The Dime Box by Karen Grose My rating: 5 of 5 stars For a debut novel, this is an author to watch. Karen Grose carefully weaves the present with the past in the story of Greta….neglected, abused and isolated with her parents in the woods of Muskoka. In the present, she is the prime suspect […]
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood My rating: 5 of 5 stars Masterful. If I could write like anyone in the world, it would be Margaret Atwood. Make time to read The Handmaid’s Tale, binge watch the series, and read this book. We finally get to understand the Gilead system inside and out. We find out […]
Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Eden Robinson you have created such delicious characters. If Jared or Georgina or any of them knocked at my door and said, “There’s an emergency! The coy wolves are eating the dolphin people and they need your help!” I’d shape-shift into my amphibious alter-ego, […]
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson My rating: 5 of 5 stars A set of this book was generously purchased for our school by our First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI)consultant at the board office. 5 pages into it many of our teachers were too scared to teach it and put it down. Boldly […]
Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is my favourite book that I’ve read this year HANDS DOWN. It first came to my attention because I enjoy reading from the Ontario Library Association’s Evergreen book list each year. I enjoyed the audiobook version through Audible as Hernandez narrates her own book. […]
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan E. Coyote My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ivan’s voice is so refreshingly Canadian…I feel so strongly about this voice (new to me but not new) and its place in the Canadian canon. Ivan speaks from the heart of the Yukon, and then BC and although they have had lots […]
The Pain Eater by Beth Goobie My rating: 4 of 5 stars Maddy is gang-raped by her masked classmates when she is alone and vulnerable but she knows another person was witness to it. At first, she is only able to calm her traumatic thoughts through self-harm. Going to school each day everyone notices the […]
Subject to Change by Karen Nesbitt My rating: 4 of 5 stars Declan’s family is falling apart as his single mother works beyond her limits to keep the family together, and his brother struggles with addiction as a way to avoid confronting responsibility. Declan battles with which of his family’s secrets to keep and which […]
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline My rating: 4 of 5 stars I chose this book as it is nominated by the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program in the White Pine selection this year. …and I think it is a strong contender for the winner, but teachers aren’t allowed to vote. I’m not […]
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden My rating: 4 of 5 stars Like many settler Canadians, I am on a remarkable journey started just this year to connect with a past that was hidden from me about the atrocities towards First Nations people. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Having read and enjoyed Boyden’s […]
Code in Every Class by Kevin Brookhouser My rating: 4 of 5 stars A powerful little read that zips by. Although I’m personally working on my entry-level Lightbot skills, I really like how Kevin Brookhouser opens up with pseudo-coding activities to create a coding mindset and then works towards more and more challenging materials. The […]
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had one of those friends at university who lived really close to the edge of always going too far. She abused alcohol, had a variety of sexual partners and walked home alone in the dark. I was always confused by […]
Dan vs. Nature by Don Calame My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is a light read but darker than Don Calame‘s previous works. Dan and his Mom’s fiance venture into the wilderness with a motley crue of tag-alongs. Dan is intent on breaking the fiance until he starts to really struggle with the […]
The Magicians Trilogy Boxed Set by Lev Grossman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Do you remember how you felt at the end of the Harry Potter books…you couldn’t believe it was all over? Lev Grossman’s world renderings have left me feeling like I have been to another world and back again. Truthfully, I didn’t […]
