Quill and Quire

BOOK REVIEWS

Muse

By Mary Novik

In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier, A.S. Byatt, Sarah Dunant, and – more recently – Cathy Marie Buchanan, Mary Novik’s captivating second novel imagines the circumstances surrounding the creation of venerated works of art: in ... Read More »

August 8, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

When We Were Good

By Suzanne Sutherland

Binge-eating, suicidal thoughts, sexual frustration, alienated parents, best-friend-turned-mean-girl – in short, a good wallow in what one character calls a “drama pit” – are the components author Suzanne Sutherland brings to her YA debut, a ... Read More »

August 1, 2013 | Filed under: Book news

Kid Soldier

By Jennifer Maruno

It can be difficult to interest young readers in history, especially if they can’t see how it is relevant to their daily lives. Author and educator Jennifer Maruno tries to address this challenge through Richard ... Read More »

August 1, 2013

The Oathbreaker’s Shadow

By Amy McCulloch

Amy McCulloch’s debut novel is a well-plotted fantasy about the dire consequences of breaking promises and misplacing trust. Sixteen-year-old Raim belongs to a nomadic tribe in Darhan, a place where breaking an oath means being ... Read More »

August 1, 2013

So Much It Hurts

By Monique Polak

Seventeen-year-old Iris, who dreams of becoming an actress, is excited to be performing as Ophelia in her school play. When the charming director, Mick, takes a personal interest in her, Iris embarks on an illicit ... Read More »

August 1, 2013

The Hypnotists

By Gordon Korman

The name Gordon Korman is synonymous with blockbuster. The kidlit icon’s plots are almost always drenched in action, suspense, cliffhangers, and delightful twists that barely straddle the line of believability, making him a kind of ... Read More »

August 1, 2013

Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl

By Emily Pohl-Weary

Feeding the voracious demand for YA paranormal romance, Toronto author Emily Pohl-Weary’s Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl is a quick, smart take on the genre. The story revolves around 18-year-old Sam, a paradoxically introverted rock ... Read More »

August 1, 2013

★ Wild Awake

By Hilary T. Smith

Kiri Byrd, the protagonist in Hilary T. Smith’s debut novel, is a gifted 17-year-old pianist living in Vancouver. She practices relentlessly, almost compulsively. When she’s not at the piano, she’s in her best friend Lukas’s ... Read More »

August 1, 2013