The Apprentice’s Masterpiece by Melanie Little
Summary: The son of a Jewish scribe, Ramon and his family are converts in the face of the Spanish Inquisition during the 1400s. But while Jews and Muslims are openly despised, conversos as they are known are not far behind. Under the ‘Edicts of Faith’ a mistrustful society is fostered as everyone is encouraged to watch and inform on other’s contact with the undesirables. When Ramon’s family takes in Amir, a Muslim teen, Ramon sees himself as being above him and seeks to show him up especially when he notices Amir is becoming close with his father. But what seems like...
Read MoreTrial by Fire by Sheila Dalton
Summary: Seventeen year-old Nathan is half-Native, half-white, living with a foster family called the Whitmans because his mother has kicked him out. With his outsider status Nathan finds himself constantly struggling to be heard and believed, but a relationship with a classmate named Sally changes everything as she is also considered an outsider. When someone sets fire to Sally’s house and Nathan witnesses it, the police don’t believe he didn’t do it himself. No proof means they can’t arrest him though, but Nathan is motivated to find out who really did it so they...
Read MoreBeautiful Goodbye by Nancy Runstedler
Summary: Maggie is bereft after the sudden death of her father, not quite sure how to proceed in the face of this and other drastic life changes. When she and her friend Gillian discover a Ouija board in the attic of Maggie’s new house, Maggie hopes to contact her father and say a proper goodbye. Instead, the girls end up contacting Hope Lewis, a deceased spirit who asks for their help. Along with Cole, Maggie’s little brother, the three are transported back in time to 1915 where they met Hope and find a way to support her through the most stressful time of her life. In the...
Read MoreBroken by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry
Summary: Ash’s life is changing as her father has proposed to his girlfriend Ella, and her daughters, Julia and Katie, are about to move in. Feeling ignored as engagement party and wedding plans start flying, tension builds within Ash coming out in the most unexpected way. Events conspire to place Ash in a Cinderella-esque position, but as she changes herself to win back her father’s attention, she realises the enviable lives of her new step-sisters are not as perfect as they seem. The answer lies in Ash having the confidence to be herself, and finding the ability to be honest...
Read MoreStowaway in the White Hurricane by Barbara Aggerholm
Summary: Tired of being known as a landlubber and driven by concern for her father, Lucy follows her instincts and stows away on the cargo ship he works on during his last cargo run of the season, leaving a note of explanation behind for her mother. Her instincts prove terribly right when a hurricane arises just as Lucy’s dad has a heart attack. With her quick thinking and help from Rachel, the ship’s cook, as well as Rip, a secret stowaway dog, Lucy faces the sinking of the ship, rescues her father, and survives the most legendary storm of 1913. After it’s all over,...
Read MoreWake by Robert J. Sawyer
Summary: Fifteen year-old Caitlin has been blind since birth, but after a move to Waterloo, Ontario for her dad’s job, she receives an email from a Japanese scientist named Dr. Kuroda, who thinks he can restore her sight. The installation of this device has unintended side effects as instead of being able to see the world around her, Caitlin is able to see the World Wide Web. The device interpreting the signals coming through her visual cortex becomes a conduit for a growing web consciousness, and Caitlin is the first to realise there is something out there. Drawing inspiration from...
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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