingly insightful and beautifully crafted, Dual Citizens captures the unique language of sisters and makes visible the imperceptible strings that bind us to the ones we love for good.By Zalika Reid-Benta. 2019
Kara Davis is a girl caught in the middle -- of her Canadian nationality and her desire to be a…
"true" Jamaican, of her mother and grandmother's rages and life lessons, of having to avoid being thought of as too "faas" or too "quiet" or too "bold" or too "soft." Set in "Little Jamaica," Toronto's Eglinton West neighbourhood, Kara moves from girlhood to the threshold of adulthood, from elementary school to high school graduation, in these twelve interconnected stories. We see her on a visit to Jamaica, startled by the sight of a severed pig's head in her great aunt's freezer; in junior high, the victim of a devastating prank by her closest friends; and as a teenager in and out of her grandmother's house, trying to cope with the ongoing battles between her unyielding grandparents. A rich and unforgettable portrait of growing up between worlds, Frying Plantain shows how, in one charged moment, friendship and love can turn to enmity and hate, well-meaning protection can become control, and teasing play can turn to something much darker. In her brilliantly incisive debut, Zalika Reid-Benta artfully depicts the tensions between mothers and daughters, second-generation Canadians and first-generation cultural expectations, and Black identity and predominately white society.By André Alexis. 2019
Botanist Alfred Homer, ever hopeful and constantly surprised, is invited on a road trip through Southwestern Ontario by his parents'…
friend, Professor Morgan Bruno, who wants company as he tries to unearth the story of the mysterious poet John Skennen. But this is no ordinary road trip. As Alfred and the Professor encounter towns with familiar names but where Black residents speak only in sign language or where there are Indigenous Parades, house burnings, werewolves, and witches. Bestseller.By Kit Pearson. 2019
For as long as she can remember, Maisie has spent her summers on Kingfisher Island. She and her beloved cousin…
Una run wild, and Maisie feels the warm embrace of her big, extended family. This summer Maisie needs that escape more than ever. But now everything on Kingfisher has changed: Una has returned from her mainland school a sophisticated young woman too mature for childish games, and even worse, she has an all-consuming infatuation with David Meyer, both an old friend and an older man. Soon Maisie finds herself playing second fiddle-jealous of Una and David's closeness, and unsure of what those feelings mean. When Maisie's greatest attempt to maintain the special magic of her friendship with Una goes up in smoke, it seems as though all is lost. But with an enormous revelation, and a heartrending intervention, Maisie may finally discover the strength she needs to find the same peace that the island has brought her within herself. Grades 5-8. 2019.By Sabina Khan. 2019
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali is looking forward to going to Caltech and getting away from her conservative Muslim parents' expectation that…
she will marry, especially since she is in love with her girlfriend Ariana--but when her parents catch her kissing Ariana, they whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh and a world of tradition and arranged marriages, and she must find the courage to fight for the right to choose her own path. For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By Courtney Summers. 2018
Sadie's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated Colorado town, trying her best to provide a normal life and…
keep their heads above water. When Mattie is found dead, and the police investigation is botched, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice. She hits the road following a few meager clues. When West McCray, a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America, hears Sadie's story, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. For senior high readers. Winner of the 2020 White Pine Fiction Award. 2018.By Tanaz Bhathena. 2019
After her family moves from Saudi Arabia to Canada, Susan Thomas strives to meet her parents' expectations of excellence. Malcolm…
Vakil is the bad boy who started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer. Susan wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn't know what he wants-- until he meets her. In spite of their differences-- and their burdens-- Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. As they drift apart and come back together, will they be able to be true to who they are? For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By Ben Philippe. 2019
Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian whose family…
just moved to Austin, Texas, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. He's amusing himself until it's time to go back to Canada. But soon those labels become actual people: loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris; Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. And Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl might be a real love interest in the making. When Norris screws everything up royally on prom night, will he be able to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions, and start living his life? For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By Eileen Cook. 2019
Kim's boyfriend dumped her-- and now she's stuck on a class trip to London with him and his new soulmate.…
Kim can't help wishing Connor was a little bit dead, even if she'd never really do that. On the plane she meets Nicki, who is more than willing to listen to Kim’s woes. When Nicki jokes about swapping murders, Kim plays along-- that is, until Kim's ex-boyfriend mysteriously dies. Blackmailed by Nicki to fulfill her end of the deal, Kim will have to commit a murder, or take the fall for one. For junior and senior high readers.By Todd Babiak. 2019
Summer 1989. Fourteen-year-old Adam Lisinski is a star in his small town of Monument, Colorado. He's poised to be a…
starter on his high school football team, even though he's only a sophomore. He has a part-time job at Eugene's Gas Stop where he works with his best friend, Simon Kinoro. Adam would see his girlfriend, Phoebe Brandt, more if he could, but he makes due with time alone at Monument Lake after her ballet lessons. His mother, Helen, euthanizes sick animals all day at the veterinary clinic. She loves him dearly, but Adam knows she worries. And then Beatrice Cyr arrives in Monument, and Adam is distracted from everything that matters to him. He's mesmerized the second she steps out of his neighbour Marv Walker's truck, and desperate to be around her even if he's confused about what she wants or where she comes from. Soon, Beatrice finds ways to be alone with him--in the change room at Modern You, the clothing store on Second Street, at the movie theatre, in Marv's truck--and Adam's hopelessly caught between wanting to be with her and lying to everyone he loves. And when Beatrice convinces Helen to quit her job and undertake an ambitious real estate venture, Adam's forced to make an impossible choice.By Anna Humphrey. 2018
Daniel Misumi has just moved to a new house. It's big and old and far away from his friends and…
his life before. AND it's haunted ... or is it? Megabat was just napping on a papaya one day when he was stuffed in a box and shipped halfway across the world. Now he's living in an old house far from home, feeling sorry for himself and accidentally scaring the people who live there. Daniel realizes it's not a ghost in his new house. It's a bat. And he can talk. And he's actually kind of cute. Megabat realizes that not every human wants to whack him with a broom. This one shares his smooshfruit. Add some buttermelon, juice boxes, a light saber and a common enemy and you've got a new friendship in the making! Winner of the 2020 Silver Birch Express Award. Grades 3-6. 2018.By Karen Rivers. 2019
Twelve-year-old kit-with-a-small-k likes shopping at the flea market with her best friend, Clem, roller-skating, climbing to the roof to look…
at the stars, and volunteering at an animal shelter. Until suddenly she has a really big, really strange secret that makes life more complicated than she's prepared for: Sometimes, without warning, she turns into a tiny naked mole rat. It first happened as kit watched Clem fall and get hurt during a performance with her acrobatic-troupe family on TV. Since then, the transformations keep coming. Kit can't tell Clem, because Clem hasn't been herself after the accident. She's mad and gloomy and keeping a secret of her own: the real reason she fell. Months later, kit and Clem still haven't figured out how to deal with all the ways they have changed-both inside and out. Somehow, kit has to save the day. But she's no hero, and turning into a naked mole rat isn't a superpower. Or is it? Grades 4-7. 2019.By Ria Voros. 2019
Grace Carter's mother, GG, is everything teenage Grace is not. GG is glamorous and breezy, while Grace is a low-key…
dreamer. The two may share a name, but that's where the similarities stop. With nothing much in common, the two hardly speak to each other. Then one day GG is just gone. Cameras descend on their house, news shows speculate about what might have happened, and Grace's family struggles to find a new rhythm as they wait for answers. While the authorities begin to unravel the mystery behind GG's disappearance, Grace finds herself learning secrets from her mother's long-lost past. The more Grace learns, the more she wonders. Did she ever really know her mother? Was GG abducted, or did she leave? And if she left, why? For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By S. K. Ali. 2019
Eighteen-year-old Muslims Adam and Zayneb meet in Doha, Qatar, during spring break and fall in love as both struggle to…
find a way to live their own truths. For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By Nicki Preto. 2019
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders: legendary…
heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire. Then a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka disguises herself as a boy to seek out the Riders. But the new empire has learned of the Riders' return-- and intends to destroy them once and for all. For junior and senior high readers. 2019.By Marty Chan. 2019
Jon loves his new celebrity status. Everyone assumes that because he's Chinese, Jon Wong must be a first-class nerd who's…
good at math. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to shake the stereotypes. And then a rumor starts going around that Jon is a kung fu master. Rather than correct the mistake, Jon plays up the role and enjoys all the attention. But when the school bully challenges him to prove his skills, Jon must find a way to keep his status as the cool kid. Without getting pulverized. Grades 3-6. 2019.