Way to Go by Tom Ryan
Summary: Seventeen year-old Danny is launched into the summer of 1994 with a new job and a secret that’s becoming increasingly more difficult to hide. Unsure of what he wants to do after senior year, what Danny does know is that he wants to get as far away as possible from the small town mentality of Deep Cove, Cape Breton Island. His summer job at The Sandbar opens up new possibilities and creates new friendships, but it is ultimately Danny who must decide what to do with his life and who is safe to share his secret with. Number of Pages: 214 Age Range: 15-17 Review: With a cast of...
Read MoreLast Summer in Louisbourg by Claire Mowat
Summary: After winning an essay writing contest, fifteen year-old Andrea is offered a chance to work at any Canada Park for the summer. She chooses to go to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia to work at the historical Fortress of Louisbourg because she was born in the Maritimes and misses being there. Her summer job leads to new friends, a role in a movie production, and the revelation of a long held family secret. Number of Pages: 147 Age Range: 12-13 Review: The last book in The Girl From Away trilogy, main character Andrea is now fifteen years-old and venturing out to Cape Breton Island to...
Read MoreBlood Brothers in Louisbourg by Philip Roy
Summary: The stories of two teens interweave in 1700s Louisbourg, located in pre-Cape Breton Island. Jacques has been forced by his military father to leave his home in France to serve at the Fortress of Louisburg, and Two-feathers has encountered the Fortress in a search for his birth father, whom he knows is a Frenchman. Friendship with Celestine is the only connecting link between the two, because neither is aware of the real connection that binds them together. As the war between England and France comes to a head in the New World, Two-feathers must choose between love and duty to his...
Read MoreLast Chance Bay by Anne Laurel Carter
Summary: Thirteen year-old Meg Christie wants to be a pilot. Unfortunately she lives in 1940s Cape Breton Island where women are expected to get married, have children and keep house while their men work in the coal mines. Inspired by Amelia Earhart and a chance encounter with Beryl Markham, Meg pushes the boundaries of her small town with her dreams, encouraged by her older cousin Caleb and her teacher Miss MacKinnon. When Caleb enlists to fight in WWII, however, Meg is forced to reconsider her dreams in the face of having to take care of her family. Number of Pages: 169 Age Range: 13-16...
Read MoreNamesake by Sue MacLeod
Summary: 15 year-old Jane Grey is dealing with an erratic, alcoholic mother at home and a challenging school assignment about Lady Jane Grey, the nine days queen, at school. After getting books from the library to read up on her subject, Jane finds a peculiar little book among the others that she didn’t check out. Turns out it is Lady Jane Grey’s prayer book and it acts as a portal to 1500s England just after Queen Mary has taken the throne and banished Lady Jane to Tower of London. Jane and Lady Jane become friends, and Jane is witness to the effects of Lady Jane’s...
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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