Men of Stone by Gayle Friesen
Summary: Aunt Frieda’s announcement that she’s coming to stay with Ben, his three sisters and his mother takes them all by surprise. It’s been years since Aunt Frieda’s nephew (Ben’s father) died, and no one knows exactly why she would want to visit now. But once they become accustomed to her, Aunt Frieda’s presence and easy nature begins to have subtle and positive effects on all of them. At a time when Ben is questioning what he knows because of his ongoing grief over the death of his father and the threat of physical violence at school, Aunt Frieda...
Read MoreJaney’s Girl by Gayle Friesen
Summary: Travelling from Toronto, Ontario to Smallwood, British Columbia to visit her grandmother is a long trip, especially when Claire does not have a clear picture of what she’s heading into. Suddenly she finds herself in a small town where everyone knows her history except her, and she is known simply as Janey’s girl. Trying to uncover the secrets her mother has been keeping her whole life, Claire stumbles upon the father she never knew, and must confront the existence of a half-brother who needs her help. If she can put aside her mother’s pain and her own, she has the...
Read MoreWho is Frances Rain? by Margaret Buffie
Summary: Up at her Gran’s place on Rain Lake, Manitoba for the summer with her warring family, Lizzie seeks solace on an abandoned island with plenty of secrets. When Lizzie’s excavation of the remnants of a cabin turn up a pair of spectacles, Lizzie dons them only to be transported to another time when the island wasn’t abandoned. Witness to the life of Frances Rain and her mysterious visitor, Lizzie slowly pieces together who Frances Rain was and what happened to her. In real life, Lizzie is dealing with the potential break up of her new and fragile family and learns her...
Read MoreA Foreign Field by Gillian Chan
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 the end of Stephen’s training brings physical separation as he sent to be a bomber in...
Read MoreVirginia by Susan Hughes
Summary: During the summer before starting high school, Ivy receives an odd phone call from her former friend Virginia. Convinced she has been visited by an angel and is going to have God’s baby, Virginia wants Ivy to bear witness to these miraculous events, but Ivy is skeptical. In her own home life, Ivy is dealing with an alcoholic mother who defies any interventions, and a sister who is getting married, much to her mother’s dismay. Still Ivy finds the time to follow up on her concern for Virginia, picking up on the strange vibes from Virginia’s family and investigating...
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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