The McGillicuddy Book of Personal Records by Colleen Sydor
Summary: Obsessed with breaking a world record, Lee McGillicuddy makes attempts on several different records unsuccessfully. After the latest attempt gives him sunstroke, Lee remains more determined than ever, forcing himself to walk the Manitoba Marathon, a thirty-five kilometre journey. Despite his failures, Lee is hopeful, until he comes to the abrupt realisation that some people are born talented as opposed to having to work to put their names in the record books. He becomes discouraged, but encouragement from his friend Rhonda (call me Ron) ends up leading to a situation that will test...
Read MoreKarma by Cathy Ostlere
Summary: With one parent who is Sikh and one who is Hindu, Maya (Jiva) is caught in the middle with two names and conflicting beliefs about God and life. As the only Indians living in rural town of Elsinore, Manitoba, the culture isolation hits Maya’s mother the most, leading her into depression and suicide. In response, her father takes Maya back to India, but it’s 1984 and prime minister Indira Gandhi is about to be assassinated, plunging the country into a violent rampage against Sikhs. Maya and her father are separated during the riots, each believing the other is dead, and...
Read MoreSworn Enemies by Carol Matas
Summary: In the 1800s, the Czar of Russia plans to convert Jews by forcing them to enlist in the army. Each community has a quota to fill, and those who are reluctant to give up their boys to the military find they can be kidnapped by khappers; men hired to force them to do their twenty-five years of service. If families can afford to pay, their sons will be safe, but Zev, a khapper, has a personal vendetta against Aaron, a scholar, and abducts him anyway. Suddenly, Aaron’s bright future of discussing the Torah and marrying Miriam, the love of his life, becomes a future of having to...
Read MoreAfter the War by Carol Matas
Summary: When World War II ends, Ruth is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. As a Jew who survived the Holocaust, Ruth searches for her lost family members among a sea of displaced persons trying to find each other and a new purpose. Israel is the promised land in more ways than one, and Ruth’s motivation to join those on this exodus from Poland comes from being enlisted to the cause as opposed to religious fervour. Along the way, Ruth slowly faces the horrors she has experienced, watching the reactions of others while dealing with her own, searching like everyone else...
Read MoreIrma Voth by Miriam Toews
Summary: Living as a Mennonite in Mexico, Irma Voth is a young, married nineteen year-old who lives with her husband on the farm adjacent to her parents’ farm. Her husband, Jorge, is a native Mexican and an outsider to the Mennonite community and when he leaves Irma she doesn’t know what to do with herself. A local filmmaker comes to the farming community with a vision and hires Irma to translate between him and his star actress. As Irma entangles herself with the outsiders, her father’s anger grows, spilling over onto Aggie, her younger sister, until Irma must take action...
Read MoreJuliana and the Medicine Fish by Jake MacDonald
Summary: After Juliana’s parents’ divorce, she moves from the happy life she once had in Kenora, Ontario to Winnipeg, Manitoba with just her mother. It’s hard to get used to her new life, especially when her father never comes to visit her. Juliana orchestrates a visit herself, arranging to go and stay at his fishing lodge for a week in the summer. When she arrives, Juliana discovers her father is facing financial troubles, and the fishing tournament the lodge is hosting provides an opportunity for her to help him out. If she can catch the infamous medicine fish living...
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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