Up to Low by Brian Doyle
Summary: Young Tommy hasn’t been to his family cabin since his mother died two years before. Living now with his father and his Aunt Dottie, a woman with a serious germ-phobia, Young Tommy is looking forward to going back to the cabin, hoping he’ll run into Baby Bridget, the girl next door he cares for. Getting to the cabin means taking his life in his hands at times as he travels with his father and his father’s friend Frank, a notorious drunk who drives anyway. All along their journey the news is that Mean Hughie, Baby Bridget’s father, is dying of cancer, and when...
Read MoreAll Good Children by Catherine Austen
Summary: Upon returning to New Middleton after attending his Aunt Sylvia’s funeral, Max notices that children at his sister Ally’s school are beginning to change. Once playful, rambunctious and loud children have become docile and rule-abiding, all impulsivity and free-thinking removed. This behaviour is spreading up the school grades thanks to mandatory ‘vaccinations,’ and Max and his friend Dallas find themselves pretending to be zombies just to fit in after Max’s mother rescues them from getting the shot. Living in a society that focuses on using its...
Read MoreGood for Nothing by Michel Noel
Summary: Fifteen year-old Nipishish comes home to life on the reserve from residential school with a lot of anger. Unsure of his place and his future, he is directed by the Canadian government to attend high school in another town and live with a foster family, but while the abuse has ended, Nipishish continually comes up against blatant racism. Caught between the world of the white man and the world of the Natives as a Métis, Nipishish has to work twice as hard to figure out who he is and how he fits in. A mystery involving his father’s death helps him clarify his own identity, and...
Read MoreJake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman
Summary: Jake Garrett is a mysterious new student at F. Scott Fitzgerald High School. He’s the new star of the football team, he throws wild parties every week, and he’s in love with the quarterback’s girlfriend, Didi. Everyone knows of him, but no one really knows Jake himself, except for Rick, a fellow football player at school. Rick acts as narrator, confessor, and witness to Jake’s true intentions, learning just how far Jake will go for love. As tension between characters mounts, Jake’s commitment will be put to the test with devastating results. Number of...
Read MoreYellow Mini by Lori Weber
Summary: A collection of free verse poems that make up stories about growing up told from various perspectives. Storylines include Mark and his grieving process over his father dying, Stacey and her need for attention, Annabelle focusing on changing the world, Christopher falling in love and getting his first girlfriend and Mary stepping out of her shell to play in the school’s talent show. These stories intertwine with each other, and insights are provided by everyone involved. Number of Pages: 240 Age Range: 13-15 Review: Yellow Mini by Lori Weber is a free-verse novel that contains...
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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