The Yo-Yo Prophet by Karen Krossing
Summary: Frustrated by changes at home and his Gran’s mounting confusion, Calvin turns to his yo-yo tricks to find some control and satisfaction in his life. He starts performing in downtown Toronto, soaking up the attention from audience members, and things are going well when one man even gives him money. But then his classmate Rozelle decides to become his manager, labelling him as the Yo-Yo Prophet and claiming that he can see the future when he does his yo-yo performances. When the predictions come true, Calvin begins to believe in his own powers, until everything beings to...
Read MoreYesterday’s Dead by Pat Bourke
Summary: Thirteen year-old Meredith is headed to Toronto to work as domestic servant after her father’s death leaves her family with a lot of debt. It’s 1918 and nearing the end of World War I when the Spanish Flu hits soon after Meredith starts working at the Watertons. One by one, those in charge of the household contract the deadly flu, and Meredith is left to take care of them all with minimal help from Dr. Waterton’s entitled daughter Margaret. Fighting to keep everyone alive will test them both but ultimately not everyone will survive. Number of Pages: 256 Age Range:...
Read MoreWondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Summary: Kelley Winslow is excited to be promoted from understudy to the role of Titania, queen of the faeries in an off-Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream when the lead actress breaks her ankle. Though Kelley is immersed in the world of faeries in her professional life, when the faerie world starts bleeding into her personal life, she remains a bit skeptical. A chance meeting with Sonny Flannery sparks an attraction and a trip down a rabbit hole of sorts as Kelley finds out that not only is she a faerie herself, but she is the daughter of the...
Read MoreWitchlanders by Lena Coakley
Summary: Ryder and Falpian are two teens from the warring Witchlander and Baen people. Raised to hate each other and to believe in different deities, when they come in closer contact and realise they are linked through a mysterious mind connection, their first instinct is to kill one another. But when Falpian’s father tries to have him assassinated and the witches from Ryder’s community won’t acknowledge that his mother Mabis can see the evil that will soon befall them, Ryder and Falpian must find a way to work together to unravel the secrets surrounding the contention...
Read MoreWhen We Were Good by Suzanne Sutherland
Summary: Katherine Boatman loses her bearings after her grandmother dies on New Years Eve. The new millennium brings change for Katherine as she begins her last semester of high school, drowning in grief and trying desperately to find a reason to go on with life. A new friendship at school with a girl named Marie opens her up the world of punk music, and to truths about herself Katherine was previously unaware. In the midst of questioning her sexual preferences, Katherine is also dealing with losing the friendship of her best friend, conflict and apathy from her parents, as well as keeping...
Read MoreWhat Happened This Summer by Paul Yee
Summary: A collection of short stories featuring Chinese teens living in Toronto. Stories cover generational rifts, identity issues, sexuality, immigration, the bonds of family and culture in the midst of the regular stress of finishing high school and growing up. Number of Pages: 178 Age Range: 15-17 Review: Sadly, a day is not long enough to do justice to a collection of short stories. I liked the way Paul Yee connected the stories in his book by using and referring to characters who all knew each other, but I needed more time to let the stories sink in and realise their true meaning. A...
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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