Trial 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 MoreLumiere by Jacqueline Garlick
Summary: Plagued by mental fits that could cause her to be committed, Eyelet finds herself all alone after her father dies the Night of the Great Illumination and her mother is executed for being deemed a valkyrie. Before his death, Eyelet’s father was working on a machine to cure her affliction that he called the Illuminator, and Eyelet’s quest to find it causes her introduction to Urlick, a young man afflicted with his own demons. Together, Eyelet and Urlick embark on a journey to find her father’s journals and make the machine work in a quest for healing, but the true...
Read MoreTales From the Farm by Jeff Lemire
Summary: Living with his Uncle Ken after his mother dies, 10 year-old Lester is just trying to stay afloat. The relationship between Lester and his uncle is strained as they can’t quite seem to connect through their grief, but a new friendship with Jimmy helps Lester see things in a new light. Jimmy himself is a former Maple Leafs’ player whose career was cut short when a injury caused brain damage. Like a kid himself, Jimmy is the perfect companion for Lester, and allows him to be the hero his mother always thought he was. Number of Pages: 104 Age Range: 13-15 Review: There is a...
Read MoreHaunted by Barbara Haworth-Attard
Summary: Dee (short for Defiance) lives with her midwife grandmother in small town Ontario just after World War I has ended. Gifted with a second sight that involves seeing ghosts, Dee becomes involved in a murder investigation when the bones of a good friend are discovered on Price’s Mountain. Evil is haunting the town as more girls die, but Dee is the only one who can see it. Working against the growing suspicion of the townspeople, Dee tries to unravel the mystery of who is committing the murders, but when an obviously innocent man is arrested, Dee must step up her efforts. In the...
Read MoreTrue Blue by Deborah Ellis
Summary: As their summer as camp counsellors draws to a close, best friends Jess and Casey find themselves with their most challenging camper yet. Stephanie is an uncooperative eight year-old who likes to stir up trouble whenever she can. At their wits’ end with her, Jess and Casey are almost relieved to be taking their campers on their last camp-out, until one of the girls ends up with appendicitis and Stephanie disappears, only to turn up dead. Casey is arrested, charged with killing Stephanie while Jess was taking the other girl to the hospital, and Jess is left without a best...
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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