True Confessions of a Heartless Girl by Martha Brooks
Summary: Seventeen year-old Noreen hasn’t had an easy life. With a mother who is Amazing in name only and a step-father who is abusive, the best part of their marriage comes in the form of Gladys, Noreen’s step-sister. But as the years pass and when Gladys moves out to get married, Noreen starts down a path of self-destruction. Meeting and falling in love with Wesley changes things for a little bit, but at the first misunderstanding Noreen takes off, ending up in Pembina Lake among people who just might be able to help her start over and stop sabotaging herself by being more...
Read MoreQueen of Hearts by Martha Brooks
Summary: In the early 1940s, a visit from Marie-Claire’s Oncle Gérald brings more than his welcome presence, it brings tuberculosis (TB) to her family. After he is hospitalized and dies in a local sanatorium, Marie-Claire, her brother Luc, and her sister Josée all develop TB, and with their varying degrees of severity find themselves in different parts of the same sanatorium. But while Josée seems to be improving, Luc is getting worse, and Marie-Claire herself is in a holding pattern, waiting for the lesion in her lung to finally heal. As a year passes, Marie-Claire faces life from a...
Read MoreThe Gem Lakes by Rob Keough
Summary: With an inoperable brain tumour in his head, Jake and his family are headed up to their cabin to try and make the most of their last summer together. But when he gets there, a trapper who lives nearby tells Jake his grandfather did not die of cancer years ago like he thought. Instead, he gives Jake a map to the Gem Lakes so he can track his grandfather down and learn the secrets of the land. Accompanied by his sister Claire, they face the many dangers of their quest together, but when they get there Jake has a decision to make that will determine the future course of his life and...
Read MoreA Fool’s Errand by Maureen Fergus
Summary: After realising she is indeed the elder twin of King Finnius, Persephone’s precarious role in his kingdom is no longer in jeopardy because she is royalty. Reagent Mordecai is less than thrilled, knowing Persephone now has the power to usurp the throne he’s had his eye on for years. Frantically Mordecai plots to keep his role by sending Persephone away on a errand to find the legendary Pool of Genezing, which is rumoured to heal all ills. Persephone’s goal is to bring the waters back and cure her brother Finnius of his illness, but Mordecai hopes they will heal his...
Read MoreWinter Shadows by Margaret Buffie
Summary: On parallel journeys of sorts, Beatrice and Cass live in different time periods but are both facing the reorganization of their families after the deaths of their mothers. Connected by a star brooch and a shared home, the lives of Cass and Berenice intersect, allowing them to help each other through their challenges and grief. For Cass, their friendship helps her face her new stepmother and stand up for her needs in the aftermath of the loss of her mother, but for Beatrice, Cass’s insight helps her get out of a bad match to marry the man she is supposed to be with. Along the...
Read MoreWho is Frances Rain? by Margaret Buffie
Summary: Up at her Gran’s place on Rain Lake, Manitoba for the summer with her warring family, Lizzie seeks solace on an abandoned island with plenty of secrets. When Lizzie’s excavation of the remnants of a cabin turn up a pair of spectacles, Lizzie dons them only to be transported to another time when the island wasn’t abandoned. Witness to the life of Frances Rain and her mysterious visitor, Lizzie slowly pieces together who Frances Rain was and what happened to her. In real life, Lizzie is dealing with the potential break up of her new and fragile family and learns her...
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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