Friendships between schoolgirls like Jessie and MaryBeth -- for that is how their names are properly spelled, although they like to pretend to be Jesse and Meribeth -- are complicated. It's not the first time Alice Munro has grappled with the subject. The intricacies of relationships between schoolchildren also feature
Whitney Otto's How to Make an American Quilt was a story which immediately and powerfully appealed to me. As a narrative it was deliberately fragmented (like a quilt), and the idea of a mosaic of smaller pieces comprising a larger, complex whole translated brilliantly into film in the hands of
Susannah Cahalan knows how to tell a story. She started as a "copy kid" at the New York Post, sorting mail and making coffee, and when readers meet her on the page, she is a full-time writer there. Yet, the three story pitches she has just volleyed to her boss have
It recalls Sharon Butala's love of the prairie, reverence for the land. It brings to mind Lee Maracle's focus on relationships between women, love and friendship and sustenance. And it reminds me of Louise Erdrich's unflinching consideration of violence against women and the world. But Alanda Greene's Napi's
The cover of The Secret of the Village Fool displays Renné Benoit's gentle style of illustration and invites the reader into an inspiring and powerful tale. But it also shows the anxiety and uneasiness of Milek and Munio, two young boys in their village in Poland during WWII. Their neighbour, Anton,
