Book Reviews

Initiation by Virginia Frances Schwartz

Posted by on Jul 18, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario | 0 comments

Summary: Living in the mid 1400s, Nanolatch and Nana are the long heralded “Salmon Twins” born to the Kwakiutl tribe. As they approach the time of their initiations when they will take their places as adults, the tribe is thrown into upheaval when a rival tribe offends the Salmon men through over fishing. A war is begun, and the spoils of the attack include Noh, an apprentice shaman from the other community. Her presence affects the lives of both of the twins, and as she comes to love them both in different ways, Noh finds herself knowing the future but being unable to stop it....

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Kid Soldier by Jennifer Maruno

Posted by on Jul 17, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario | 0 comments

Summary: Richard Fuller is a fifteen year-old with a taste for adventure and an ambitious spirit. Also loyal and trustworthy, Richard works at various jobs making friends everywhere he goes until the local baker suggests he train to be a signaller at a summer training camp for soldiers. Certain this is the key to achieving his dreams of seeing the world, Richard enlists when World War II starts, using his library card for identification though he is too young. But the rigours of war are not what he imagined, and though it puts him in touch with long-lost relatives in England, Richard...

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Running the Bases by Paul Kropp

Posted by on Jul 16, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario | 0 comments

Summary: Seventeen year-old Alan has one thing on his mind: getting laid. Under the tutelage of his best friend and self-proclaimed ladies’ man, Jeremy, Alan approaches Maggie to invite her to a school dance, only to be turned down because he comes off as desperate. But once Maggie has had time to cool down, she offers Alan her services to help him find someone to date and achieve his goals of ‘running the bases’ and ‘hitting a home run.’ Several hilarious episodes ensue, until Alan finds a college woman named Rochelle that he begins to fall in love with,...

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Week in Review: Ontario Continued

Posted by on Jul 16, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario, Week in Review | 0 comments

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Dying to Go Viral by Sylvia McNicoll

Posted by on Jul 15, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario | 0 comments

Summary: When participating in a dangerous skateboarding stunt without a helmet ends her life, fourteen year-old Jade begs her mother in the afterlife for one more week so she can ensure her father and brother will be okay without her. She returns to her family to relive the week before her death, making a list of things she needs to accomplish to improve her father and brother’s lives. As the week progresses, Jade mends her father and brother’s relationship, living life to the fullest with some unexpected and wonderful surprises in the meantime. As the day of her death...

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A Foreign Field by Gillian Chan

Posted by on Jul 14, 2014 in Book Reviews, Ontario | 0 comments

Summary: Growing up during World War II in Hagersville, Ontario, fourteen year-old Ellen finds herself thrust into a homemaker role as her mother invests herself in volunteer work to aid the war effort. When her younger brother is brought home by a pilot-in-training named Stephen from England, Ellen’s family embraces him as he seems to fill the gap left by Ellen’s older brothers being away at war. Over time, Ellen and Stephen’s friendship develops into something more, and though theĀ end of Stephen’s training brings physical separation as he sent to be a bomber in...

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