This humorous and idiosyncratic collection of letters forms the unusual story of Gilmour Walker, a middle-aged man who, desperately afraid of dying, sets out from his home, somewhere on the Nova Scotia shore, to find a way around death. His inspiration for the mission is his reading of the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, in which the hero a …

Louis Riel arrives at Batoche in 1884 to help the Métis fight for their lands and discovers that the rebellious outsider Josette Lavoie is a granddaughter of the famous chief Big Bear, whom he needs as an ally. But Josette learns of Riel's hidden agenda - to establish a separate state with his new church at its head - and refuses to help him. Only …

Thirteen-year-old Kalu and his young cousin, Aisha, are the only survivors when their African village is overrun by rebels and burnt to the ground. After making their way to the coast, Kalu gets a job aboard a smuggler’s boat heading for Ireland. When the smuggler learns that the coast guard is searching for illegal migrants, he abandons the kids …

In Jack Hodgins' new novel, Cadillac Cathedral, he is at his humorous best in describing the eccentric but lovable characters in the little town of Portuguese Creek on Vancouver Island. Arvo is the main figure, a Finn who has worked in logging camps all his life and who now spends his retirement fixing old cars, often ones that he finds discarded i …

Sixteen-year-old Darrah is in trouble. She lost her temper and, as a result, Mrs. Johnson, was hurt. Now her parents want her to go to something called a "Restorative Justice" circle that the RCMP suggested. Darrah has to face her parents, Mrs. Johnson, a policewoman, and a "facilitator" who all sit in a circle and decide on Darrah's "sanctions." S …

In this new edition of Jack Hodgins' Governor General–winning novel (for 1979), the reader is taken into the everyday eccentricities of life in Port Annie on the west coast of Vancouver Island, a town that keeps slipping into the ocean and whose people have long been in a continuous slumber. Everything changes, however, when a beautiful sea nymph …

In this new edition of Jack Hodgins’ Governor General–winning novel (for 1979), the reader is taken into the everyday eccentricities of life in Port Annie on the west coast of Vancouver Island, a town that keeps slipping into the ocean and whose people have long been in a continuous slumber. Everything changes, however, when a beautiful sea nym …

In 1939 the botanist Vladimir Krajina joined the Czech Resistance and quickly became one of its leaders. Incredible escapes from the Gestapo followed while some 20,000 radio messages were sent by his group to London, among them those about the pending invasion of the Balkans and of the Soviet Union. As the strongest anti-Communist Party's general s …

In Skin Like Mine Garry Gottfriedson offers a suite of poems on what it feels like to be inside the skin of many contemporary native individuals. He pulls no punches as he reflects on the challenges facing native people today. He speaks of minds full of anticipation yet with tongues pointing arrowheads. He tells of how so many native young people a …

What thirteen-year-old boy wants to travel on a hopeless quest to India with his grandmother? Not Ben Leeson, whose anger about his father’s recent death has led him to escape into the isolated world of computer games. India is the last place Ben ever thought of visiting and his grandmother is the last person he’d ever dreamed of travelling wit …

In this new collection of stories, F.B. André explores what it means to "belong." Frequently his stories portray individuals involved in mixed relationships, of different cultures and races or backgrounds - of people struggling to feel at home with themselves and their situations. André depicts characters newly arrived in Canada as well as those …

Seeking Shelter, a novel for readers nine and up, is a sensitive and moving story of a young girl's struggle to recover from the death of her mother. When her dad lands an assignment in the States, thirteen-year-old Marcie Chisholm is sent to the Crieffs, friends and former neighbours in Montreal, for the summer. Armed with a backpack, the violin h …

The result of a cross-Canada contest for the best short stories about young people’s experience of loss and grief, Dark Times is a superb anthology about a topic that often remains hidden but is crucial in the development of a child’s sense of identity.

Laura Lush's new collection of poems is nature poetry at its strongest and most insightful, the images connecting to give voice to our many uncertainties as we creep further into an already darkening twenty-first century. With an unwavering eye, Lush focuses on the spiritual tenacity needed to make our way through difficult times. Lush's sharply dr …

This young adult historical novel, set in the early seventeenth century, tells the story of Madeleine Hebert and her brother Philippe who travel to New France to join their father after their mother dies in France. On arriving in Quebec city, they learn that their father, with the Regiment de Carignan, is at Michilimackinac, and possibly ill.

When P …