BOOK REVIEWS

Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door

By Cary Fagan and Chelsea O’Byrne (ill.)

Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door is a funny and thought-provoking middle-grade novel about the power of stories – especially the ones we tell ourselves. Real life isn’t a fairy tale for Andie Gladman. The ... Read More »

September 11, 2023 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

Semi-Detached

By Elizabeth Ruth

When Laura Keys, the contemporary protagonist of Elizabeth Ruth’s Semi-Detached, first enters the house at Two Condor Avenue on an icy winter day in Toronto in 2013, she feels as if she has “stepped into ... Read More »

September 6, 2023 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

Do You Remember Being Born?

By Sean Michaels

“So what happens when you don’t need a human being to write anything anymore? When you can just turn to your magic smartbox and say, ‘Write me a novel about ornithologists and spies?’” This question, ... Read More »

September 6, 2023 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

The Shade Tree

By Suzy Lee and Helen Mixter (trans.)

There are beloved folk tales that are passed down through generations. Something in the story makes them worth retelling over and over again. The Shade Tree, written and illustrated by Suzy Lee, and translated by ... Read More »

September 6, 2023 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

One Summer in Vancouver

By Tony Correia

One Summer in Vancouver is a coming out story set against the backdrop of Vancouver’s Gay Games, which were held in 1990. At 17, Tom is struggling to come out – both to himself and ... Read More »

September 4, 2023 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

Like Every Form of Love: A Memoir of Friendship and True Crime

By Padma Viswanathan

In 1997, Padma Viswanathan – more than decade away from the publication of her lauded debut novel, The Toss of a Lemon – secluded herself in a decommissioned tugboat docked in a Vancouver Island marina. ... Read More »

August 30, 2023 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography, Reviews

Learned by Heart

By Emma Donoghue

Historical fiction often dwells in the gap between what happened and what was recorded. The best examples also explore the historical conditions for why that gap exists. Emma Donoghue’s latest novel, Learned by Heart, does ... Read More »

August 30, 2023 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

★ Ephemia Rimaldi: Circus Performer Extraordinaire

By Linda DeMeulemeester

Abandoned at birth by her father Phineas, “a scoundrel, a flim-flammer, and worse, circus riff-raff,” Ephemia Rimaldi (Effy) has found a comfortable home with her great-aunt Ada, a committed campaigner for women’s rights. Determined that ... Read More »

August 30, 2023 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

★ The Abduction of Seven Forgers

By Sean Dixon

A novel as sheerly entertaining as it is profound is a rare treat, and Sean Dixon’s newest work is exactly that. The Abduction of Seven Forgers is the latest fiction for adults by the ... Read More »

August 23, 2023 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Grand Chief Salamoo Cook is Coming to Town!

By Tomson Highway and Delphine Renon (ill.); Jimmy Blais (narr.)

Grand Chief Salamoo Cook is Coming to Town! is a raucous picture book by author and playwright Tomson Highway. Highway weaves songs – written in Cree, with translations into English – throughout the story, and ... Read More »

August 23, 2023 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

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