Henry K. Larsen -- star of Susin Nielsen's last novel -- was a savvy young fellow: "I know I can’t change my stupid red hair or my stupid freckles. But I can lower my freak flag." Tundra Books, 2015 In contrast, Stewart -- star of her most recent
You might be tempted to call eight-year-old Egg Murakami enchanting or winsome. Even plucky or spirited. Goose Lane Editions, 2014 Each of these terms does reflect Egg in some sense. But such descriptions suggest something young-Oprah-heroine-esque about her. Egg’s character is too fully rounded to simply select the
McClelland & Stewart, 2004 ‘Trespass’ is a word that I associate with childhood more than most. It slipped off my tongue every morning in school, after we sang “O Canada”, in a dutiful recitation of “The Lord’s Prayer”. And there was always a sign warning against it when
The word 'goodish' entered my vocabulary thanks to an observation that Carol Shields makes of two female friends in The Republic of Love. (General increased usage of -ish also ensued.) "They love the word ‘goodish,’ as in goodish sunsets, goodish travel bargains, goodish men." The title and cover of Suzanne Sutherland's When
At first glance, readers might not spot similarities between J. C. Carleson's The Tyrant's Daughter (2014) and Gabrielle Prendergast's Audacious (2013). Knopf - Random House, 2014 Laila, the 15-year-old daughter of an assassinated dictator, flees to North America with the aid of authorities who recognize the family's vulnerability
