BOOK REVIEWS

Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas

Writer, journalist, and filmmaker Omar Mouallem’s Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas is a fascinating exploration of the many manifestations of Islam across cultures, traditions, communities, and political lines. Mouallem’s journey takes ... Read More »

November 1, 2021 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography, Reviews

★ Permanent Astonishment

By Tomson Highway

Shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, Permanent Astonishment is playwright and novelist Tomson Highway’s brilliant, funny, beautiful account of his childhood in both Canada’s remote North and at the Guy Hill ... Read More »

October 29, 2021 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography, Native Peoples, Reviews

Avenue of Champions

By Conor Kerr

The debut short-story collection from Métis-Ukrainian writer and educator Conor Kerr, Avenue of Champions, is an account of disenfranchisement and displacement, both historical and contemporary. Its historical roots lie in the late 19th century, “when ... Read More »

October 27, 2021 | Filed under: Fiction: Short, Reviews

Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities

By Cylita Guy; Cornelia Li (ill.)

In her debut nonfiction children’s book, Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities, Toronto ecologist Cylita Guy encourages city kids to get outside, appreciate urban wildlife, and ... Read More »

October 26, 2021 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Kids’ Books

All the Quiet Places

By Brian Thomas Isaac

Brian Thomas Isaac’s All the Quiet Places transports the reader across time and space to a, well, quiet corner of the Okanagan Indian Reserve in the southern Interior of British Columbia in 1956. There, six-year-old ... Read More »

October 26, 2021 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

★ Bread & Water

By Dee Hobsbawn-Smith

Food is memory: the snap of a spring pea, the sizzle of bacon, or the scent of freshly baked bread can evoke feelings and meaning in meals, whether they’re eaten alone or in the company ... Read More »

October 20, 2021 | Filed under: Food & Drink, Reviews

★ My Mad Hair Day

By Nathalie Dion

A child wrestles with big emotions caused by hair of tall-tale proportions in the first solo picture book by Montreal artist and Governor General’s Literary Award nominee Nathalie Dion. Malie has a hard time keeping ... Read More »

October 19, 2021 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

Yume

By Sifton Tracey Anipare

While some may believe that the demons of our nightmares exist only in dreams, in Sifton Tracey Anipare’s debut novel, Yume, humans, demons, and yokai- (supernatural creatures and spirits) feed and imbibe in waking realities. ... Read More »

October 19, 2021 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

Chaiwala!

By Priti Birla Maheshwari; Ashley Barron (ill.)

A joyful, high-energy child embraces life with gusto in Meena’s Mindful Moment, an insightful picture book by Tina Athaide, winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. When Meena arrives at ... Read More »

October 13, 2021 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books