No More Dragons by Rie Charles
Summary: Thirteen year-old Alex is a kid with a lot on his plate. His father is physically and emotionally abusive, his little brother Tobey has cancer, and at school Alex is being bullied. As everything piles up Alex finds a way to vent by writing letters to Graham, telling him what’s going on and how he’s dealing with it. When Tobey’s cancer gets worse and Alex’s grandmother has an accident of her own, it feels like home life is a pressure cooker. One wrong move can aggravate and invoke his father’s anger, and Alex is beginning to realise he and his mother and...
Read MoreTrouble in the Hills by Helaine Becker
Summary: Fresh from a fight with his strict and seemingly uncaring father, Cam takes off on his mountain bike for an uphill trek by himself. But when an uncontrolled descent leads to an accident and the loss of his bike, Cam suddenly finds himself in a survival situation. To complicate matters, he stumbles upon a group of teens from India being smuggled across the border into the United States. Samira is one of the teens, and manages to escape her captors after realising their intentions are sinister. Together, Cam and Samira struggle to make it down the mountain alive. The situation turns...
Read MoreThe Glory Wind by Valerie Sherrard
Summary: Reflecting on his unexpected friendship with an animated girl named Gracie, Luke explores his life between the ages of eleven and thirteen living in 1940s Junction, Manitoba. A small town with short-sighted ‘Christian’ views, townspeople start gossiping when they find out Gracie was born out of wedlock, and that her mother may be a prostitute. Unfortunately gossip turns to action and Gracie is left to feel the brunt of their judgement at school, facing ostracism by everyone except for Luke and a beloved teacher, Miss Prutko. When Miss Prutko is fired, things get worse,...
Read MoreDust by Arthur Slade
Summary: When Robert’s younger brother Matthew disappears while on a walk to town, his whole family is overcome with worry and grief. There’s no trace of him, but a stranger named Abram’s appearance in town shifts the community’s focus quite suddenly from the missing child to growing a successful crop of wheat in spite of the drought they’ve been having. Robert seems to be one of the few who notices this abrupt change. Feeling Abram’s pull himself, Robert struggles to figure out what is really going on while trying to hold on to his thoughts, imagination...
Read MorePower Plays by Maureen Ulrich
Summary: With a move from Saskatoon to Estevan, Saskatchewan, Jessie Mac is forced to start grade nine in a new school two weeks after the new school year has already started. Targeted by a bully named Kim, Jessie finds out Kim has been spreading lies about her, antagonizing an older girl named Marsha who shows up at her house and raids her parents’ liquor cabinet. In order to get Marsha and her friends out of her house, Jessie agrees to go with them, spending a night in jail thanks to their antics. But the police officer in charge sees Jessie is a good kid and encourages her to join...
Read MoreAbout Amy
Amy Mathers has been passionate about reading from a very young age, and hopes others will share her enthusiasm for funding a teen book award. Read more Follow Amy
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