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Autumn Bird and the Runaway
By Melanie Florence, Richard Scrimger. 2022
Two kids from different worlds form an unexpected friendship.Cody’s home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and…
abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a wicked sense of humour that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out.Autumn is, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks from him. Her home life is loving and secure, and she is “in” with the popular girls at school, even if she has a secret life as a glasses-wearing, self-professed comic book nerd at home. And even if the pressure to fit in at school requires hours of time spent making herself look “perfect.”Returning home from a movie one evening, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another beating from his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go either. Autumn won’t turn her back on him, even if they never really were friends at school. She agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio at night.Over the next couple of days of Autumn sneaking Cody food and bandages, his story comes out. And so does hers.Told in alternating narratives, Autumn Bird and the Runaway is a breathtaking collaboration by two of Canada’s finest writers of books for young readers. Infused with themes of identity, belonging and compassion, it’s a story that reminds us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think.Give It To Me
By Ana Castillo. 2014
Recently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently…
released from prison. As she checks out her other options, her sexual obsession with her cous' ignites but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Ana Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant for adventure. Give It to Me is Sex in the City for a Chicana babe who's looking for love in all the wrong places.Ana Castillo is one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature. She is the author of So Far From God and Sapogonia, both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, as well as The Guardians, Peelemselves onto love and desire are the same people who, at one time or another, must flee from it. An evocative page-turner."-Rigoberto González, author of Butterfly Boy, Memories of a Chicano Mariposa"Through deadpan humor, impulsive characters, and a romp across America, Castillo's absorbing novel is a search for twenty-first-century identity at a time when we find that very notion at its most unstable."-Tony Valenzuela, executive director of the Lambda Literary Foundation"In her new novel, Give It To Me, Castillo delivers a story that is both tawdry and transcendent. The sense of contemporary rootlessness chafes against deeply rooted Mexican-American culture creating a raw friction unlike any other story out there."-Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories"Give It To Me gives us a post-9/11, post-Bush, fast-talking, fast-walking multicultural, multiracial, multisexual panoply of characters...I thought I would die laughing."-Cheryl Clarke, author of The Days of Good Looks: Prose and Poetry 1980-2005"The novel, released last month, is a brave exploration of uninhibited feminine sexuality - at least on the surface. But it's also, in many ways, a great American novel, an examination of family, class issues and the search for happiness."-Las Cruces Sun-News"Full of drama and gossip (because who doesn't love chisme), this is a must-read for any chica in the process of finding her true self."-Krystyna Chávez for Cosmopolitan"Palma Piedras, 43 and divorced, tries on lovers of both sexes like a woman grabbing stilettos at a sample sale. She's a Latina Moll Flanders, cheeky and passionate, clawing her way up from some very mean streets. Raw, funny and real."-Marcia Menter for MoreRecently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently released from prison. As she checks out her other options, her sexual obsession with her cous' ignites but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Ana Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant for adventure. Give It to Me is Sex in the City for a Chicana babe who's looking for love in all the wrong places.Ana Castillo is one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature. She is the author of So Far From God and Sapogonia, both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, as well as The Guardians, PeelNW London: Roman
By Zadie Smith. 2013
Una novela magistral e íntima de la vida moderna de Londres. Los protagonistas de la historia, Leah, Natalie, Felix y…
Nathan, crecieron entre edificios de protección oficial y, ahora en la treintena, la ambición y el azar los han llevado a alcanzar posiciones sociales muy distintas. Los encuentros y desencuentros entre ellos ponen de manifiesto sus diferencias raciales, la validez del ascenso social, su actitud ante cuestiones de fondo como la maternidad, la amistad, la lealtad. Al tiempo que va desvelando los secretos de sus personajes, Zadie Smith ofrece al lector un recorrido por una zona de Londres tan cautivadora como violenta, donde las animosas avenidas enmarcan lóbregas callejas y errar el camino puede conducir a un callejón sin salida. Así pues, el incesante flujo de personas de todo tipo y color, individuos obligados a reinventarse día a día, año tras año, conforman un auténtico laboratorio de prueba de la sociedad mixta y universal que el futuro nos depara. Finalista del Premio Orange y del National Book Critics Circle Award, esta última novela de Zadie Smith viene a confirmar su sólida posición entre los autores más destacados del panorama narrativo en lengua inglesa. Dueña de una brillante combinación de sentido del humor, inteligencia y empatía, y de una especial sensibilidad para captar las facetas más peculiares de la naturaleza humana, Zadie vuelca como nadie la diversidad de voces, rostros y emociones de los habitantes del noroeste de Londres, barrio donde se crio y uno de los enclaves urbanos con mayor índice de multiculturalidad no sólo de Inglaterra, sino del mundo. Reseñas:«Esta novela es un compañero inesperado e irónico de Dientes blancos: un retrato más sombrío y matizado de la cultura multirracial.»Joyce Carol Oates «La brillante escritora Zadie Smith es la sucesora legítima de Dickens.»The Independent «Una novela excepcional, desternillante y, a veces, algo macabra. NW London es una declaración de amor, lírica y muy cómica, a la zona noroeste de Londres. Al igual que Dickens, Zadie Smith posee un don para los diálogos y para combinar la indignación social con el humor que le permite crear intensas obras literarias.»The Sunday Telegraph «Una soberbia novela, vital y airada.»The Telegraph «Una novela de amplio espectro, compleja, sobre las fuerzas que envenenan nuestros sueños de promoción económica [...]. Brillante [...], una radiografía del Londres contemporáneo.»The Washington PostEmpire of Wild: A Novel
By Cherie Dimaline. 2019
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLEROne of the most anticipated books of the summer for Time, Harper's Bazaar, Bustle and Publishers Weekly'Deftly…
written, gripping and informative. Empire of Wild is a rip-roaring read!' Margaret Atwood'Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive' Tommy Orange, author of There There 'Dimaline turns an old story into something newly haunting and resonant' New York Times'Close, tight, stark, beautiful - rich where richness is warranted, but spare where want and sorrow have sharpened every word. Dimaline has crafted something both current and timeless' NPR'Revelatory... Gritty and engaging, this story of a woman and her missing husband is one of candor, wit and tradition'Ms. Magazine Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year - ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One hung-over morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher. By the time she staggers into the tent the service is over, but as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.She turns, and there is Victor. Only he insists he is not Victor, but the Reverend Eugene Wolff, on a mission to bring his people to Jesus.With only two allies - her Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, and Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with deep knowledge of the old Métis ways - Joan sets out to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor, his life and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon her success.Inspired by traditional Métis legends, Cherie Dimaline has created a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel.Tropic of Violence
By Nathacha Appanah. 2016
Marie, a nurse on the island of Mayotte, adopts an abandoned baby and names him Moïse, raising him as a…
French boy. As he grows up, Moïse struggles with his status as an "outsider" and to understand why he was abandoned as a baby. When Marie dies, he is left alone, plunged into uncertainty and turmoil, ending up in the largest and most infamous slum on Mayotte, nicknamed "Gaza".Narrated by five different characters, Tropic of Violence is an exploration of lost youth on the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Shining a powerful light on problems of violence, immigration, identity, deprivation and isolation on this island that became a French département in 2011, it is a remarkable, unsettling new novel that draws on the author's own observations from her time on Mayotte.Cold White Sun
By Sue Farrell Holler. 2019
A stranger-than-fiction story based on the real-life experiences of a young boy who was smuggled out of Ethiopia amid political…
unrest to start a new life from nothing in Calgary, Alberta.Tesfaye lives behind the safe walls of his family’s compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His father is an important man, Tesfaye goes to one of the best schools in the city, his mother and older sisters keep him fed and cared for. He and his beloved brother, Ishi, can spend their time playing soccer, racing chickens and spying on the guests — as long as they stay away from the sharp horns of the family’s goat and avoid their father’s fiery temper.When rebel forces take over the capital, life becomes more complicated. Tesfaye’s father’s cousin takes him to live in the former imperial palace, and Tesfaye becomes the most favored son. His father takes him along when he gives political speeches and distributes leaflets. It is all very exciting, even if Tesfaye doesn’t pay attention to what the leaflets actually say.And then suddenly his father is arrested, and Tesfaye’s own life is in peril. His mother sends him into hiding in her father’s village, until even that is too dangerous. Tesfaye is put in the care of a human smuggler and embarks on an uncertain, confusing and terrifying journey through Kenya, Europe and finally to Canada, where he is put on a Greyhound bus with ten dollars and instructions to stay on the bus until someone tells him to get off. You are safe now, says the smuggler. You are in Canada. This country will protect you.And so begins his new life in North America, sheltered for a while by fellow expats, threatened by the authorities, shunted from a group home to foster care. But through it all he is plagued by confusion and grief, wondering whether he will ever know what has happened to the family he left behind.Key Text Featuresauthor’s notemaphistorical contextCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel (Plus Ser.)
By Paulo Coelho. 2010
Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried…
in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within.Since its first printing The Alchemist has been translated into seventy-one languages and sold forty million copies worldwide, establishing itself as a modern classic that will enchant and inspire readers for generations to come. Beautifully rendered, The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel is a must have for any collector's library.Acclaimed illustrator Daniel Sampere brings Paulo Coelho's classic to new life in this gorgeously illustrated graphic novel adaptation.The Warmest December: Gathering Of Waters, Glorious, The Warmest December, And Nowhere Is A Place
By Bernice L. McFadden. 2012
"McFadden's reissued second novel takes an unflinching look at the corrosive nature of alcoholism . . . This is not…
a story of easy redemption . . . McFadden writes candidly about the treacherous hold of addiction."--Publishers Weekly"Riveting. . . . So nicely avoids the sentimentality that swirls around the subject matter. I am as impressed by its structural strength as by the searing and expertly imagined scenes."--Toni Morrison, author of Beloved"The sharpness of the prose and power of the story make it hard to stop reading even the most brutal scenes . . . The story feels real perhaps because it’s familiar . . . Or maybe, as Frey points out, the story is too vivid to be read purely as fiction. But in this Precious-style novel, genre is the least of our concerns."--Bust magazine"This is a story that cuts across all race and social strata in its need to be told."--The Dallas Morning NewsThe Warmest December is the incredibly moving story of one Brooklyn family and the alcoholism that determined years of their lives. Narrated by Kenzie Lowe, a young woman reminiscent of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John, as she visits her dying father and finds that choices she once thought beyond her control are very much hers to make.Bernice L. McFadden is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels.