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Past Featured Books Age: Young Adults, A to H
A B C D E F G H
Books are listed Alphabetically by Title:
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17: A Novel in Prose Poems |
| Altough seventeen, Stephanie looks fourteen with her underdeveloped body, and her affinity for poetry. She is intrigued by Denny Pistil, the son of a wealthy lawyer. Denny lavishes praise on her poetry and pays passionate attention to her. Stephanie’s mother, a potter, whose behaviour teeters in and out of mental health, makes Stephanie question her own phobias about food. As the seasons change from autumn to winter to spring, Stephanie is transformed from giddiness to deep despair to renewal, as her relationship with Denny fades and is replaced with friendship with Ben. An emotionally honest story, this is told in the spare style of prose poems. | |
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19 Varieties of Gazelles: Poems of the Middle East |
Sparked by the events of September 11, 2001, these poems, some new, some previously offered in other anthologies seek to focus on peace. Some are examinations of Arabic life and being Palestinian in America; others are metaphors of the small details of everyday life obscured or even lost in larger events. Full of life and joy, these poems touch our common humanity. |
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2001: A Space Odyssey |
| While exploring the moon, scientists discover a monolith that emits a high powered signal to Saturn. Sent to find out the recipient of the signal is the crew of the spacecraft, Discovery, controlled by an advanced HAL 9000 computer that oversees all aspects of the ship’s systems. HAL has been modeled a little too closely on the human mind including guilt and neuroses. As the ship approaches Saturn, two increasingly terrified navigators struggle to cope with HAL and the frightening possibility that they will find only more questions, and no answers. A classic of this genre by one of its preeminent authors. | |
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24 Hours |
| Ellis, who is 17, has just returned from prep school, where he has decided to become an actor. At the same time he is coping with the suicide of a friend. In his first day at home, he meets an old acquaintance who introduces him to a chichi party, three stunning sisters living in a dilapidated motel, and their odd assortment of associates. In the course of the next 24 hours, Ellis assists in the rescue of a kidnapped child, and the arrest of the kidnapper. He shaves his head and gets a tattoo, and incidentally, learns a lot about himself. | |
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Acceleration |
| Seventeen-year old Duncan is working this summer in the lost-and-found department of the Toronto Transit Commission. While rummaging through the detritus that will not likely ever be claimed, he finds a small leather-bound diary. In reading its contents, Duncan becomes convinced that the diarist has graduated from eviscerating small animals and setting fires, to stalking human prey on the Toronto subway system. Neither his parents nor the police take Duncan’s concerns seriously, so he turns for help to his two friends. As they endeavour to solve this mystery, the pace accelerates to its heart-stopping conclusion. Winner of the Edgar Alan Poe Best Young Adult Award | |
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Ada Blackjack: A True Tale of Survival in the North |
| Ada Blackjack was a 23-year old Inuit woman who applied to accompany four young men under the direction of explorer Vilhjalmer Steffanson, to travel to the Arctic’s Wrangel Island in an effort to claim it for Canada. When a supply ship fails to reach them as their first year on the island ends, three of the men left their ailing colleague in Ada’s care and set off for Siberia to find help. They were never seen again. After the death of her companion, Ada managed to survive alone. When she returned to the mainland, the jockeying for her story and the ignominious treatment she received from Steffanson make her story haunting. | |
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Alchemist's Door, The |
| At the end of the sixteenth century, alchemist John Dee and his assistant Edward Kelley conjure up a golem, a demon found in Jewish folklore. To rid himself and his family of this danger, Dee travels to Prague where he consults the renowned Jewish rabbi Judah Loew. Together they seek the 36 righteous men whose presence prevents evil from remaking the world. This riveting story combines memorable characters with intense action in a medieval setting. | |
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Alexander the Conqueror: The Epic Story of the Warrior King |
| Student of Aristotle, king at age 20, conqueror of the Persian Empire at age 25, and overlord of much of the territory from Macedonia to India by age 32, Alexander remains one of history’s most intriguing individuals. His exploits reverberate through the centuries. Although there are few artifacts to substantiate his place in history, his story continues to fascinate. This volume principally addresses his conquests. Nevertheless, it is a illuminating character examination to introduce readers to one of the history’s dynamic personalities. | |
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Ash Garden, The |
| Anton, a scientist; Sophie, Anton's wife; and Emiko, who was a child in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city, are all affected profoundly by this event. This is the story of a scientist who believes he has all the answers; the wife who must redefine herself; and Emiko who is chosen to come to America for skin grafts. A powerful story of human relationships in the context of a terrible event. | |
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Authorized Personnel Only
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| With a murder on their doorstep, and many of the homicide detectives of a Chicago police district ill with food poisoning, Officer Suze Figueroa and her partner Norm Bennis find themselves temporarily assigned to investigate this homicide. Events lead them to suspect that they are tracking a serial killer. Suze does not yet suspect that the killer has moved into the attic of the old Victorian home she shares with her son, her disabled sister and her sister's husband. A suspenseful story of well-developed characters dealing with cleverly-laid clues. | |
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B for Buster |
| Enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943, sixteen-year old Kak lies about his age in order to serve in the Second World War. While others enlist to fight fascism, Kak harbours dreams of Buck Rogers-style heroics in battle. He is trained as a radio operator, part of the crew of an old Halifax fighter, B for Buster. His experiences in battle horrify him so much that Bert, the pigeon keeper who trains the homing pigeons used to convey messages about the bombers that don’t return, entrusts a bird to Kak. The bird becomes a good-luck companion to Kak as he slowly changes from idealistic recruit to disillusioned veteran. This lyrically told coming-of-age story shows the reconciliation of personal terrors and beliefs with duty and bravery. | |
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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress |
| In the latter days of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, two sons of educated professionals are sent into the countryside to be re-educated as good proletariats. While they haul carts of waste up treacherous paths, they are to be reborn in the acceptable mold of the model Chinese citizen. When they come across a cache of forbidden books, translations of Western classics, their re-education takes a turn. They meet a beautiful young seamstress whose circumstances become difficult. The village headman sends them repeatedly to the small city nearby to view the same film and retell the story to the villagers. A lyrical story about a particularly turbulent period in China’s history. | |
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Beast, The |
| Anthony Witherspoon grew up in Harlem, but for his freshman year of college is attending an exclusive prep school in Connecticut. When he comes home for the holidays, he is unprepared for the changes in his circle of friends: one is pregnant, others involved in risky behaviours, and worst of all, his poet-girlfriend, Gabi, wasted by The Beast, heroin. Gabi says that she has lost the road that ran through her life. Anthony does his best to help her shed the addiction, but there are no easy answers for either of them. By one of North America’s best known authors for young adults. | |
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Beckoners, The |
| New to the community, Zoe agrees to a brutal initiation into the Beckoners, the girl gang that runs the high school. She is terrified of them, but the adults in her life seem to be ineffectual in dealing with the bullying. Her mother is consumed with her own problems, and a teacher who sees the violence does nothing. Zoe is appalled by the vicious cruelty of the bullies in tormenting the school loser, April, a.k.a. “Dog”, to point of her collapse. Only when the violence becomes grotesque does Zoe take a stand. A clear portrait of the herd mentality that drives group behaviour, this story demands careful thought. | |
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Beet Fields, The |
| Running away from his drunken mother, the sixteen-year old boy finds work thinning beets in the hot fields of North Dakota. He is accepted into the community of his coworkers, Mexican migrants who teach him generosity. The cruelty of the farmer and his wife drive the boy off. His earnings are stolen by a corrupt sheriff, looking for a runaway boy. Eventually, he joins a carnival with its base and greedy natures. The freak, the carny and the stripper are all experiences that change him. Finally, to survive, he joins the army. This autobiographical story is gritty and more adult that the original telling in Tilt-a-Whirl John. | |
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Beginning of Was |
| Blaming herself for the horrific deaths of her husband and daughter in a car crash, Marta Fett flees from her small Ontario community to Toronto where she takes refuge in a church. Initially hired by Mrs. Oland as her companion, and then as a nanny to a child about her daughter’s age, Marta struggles to reclaim her life and her ability to love. | |
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Birds Without Wings |
In the little community of Eskibahce, that was named Paleoperiboli in the Byzantine age, on the southwest coast of Anatolia in the decaying Ottoman Empire, "side-by-side, there used to live the Christians who spoke only Turkish but wrote in Greek script, and Muslims who also spoke only Turkish, and also wrote it in Greek script." Their little town was truly a melting pot of languages, religions and cultures, but it was fractured and slowly destroyed by the blood-letting of The Great War, and the growing pains of a new nation. Told through the experiences of Iskander the Potter, Philothei beloved of Ibrahim the Goatherd, Karatanuk and Mehmetcik, Father Kristoforos and Abdulhamid Hodja and Rustem Bey, this story illustrates the ebb and flow of life against a backdrop of quiet village life, war and calamity. By the author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. |
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Blackberry Wine |
| Jay Mackintosh, a successful writer suffering from writer's block, is trapped by memories of his childhood set in a poverty-stricken coal-mining area of Britain. He escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet (readers of Chocolat will be familiar with this fascinating place!). While there, a bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide both the key to an old mystery and a doorway into another world. Blackberry Wine will rival Chocolat as Ms. Harris' best novel to date! | |
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Blueprint |
| Famous concert pianist and composer Iris Sellin is devastated to learn, at age 30 that she has multiple sclerosis. Unwilling to see her career come to an end, she asks a Montreal geneticist to help her produce the first human clone. She names her daughter Siri, and raises the child to become a mirror image of her famous mother, and to carry on her life and career. Siri is 22 years old when her mother dies. She writes this bitter memoir of her life to describe her resentment and frustration as she comes to realize she is not intended to have her own identity, but to be seen only as a medical experiment, and to see her accomplishments measured in comparison to her mother's. A powerful story about identity and destiny. This book was translated into English from the original German book. | |
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Born Confused |
| Being too American in India and too Indian in America, Dimple Lala is so confused by her seventeenth birthday, that when her parents introduce her to Karsh Kapoor, a “suitable Indian boy”, the son of friends, she rebels against their choice. Her best friend, Gwyn, a blond and blue-eyed beauty becomes interested in Karsh, even as Dimple finds herself drawn to him. Dimple is a photographer who views her life through her “third eye”, making her more observer than participant. On one level, this is the story of teen identity struggle, but on a more complex level, it is about finding a place in one’s culture. | |
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Boys are Back in Town, The |
| When Will James returns to his hometown to attend the tenth anniversary reunion of his high school graduation, he is horrified to find that his memories of past events are not shared by his classmates. He remembers exchanging an email only the week before, with his high school friend Mike, who died in their senior year, according to Danny, another classmate. To his profound distress, Will can feel his memories changing. As he travels back in time to get to the root of this dichotomy, he discovers that there are far more powerful forces at work, and that he may, indeed, be the author of his own misfortune. A suspenseful tale sure to challenge perceptions, this creepy story is bound to enthrall readers. | |
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Caine Mutiny, The |
| The Caine is an unimportant vessel in service in World War II. Captain Queeg is at the least eccentric; his first officer, Lt. Maryk, a cautious, careful subordinate. Told in the voice of Willie Keith, a junior ensign, this is the tale of the captain's emotional breakdown which precipitates his being relieved of command by his first officer during a storm. This action saves the ship and its crew, but rewards Maryk with a court-martial for mutiny. A challenging story about character and circumstances. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. | |
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Calling a Dead Man |
| When her brother, John Cox, is mysteriously reported to have been killed in Russia, Hayley and John's girlfriend, Annie Glasgow, who is wheel-chair bound, travel to the scene of the accident to find out the truth. The horrors of some of the poverty that exists in that country are exposed, along with the tyranny of the Mafiya, the Russian mafia. One part of the story is the adventures of a mysterious man who travels through northern Russia, while dodging the Mafiya who try to kill him. The other part is that of the travels of Hayley and Annie as they search for the secret of what happened to John. Told in the context of Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, readers will be as caught up in the transformation of Siberian society as they are in John's story. | |
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Can't Get There From Here |
| Abandoned, abused, forgotten, a group of homeless teens on the streets of New York City try their best to look out for each other, but it is difficult with the violence, addiction, disease and destitution that scar their lives. Told in the voice of Maybe, the lives of Maggot, Rainbow, and Jewel hold little hope for a prosperous future. But when twelve-year Tears, tossed out of her home by an abusive mother, joins the group, Maybe makes it her goal to see that the child is placed in a safe home. | |
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Canticle for Leibowitz, A |
| The Brothers of Saint Leibowitz excavate an artifact from the martyr himself: “pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels---bring home to Emma”, a relic from the time before the Simplication, the nuclear holocaust that plunged humanity into darkness and despair. The cloister of monks, over a period of several centuries, by their lives and their work explore the nature of human civilization: whether we are simply doomed to repeat our history. A funny, but bleak story, this is a classic of its genre. | |
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Caught in the Crossfire |
| Set in Britain in the aftermath of the Oldham riots and the September 11 attacks, this is the story of six teenagers: Rabia and Tahir, Muslim siblings; Daz and Jason who are looking to make trouble; and Mike and Liam, Irish brothers on different sides. Liam is involved in the Patriotic League, an organization seeking to return Britain to the British, no matter the cost. This is a story about social injustice and racial intolerance and how easily events can escalate beyond control. Winner of the Blue Peter Book Award. | |
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Chanda's Secrets |
Living in sub-Saharan Africa, Chanda Kabele's life is a struggle for survival. Her father is killed while working in the diamond mines. The succession of men who follow him in her mother's life brings much more grief than happiness, and, in fact, may have brought AIDS into the family. Chanda must sacrifice furthering her education to care for her younger siblings when her mother leaves home to visit family on a cattle ranch. Sadly, it is apparent that her mother is infected, and Chanda may be as well. Told in an authentic voice, this challenges readers to think about the issues that surround this pandemic. |
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Chasing Shakespeares |
| One of the enduring arguments of English literature is the authorship of the canon of work under the name of William Shakespeare. There are those scholars who believe that the work was really that of, variously, the Earl of Oxford, Sir Frances Bacon, Christopher Marlowe. When graduate student Joe Roper finds among the Elizabethan archives of the Kellogg Collection a letter signed by one W. Shakespeare that denies authorship of the work attributed to him, Joe is sure the letter is a forgery. Just as certain it is definitive proof is Posy Gould, Harvard scholar, who convinces Joe that they will find the answer in England. This tale of sleuthing involves danger and drama as it twists and tilts to a riveting conclusion. An echo of A.S. Byatt’s Possession. | |
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China’s Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution |
| Adapted from his memoirs, Colors of the Mountain, this inspiring autobiography describes how Chen’s family was stripped of their belongings in the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong in the 1960s. Because his grandfather was a landlord, the family was vilified, humiliated and attacked. Chen was forced from school, and eventually became part of a gang of toughs. His siblings were required to labour from sunrise to sunset in backbreaking work in the muddy rice paddies. When the Cultural Revolution spent itself, over time, the family recovered enough to set Chen on a path to higher education and a better future. Another perspective of China as seen in Red Scarf Girl and Chinese Cinderella. | |
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Claire by Moonlight |
Claire Richard lives with her parents and siblings on Grand-Pre in 1755. The English have decided to expel the Acadians to other parts of North America and Europe. Not even Claire’s deepening friendship with Sam, an English soldier, can prevent this deportation for her family. Her father is sent to France; her brother Jacques and family friend Armand are killed as rebels; and the women and children of the family placed on leaky vessels for transport to the Thirteen Colonies. A savage storm sinks many of these vessels, but Claire and her younger sister and brother are rescued by pilot Jacob Tobias. Jacob arranges for them to be taken in by his sister who treats Claire as an indentured servant. With the help of an aboriginal warrior, she and her siblings escape and eventually settle in Montreal where they are reunited with Sam. An entertaining romance that will appeal to teenage girls, there is enough of the flavour of the times to give a portrait of the life lived by early European settlers. |
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Climb or Die |
| After a car accident in a snowy Colorado mountain pass seriously injures their parents, athletic 14-year old Danielle and her brainy younger brother Jake scale a mountain to reach a weather station for help. The siblings combine skills and improvise a mountaineering technique, which enables them to get to the top of the mountain. This is an action-packed story that will appeal to an adventurous spirit. | |
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Cold Mountain |
| A story that echoes the Odyssey, this is set in the last days of the American Civil War. A confederate veteran, Inman, leaves the hospital in which he has been recovering from battle wounds, to walk home to Ada, the woman he loves. En route, he meets an assortment of characters - rogues and Good Samaritans alike. Ada, born into genteel Charleston society, is ill prepared for rural life when she is transplanted to the country by her preacher father. When he dies, she struggles to survive, while she awaits Inman's return. A lushly written story with a stirring ending. | |
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Colour, The |
Set in the gold rush of nineteenth century New Zealand, this is the story of newlyweds Joseph Blackstone and Harriet Salt. They are looking for new horizons in a new land'he to escape a shameful act; she, a former governess barely escaping spinsterhood. Immigrating with Joseph's mother, they try to establish a farm near Christchurch. When Joseph finds gold in the stream on his property, he travels to the west coast to join the hundreds of desparate men obsessed by the colour, the term gold was known by. By the time Harriet joins him, they have come to despise each other, but are bound by the power of the metal. An historically accurate story told in rich detail, this lives up to the standard the author set in her previous book, The Restoration. |
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Comfort |
| Kenny Willson, 15, is trapped in the small Texas town of Comfort by his mother, his ex-con, alcoholic father, and a neglected younger brother. Kenny tries to help all of his family, but he believes that to survive and follow his dreams, he must escape. However, his sense of responsibility, his love for his brother, and his basic goodness create conflicts that he can't resolve. The grittiness of Kenny's life rings true for many people whose families are not perfect, but tend to be dysfunctional. Kenny's maturity and desire to help his family will appeal to many readers. | |
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Cover her Face |
| Housemaid Sally Jupp, after an exemplary stint in a home for unwed mothers, including herself, lands a job in the aristocratic if somewhat impoverished Maxie family. She successfully wangles a proposal of marriage from the Maxie son and heir, an announcement that causes much unhappiness among his relatives and friends. Some are even angry enough to kill her. The next morning, she is found strangled in her bed. There are many suspects with motives to murder her, but the difficulty for Scotland Yard Inspector Adam Dalgliesh is that there are too few clues to lead him to her killer. The first novel from the author many consider to be a master of the genre, this will challenge avid young adult readers. | |
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Crack in the Line, A |
| As the second anniversary of his mother’s death nears, sixteen-year old Alaric Underwood finds that when he places his hands on her accurately rendered replica of their home, he is transported to the alternative universe in which she lives. It is here that he meets Naia who seems to be his twin. The similarities end there: Naia’s world is clean, orderly and predictable; Alaric’s is chaotic, cold and messy. As they interact, they come to discover a reality that can erase events, perhaps even eliminate their existence. The first volume of a proposed trilogy, this complex tale will challenge readers with its intriguing possibilities. | |
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Crystal Cave, The |
| Merlin is the illegitimate son of the South Wales Princess. He is aware at a very early age that he is gifted with The Sight. In fifth century Britain, this is a dangerous ability. Through invasion and conquest, wars and imprisonment, Merlin grows to manhood, and comes to realize his role in the political and social life of the times. This is the first volume in Merlin's story, through which we learn Arthur's story. The Crystal Cave is followed by The Hollow Hills (1973) and The Last Enchantment (1979), which leads into The Wicked Day (1983). These four volumes are considered by many to be the best telling of the legend of Arthur for adults. In print since publication. | |
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Daruma Days: a collection of fictionalized biography |
| Across a century of Japanese experience in Canada, these short stories link the lives of the issei, the first-generation of immigrants still bound to tradition and the belief in the supernatural, to the nisei, the second generation caught between the Old World and the New, and to the sansei, the current generation trying to make sense of the lives of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Much of the context is the internment camps in British Columbia in the Second World War. In this setting, there is alienation, anger, bitterness and retribution, but also reconciliation and healing. This collection would be an excellent companion to Joy Kogawa’s Obasan. | |
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Dating Hamlet: Ophelia’s Story |
| In this clever retelling of Shakespeare’s play, much remains the same. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, murders Hamlet’s father, and marries Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. However, it is Ophelia, the feminist, who tells Hamlet of his father’s ghost, when she sees the ghost from a hiding place. Together, she and Hamlet concoct a means to trap Claudius and expose him for his crimes. Using much of Shakespeare’s own words, the author has incorporated explanations and observations that add dimension to the original work. For those familiar with the play, this will be an inventive and entertaining interpretation. For those less familiar with the play, this will be a painless introduction to that most difficult character in English literature. | |
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Deafening |
| When scarlet fever robs Grania O’Neill of her hearing at age five, she is home-schooled until age nine when she is sent to the Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb where she learns to lip-read, sign and be self-sufficient. It is here that she chooses her life’s work as a nurse, eventually working in a hospital in Belleville where she meets and marries her husband, Jim Lloyd. Although newlyweds, Jim is sent as a stretcher-bearer to the trenches of World War I. His letters home to his young wife are filled with the horrors he has witnessed. Grania’s sister Tress is also waiting for the return of her husband, Kenan who comes home terribly wounded and unwilling to speak. It is Grania, unable to hear, who teaches Kenan, unwilling to speak, to talk again. This remarkable story is based upon the life of the author’s grandmother. | |
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Delicate Storm, The |
The two detectives, John Cardinal and Lise Delorme from Blunt's previous mystery, Forty Words for Sorrow, are confronted with two bodies, one male, one female, found in the woods. One is the dismembered corpse of an American accountant; the other, the nude body of the town's capable doctor. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent that the modus operandi of these killings echoes a similar unsolved killing from three decades before. Add to these issues the involvement of the separatist Quebec Liberation Front, and the machinations of the RCMP, CSIS and the local police, and the resolution of these cases tries the patience, professionalism, and humor of the investigators. Not only is this an intriguing mystery, but also the development of the characters as people of dignity, makes this an especially memorable story. |
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Dragonstone, The |
| Arin the Elf has had an horrific vision of an invasion of Mithgar by ferocious dragons. To prevent this catastrophe, the elf must find the talisman that will ward off this cataclysm: the dragonstone. Aiding in the quest is Aiko, a female warrior, who joins Arin in this search. Through many dangers, adventures and encounters, they at last recover the gem and avert disaster. This is a richly textured story that includes different languages and cultures, as well as ethical debate and philosophical discussion. | |
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Drive |
| Jen and Daniel both have "cash flow problems", and don't want their parents to know. Jen, age 19, has quit school to "make it" as a car salesman in a big city, and finds himself in financial trouble. Daniel, 16, the opposite of his gregarious, athletic older brother, is a shy, sensitive teenager with a musical gift. A desire to "make it" in the music world business leads to financial disaster. The solutions to Jen's and Daniel's problems, different yet similar, are realized only once the lifelong conflicts and resentments are brushed aside, and each recognizes their own and each other's strengths. This is excellent Canadian literary style portraying modern realistic life. | |
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Double Helix
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| Dr. Quincy Wyatt has offered a summer job in his genetics laboratory to eighteen-year old Eli Samuels. Eli’s father is vehemently opposed to Eli working with Dr. Wyatt, but will not reveal why. Eli’s once vivacious mother is slowly dying from Huntington’s disease. As the summer passes, Eli uncovers one layer at a time, the connection between his family and Dr. Wyatt’s genetic engineering experiments. When he confronts the doctor, the results are frightening. A story of bioethics whose roots lie in the first book of this title, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of DNA, by Dr. James D. Watson | |
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Easter Island |
| Two parallel stories drive this extraordinary tale. In 1913, Elsa Pendleton travels with her husband, a Royal Geographic Society anthropologist, and her sister to Easter Island. There she becomes immersed in deciphering the symbols on the wooden tablets. Unaware that World War I has been declared, she is unprepared for the events surrounding the flight across the South Pacific of the fleet under the command of the German admiral, Graf von Spee. Sixty years later, botanist Greer Farraday arrives on Easter Island to find out why it lacks native trees. Elsa’s and Greer’s stories intertwine in a rich and riveting story of two smart women and the mysteries that drive their lives. | |
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Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation |
“Eats, shoots and leaves” is a poorly edited phrase in a wildlife book. It describes the habits of a panda bear. It is also an exemplar of the point made by former editor Truss, who is among those profoundly disturbed by the decline in punctuation standards in an era of email, Internet usage and “txt msgs”. In a chatty, humourous style, she demonstrates the necessity to clear communication of correct punctuation. A best-seller in England and North America, this reminds us of the impact those small demarcations make. |
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Edge, The |
| Danny and his mother are on the run from their abusive home life with Danny's father, Chris. They flee to Northern England to his maternal grandparents. Here they encounter another kind of danger. Danny is the only mixed race child in the community, and his grandfather is a racist. Told in the third person, the narrative moves among the perspectives of the main characters. The suspense builds as the reader speculates when violent Chris will finally put all the clues together and find his wife and son. | |
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Emperor: The Death of the Kings |
| The second volume in a projected quartet about the life of Julius Caesar, this resumes the story after The Gates of Rome. Caesar has not engaged in military action for half a year, and he is becoming concerned that he has lost the edge. While laying siege to the fortress of Mytilene, he is taken captive by pirates who demand an outrageous ransom. Caesar vows to hunt down his captors and kill them all. When the ransom is paid, he carries out his threat. It is followed by his military defeat of the much superior forces of Greek king Mithridates. Upon his arrival in Rome, victorious and rich, he finds the vicious corruption in the Republic threatens to engulf all he values. A robust retelling of the life of one of history most compelling figures, this also vividly portrays the lives of underlings and slaves. | |
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Endymion Spring |
| From the age of Gutenberg, a book bound fast with clasps of serpent fangs awaits the one person who can read its words. Blake Winters tolerates his academic mother’s all-consuming interest in the dusty archival tomes in St. Jerome’s College Library at Oxford. His sister Duck is busy investigating other parts of the Library. As his hand brushes along a shelf of crumbly old books, one of them nicks Blake. When he pulls the book from the shelf, he discovers its pages appear blank but quiver and are run through with fine veins. Then he begins to read the words that appear only to him, and is swept up in a mortal quest that could be catastrophic for us all. | |
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Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age |
| The author of The End of Nature tackles a difficult modern topic: the role robotics, nanotechnology and genetic engineering plays in understanding what it means to be human. He seeks that nuanced spiritual and moral boundary that must be addressed in the context of human invention, ambition and voracity to ensure that human restraint prevents us from taking paths from which there may be no return. It is his contention that we have reached the “enough point”, that our pursuit of technological change will cost us our humanity. A profoundly challenging world view, this deserves thoughtful attention. | |
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Esther |
In 1738, disguised as a boy, Esther Brandeau arrived in New France to begin a life away from the persecution she endured as a Jewess in France. There she had been in training to become a courtesan, but a shipwreck changed her fate. In order to survive, she lived her life as a male, while struggling to maintain her sense of self and her faith. Told in accurate historical context, this is based upon the actual life of Esther Brandeau, whose unmasking caused an international incident. |
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Eventide |
The sequel to Plainsong, this returns to the small community of Holt, Colorado where elderly brothers Harold and Raymond McPheron have worked their ranch all their lives. They took in Victoria Roubideaux when she was a pregnant 17-year old. Now she is moving with her one-year old daughter Katie to another community to go to school. Their leave-taking is just one example of the bittersweet life of the community. When tragedy befalls Harold, Raymond struggles to carry on with the help of friends and neighbours. The interwoven lives of the townspeople may seem simple but the themes of love, loyalty, sacrifice and family are well illustrated by such characters as neighbours Maggie Jones and Tom Guthrie, social worker Rose Tyler and 11-year old D.J. Kephart, working to help his elderly grandfather survive. |
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Even the Stones |
| Young Queen Marwen of Kamilan is abducted and forced into marriage by Prince Held of Dravia. Alone at his court, she resists acceding to his expectations for children. To encourage her cooperation, he offers her a gift from a caravan. Marwen asks for the services of Kari, a minstrel who has some skill as a soldier. Together, the two women plot their escape from Dravia. Staying barely ahead of their pursuers, they are aided by Shadrack, a guerrilla warrior who slays Held and helps Marwen regain her throne. However, in her absence the council has taken a different direction in governing Kamilan. Her struggle to restore traditions she values lead to much pain and suffering. | |
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Exodus |
| By the end of the twenty-first century, the ice at the poles is melting, drowning coastal communities as the land disappears under turbulent seas. On the quickly-vanishing island of Wing, fifteen-year old Mara with her family and other members of the community begin a frightening odyssey to what they hope will be safety in a towering city that rises from the drowned remains of Glasgow. As asylum-seekers, they are outsiders shut out of the city. In order to survive, they must find a new land and a new home. An epic story told in an elegant and lyrical style. | |
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Eyes of the Dragon |
| Two princes, brothers Peter and Thomas, struggle to wrest control of the kingdom of Delain after the death of their father, King Roland. Peter is accused of assassinating his father and is in prison. Flagg, the 400-year old evil wizard, actually responsible for Roland’s death, targets Thomas as more easily manipulated. Peter must find a way to prove his innocence and regain the throne of the kingdom before it and he and his brother are lost. A story unlike conventional King work. | |
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Facing up |
| This is the story of 23-year old Bear Grylls' adventure on Mount Everest. Two years before, he had broken his back in a free fall parachuting accident. Nevertheless, he was determined to climb the world's highest peak, in spite of the weather, fatigue, dehydration, illness, and his own youth and relative inexperience. An uplifting story, in which a young person sets challenging goals and perseveres to achieve them, this is an excellent story of the human spirit; a companion to other resources about Everest. | |
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Face down among the Winchester Geese |
| Susannah, Lady Appleton, is commanded by her husband Robert to come to London. As a married woman, she cannot refuse him. The appearance on her doorstep of a mysterious veiled woman upsets her life. Is this another of her wayward husband's mistresses? Why is this woman found with her neck broken in the notorious brothel district of the city? When Susannah discovers that Robert was the last person known to have seen her alive, she must investigate. What gradually is revealed is a series of previous murders, all on the same day of the year, and all dark-haired women. Suspicion points to members of the royal court, including Robert, who is also engaged in secret business which might lead to accusations of treason. This is the third in this series bringing a feminist perspective to the Elizabethan Age. | |
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Falling Leaves Return to their Roots: the true story of an unwanted Chinese daughter |
| Against the backdrop of modern China from the communist takeover, through the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square massacre, this is the story of a young woman born to the first wife of a Shanghai businessman. When her mother dies, her father remarries. His second wife torments Adeline psychologically by reminding her that she is a daughter, not a son, and that she is therefore unwanted. Despite her efforts at reconciliation with her family, Adeline remains an outsider. This is a compelling story about the value of females in China. | |
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Family Matters |
| Nariman Vakeel is a 79-year old widower who lives with his two stepchildren, Coomy and Jal, in a seven room apartment in Bombay, India. The onset of Parkinson's disease and a fall which breaks his ankle brings to a head, the long-brewing resentment and past wrong-doings, real and imagined, in the mind of the controlling Coomy. By deliberately destroying part of their own apartment, she manages to have Nariman moved into the two bedroom apartment of his daughter Roxana Kapur. Her family of four welcomes Nariman but it is soon apparent they do not have the resources to look after him. Roxana's husband, Vikram, is driven to a scheme against his employer that reveals much greater evils. | |
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Fahrenheit 451 |
| Guy Montag is a fireman in a future time. It is his job to start fires, not put them out. The fires burn books, because the books contain ideas which contravene the pursuit of happiness, the highest goal of society. Guy’s wife spends her day with her “tv family” and implores him to work harder so that they can afford a fourth television wall. However, Guy is undergoing a crisis of faith. His next-door neighbour, Clarisse, is much more intrigued by the world outside and the world in books. When she mysteriously disappears, Guy discovers an outlaw band of scholars who keep books in their heads, and await a time when people will again need the wisdom of literature. A classic story of censorship and freedom of thought, it is even more relevant today than when it was first published. | |
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Favorite Scary Stories from Graveside Al |
| Chosen by Alan Maitland, renowned for his work on CBC radio, these stories are all excellent examples of this genre, and include such literary luminaries as Edgar Alan Poe, Anne Rice, Charles Dickens, Saki, Robert Louis Stephenson, Patricia Highsmith, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Algernon Blackwood, Emile Zola, William Faulkner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Roald Dahl and Ambrose Bierce. | |
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Ferryman will be There: an Ellis Portal Mystery, The |
| This is the third book in criminologist Aubert's series featuring Ellis Portal, a disgraced former judge turned sleuth. Portal is recruited by Toronto Police to help after a famous movie director, filming in Toronto, is murdered and his teenage daughter disappears immediately afterward. The search and the solving of the crime take Portal from the glamorous film world to the violent nether worlds of the drug trade and exploitation of and trafficking of women. The reader can almost smell the urban haunts of the homeless and the caves of the Don River Valley Wilderness Preserve. Highly recommended by senior high school readers. | |
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Fiery Cross, The
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| The fifth installment of the Outlander series, this is set in the years leading to the American War of Independence. Claire Fraser, born and raised in the twentieth century, has been transported back two hundred years in time. She marries Jamie Fraser, the laird of Lallybroch and travels with him from Scotland to the Carolinas to begin a new life in America. Claire’s knowledge is dangerous, especially in such dangerous times. A richly told story of love and family in a turbulent period of history. | |
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Final Target |
| The daughter of the President of the United States, 7-year old Cassie Andreas, is the victim of a kidnapping plot, and witnesses several murders, which leave her with horrific nightmares and in a catatonic state. Michael Travis, a man of dubious character, rescues her, but he has much to tell the President, Dr. Jessica Riley, whom the President has hired to help Cassie, and the FBI, who are hunting Travis. A complex story with strong suspense, this is highly recommended by senior high school readers. | |
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First Part Last, The |
Family and friends do not understand sixteen-year old Bobby’s decision to raise his baby girl Feather rather than adopt her out. His beloved girlfriend Nia is unable to be part of the decision. His plans for the future have been delayed. The realities of his life as young father intrude every minute of the day. Yet his love for his child grows as he cares for her. It is apparent only at the end of the story what the cost has been for Nia and for Bobby. A heartfelt examination of too-young responsibilities. |
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Fisherman’s Son, The |
Adrift on a slowly deflating raft, Neil Kruger struggles to stay alive until he can be rescued after a smuggling operation gone badly wrong. To help him cope with his fears, he recalls his childhood, his relationships with his fisherman father, his brother Paul, and their mother. The hard, sometimes cruel life of a salmon fisherman on San Francisco’s Half Moon Bay shapes Neil through boom times and bust times, all manner of weather at sea, and the bitter determination of the local cannery owner that none shall escape the crushing burden of debt. Told in a lyrical style, Neil’s decision in the smuggling of a boatload of illegal immigrants seals his fate, and makes for a resonant conclusion to this elegy to the sea. |
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Follow the Blue |
| When her father’s mental breakdown and subsequent recovery precipitate a month-long vacation taken with her mother, fifteen-year old Bec and her younger siblings are left in the care of a stodgy housekeeper-cum-babysitter. Taking advantage of parent-free time, Bec becomes a little rebellious. While dealing with her younger siblings’ eccentricities, peer pressure to experiment with drugs and sex, and the exhilaration of first love, Bec has trouble coping. Throughout, she works to maintain her sense of humour and balance. Set in Perth, this is written without a glossary, in the teen slang of Australia, and is filled with many current references to popular culture, that may ultimately date it. For sophisticated readers, the humour and poetry of the story will more than compensate. | |
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For Joshua: An Ojibway Father Teaches his Son |
| In an open letter to his son Joshua, Richard Wagamese explores the meaning of his sense of identity. Because of his alcohol addiction, Wagamese had lost access to Joshua, who was six when this was written. It is his attempt to fulfill his paternal obligation to introduce his son to the world, and help him understand his place in it. Although it is written in the context of Native culture, much also applies to Newcomers’ culture. A memoir of hope and caring. | |
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Forgotten Fire |
Vahan Kenderian, a twelve-year old Armenian boy, lived a life of privilege in the decaying Ottoman Empire. However, with the coming to power of the Young Turks, Vahan comes to understand what his father meant when he said "This is how steel is made. Steel is made strong by fire." The destruction of his family and the systematic genocide of the Armenian population of Turkey are what drive him across his country through brutality, hunger and persecution, to find haven in Constantinople. A powerful addition to the literature of genocide, this is a provocative and demanding story that will profoundly affect readers. Parental Caution: the depiction of violence is graphic. |
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Fortress of Dragons
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| The fourth in the series that includes Fortress in the Eye of Time, Fortress of Eagles and Fortress of Owls, this completes the tale of two friends, sorcerer and sovereign, in a compelling story of fantasy, magic, violence and wonder. | |
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Frangipani |
| In Tahiti, life’s rhythms are acknowledged through rituals. When a child is born, the Welcome to the World ritual is performed. Materena’s daughter, Leilani, is welcomed into a family that wants her to be smart and curious. Her mother thinks that the frangipani is the perfect flower for this daughter. But by the time Leilani is fourteen, and ready for the Welcome to Womanhood ritual, her mother wants to disown her. What has happened is that Leilani has grown into the smart and curious person her mother wanted, but smart and curious about the way life should be, not the way life is. | |
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Friendship in the Lives of Teen Girls
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| Anne Fleming, Cathy Stonehouse, Gayla Reid, Lydia Kwa, Karen Rivers, Judith Kalman, and Aislinn Hunter are all writers, who offer remembrances of their adolescent friendships: the cliques, the isolation, the misery, the connections, occasionally the joy. Although each writer lived in a different culture, their experiences resonate with the difficulty and challenge of navigating their teen years. Some friendships did not survive boys, moves or family changes, but some provided years of enrichment to their lives. | |
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Generals Die in Bed
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| A re-issue of the 1930 edition, this is the story of an 18-year old Canadian soldier who narrates his war experiences from the time he leaves Canada to the Battle of Amiens, when he is wounded and sent home. He details all the horrors of trench warfare: lice, rats, the stench of decaying bodies, mud, blood, filthy uniforms and living conditions, hunger and poor food, and always, the deafening screams of battle from men and guns. He destroys any noble ideas about war. A stark story, honest and forthright. | |
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Ghost in the Machine, A |
| Mallory Lawson, bitterly unhappy with his teaching job in a London school, believes he can now escape this unrewarding career when his Aunt Carey leaves him a generous inheritance, including her home in quaint Forbes Abbot, a village of assorted eccentric personalities. He hopes that his money will enable his wife Kate to open a publishing house. But it is not to be. Suspicious deaths bring the assiduous attention of Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby whose diligence unravels a tangled tale. | |
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Girl with a Pearl Earring |
| Griet is the 16-year-old narrator, a complicated and naive young woman hired by the famous 17th Century artist, Vermeer, as an assistant and later as model. As her role with the artist changes and becomes more intimate, she attracts the suspicious attention of Vermeer`s jealous and perpetually pregnant wife. This story takes us back into history but we can easily relate to the timeless problems and emotions of our heroine. | |
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Give Me My Father’s Body |
| Minik was an Inuit child brought along with five other Inuit by Robert Peary to New York City in 1897. Four of the Inuit died within the year and the fifth returned to Greenland. Only Minik remained in New York where he stayed for twelve years. During that time, he learned English, played sports, attended church and learned to like big-city life. His life changed when he discovered his father’s skeleton on display in the American Museum of Natural History. Unhappy with society, Minik returned to Greenland in 1909. He relearned his native tongue and the ancestral skills needed to survive in the Arctic. He even worked with other Arctic explorers, but for the remainder of his life, he sought a place where he truly belonged. A haunting story of cultural displacement and personal longing. | |
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Going for Stone |
| Fed up with his family life, Nick leaves home for the streets of the big city. Without money, friends or identification, he is attracted to a group of street people who are acting like living statues: going for stone. When he achieves success as a statue of Amadeus, he is overjoyed to be selected to join the secret academy of Antonin and Dom. However, he gradually begins to understand that there is far more at work here than he initially thought. A chilling story of identity and belonging, this is certain to draw strong reaction in readers. | |
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Gotz and Meyer |
| A school teacher in Serbia begins to investigate many years after the fact, the annihilation of most of his family during the Second World War. He discovers that many of Serbia’s Jews were killed about one hundred at time by asphyxiating them with the carbon monoxide exhaust of the truck used to transport them to their mass grave. The truck is driven, in turn, by two non-commissioned SS officers, Gotz and Meyer. As the teacher delves further and further into the atrocity, its weight and implications drive him into despair as he tries to understand how these men could carry out such a task. Told in one long paragraph, the restraint of the telling underscores the heinous nature of the crime. | |
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Greenies, The |
About 1000 Jewish orphans were adopted by Canadian Jewish families in the aftermath of World War II. Little was known of the horrors they endured, so it was not surprising that the refugees’ adaptation to the Canadian way of life would be difficult. Seen through the eyes of Lilly, Danny, Max, Sylvie, Sophie and Kurt, the transition to a life of normality was challenging for all involved. Meeting regularly helped these young people cope with life in disparate circumstances and work to realize their goals and dreams. |
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Guardian of the Horizon |
| Return to the territory of The Last Camel Died at Noon, where Egyptologists Amelia Peabody and her voluble husband, Emerson, along with their son Ramses and their foster daughter Nefret return to the city of Lost Oasis to help their friend, Prince Tarek. When they arrive in the city, they discover that the mysterious message they received from Tarek disguised a much more complex circumstance, including kidnapping, deceptions and betrayal. An entertaining story, this will challenge young adult readers to penetrate the twists of the plot and the quirks of the characters. | |
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Hanging on to Max |
When seventeen-year old Sam Pettigrew makes the decision to keep his infant son Max after his former girlfriend chooses to give the baby up for adoption, he finds his life turned upside down. His widowed father, angered by Sam’s decision, agrees to support the teen father and his child for one year, provided that Sam graduates from high school and takes a construction job to support Max. He transfers to an alternative high school with day care, and tries to juggle the demands of school work and child care, but it is exhausting. He is torn between his love for Max and the changes to his plans for the future. Eventually, he must make a decision that is heart-breaking. A different perspective on an adolescent issue, this deals realistically but poignantly with a difficult dilemma. |
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Harlequin |
| In 1342, Thomas of Bookton, an archer in the English army, witnesses the burning of his village and the murders of his family. Thomas vows to avenge his father's death and recover a lance, believed to have belonged to St. George, and stolen from the village church. The archer participates in the capture of La Roche-Derrien and the battle of Crecy at the outset of the Hundred Years' War. This volume begins another series in the Grail Quest, by the author of the Sharpe series. | |
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
| Another term at Hogwarts has begun, and another set of adventures begins. This one is full of humour, romance (snogging?), intrigue, suspicious characters, huge twists, and yes, death. We do not need to convince Potter fans of the need to read this, but would like to hear from you on our Reader Review pages, what you thought of Book Six. Do you have predictions for the culmination? Who is the writer of the mysterious horcrux letter? |
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Haunted Ground |
| Drumgleggan Bog near Galway, Ireland gives up the well-preserved decapitated head of a beautiful red-haired woman. Called upon for their expertise are Irish archaeologist Cormac Maquire and American anatomist Nora Gavin, who find that not only are they trying to identify the bog woman but also unravel the disappearance of Mina Osborne and her son, the family of local landowner Hugh Osborne. Hugh is the prime suspect in their disappearance, which has been investigated by local detective Garett Devaney. As the three continue to search for answers, Nora finds a dead crow on her bed and then shattered glass littered on her bathroom floor. What kind of malice is afoot in this rich and convoluted story makes for gripping reading. | |
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Heart on my Sleeve |
When Chloe from Massachusetts meets Julian from Florida on a weekend orientation at a college in Connecticut, sparks fly. They keep in touch by email and instant messaging after they return home for high school graduation and summer jobs. An ill-timed delivery of roses causes the break-up of Chloe's relationship with Eli, complicated by the coming-out of her sister Genevieve. Julian's wanderlust sister has just informed her family that she is marrying someone they have not met and in Las Vegas. Complicating his life is the growing distance between him and his best friend, and pressure from family and peers to date Nina who has had a crush on him forever. Engagingly written, this story portrays the transition from adolescence to independent young adulthood. |
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Highest Tide, The |
Thoroughly knowledgeable about the marine life of the tidal flats of his Puget Sound area home makes teenager Miles O’Malley unusual. This is compounded by his exceedingly short stature, his highly introspective and sensitive nature, and his propensity to quoting environmentalist Rachel Carson. One day while kayaking in the Skookumchuck Bay, Miles finds a beached giant squid, something not seen in the area before. He becomes a media sensation when he predicts accurately a record high tide. In the meantime, his personal life threats to unravel: his parents are considering divorce; his dear friend Florence, an elderly psychic is dying; and his unrequited crush on out-of-control Angie Stegner humiliates him. This coming-of-age story marries Miles’ growing understanding of the mysteries of the sea with his growing understanding of the mysteries of his own life. |
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Hole in the Sky
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| Set in 2028, an influenza pandemic has killed most of the world's human population. Four teenagers who survived the pandemic, live near the Grand Canyon. Ceej, Tim and Harryette attempt to save the Canyon from flooding while trying to evade a gang of renegade survivors. Bella, a Hopi girl, tells them the tale of a special, multi-coloured rock that offers an entrance to another world, the Sipapuni. Told in the words of each of these young people, one at a time, it offers insight into how young people might cope in the aftermath of catastrophe. | |
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Honey, Baby, Sweetheart |
| Shy, quiet Ruby McQueen falls hard for the rich, wild boy down the street. Travis Becker makes Ruby feel tough and fearless. After their first motorcycle ride, Travis gives Ruby a gold chain that she wears everywhere. However, once she understands that Travis gets his gifts by breaking into people’s homes, Ruby cannot find the answers she thinks she wants. Her librarian mother, recently separated from a cheating husband, includes Ruby in her seniors’ reading circle, the Casserole Queens. Through their examples, mother and daughter come to terms with the poor choices they have made in their lives. | |
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House of Blue Mangoes |
| Set in India over a period of sixty years from the late nineteenth century to independence, this follows the story of three generations of the Dorai family. Solomon, patriarch of the family, works diligently to build a community in the area where he is headman and owner of various farms. He is unable to stop the caste violence that comes to his village, and loses his life in the struggle. His younger son, Aaron, falls into revolutionary activities and is branded a criminal. His older son, Daniel, studies medicine and becomes a highly regarded doctor and pharmacologist, who makes his fortune in patent medicines. Daniel’s son Kannan becomes an official of a tea company, where he tries to become acceptable to the English men and women who are part of the dying raj. Fast-paced in places, pedantic in others, this is a window on a time and place that resonates even today. | |
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Human Croquet |
| Isobel Fairfax and her older brother Charles live with their Aunt Vinny in the suburb of Lytle. Their mother Eliza and their father Gordon disappeared when the siblings were children, left to be raised by Vinny. After seven years, Gordon resurfaces with his plump second wife, Debbie. It seems proof of the Fairfax curse visited upon the family in Tudor times, when a Fairfax wife died under suspicious circumstances. A blend of history, comedy and tragedy, this story deals in the meaning of time, memory and identity. | |
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