BOOK REVIEWS

Prev 17 181920 21....1081 1082 Next

Village Weavers

Myriam J.A. Chancy’s Village Weavers captures the origins, intersections, and ruptures of a lifelong friendship between Simone (Sisi) Val and Gertude (Gertie) Alcindor. The novel’s scope is ambitious, as it leaps between 1940s Port-au-Prince, 1970s ... Read More »

May 1, 2024 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

★ A Planet Is a Poem

By Amanda West Lewis and Oliver Averill (ill.)

A Planet Is a Poem intertwines the worlds of poetry and science in 14 poems. Written by Amanda West Lewis and illustrated by Oliver Averill, each poem pairs a planetary body with a poetic form: ... Read More »

May 1, 2024 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

Crying Dress

By Cassidy McFadzean

“The most interesting part of architecture is the non-functioning,” writes Cassidy McFadzean in “Pier Evil,” one of the poems in her third collection. In a later poem, McFadzean clarifies this observation: “Fluting’s the only feature ... Read More »

April 24, 2024 | Filed under: Poetry, Reviews

★ Queenie Jean Is in Trouble Again

By Christine Read

Author Christine Read shines a light on the thoughts and feelings of kids with ADHD in her debut middle-grade novel, Queenie Jean Is in Trouble Again. Queenie is a Grade 5 student who gets herself ... Read More »

April 24, 2024 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

The Little Regent

By Yewande Daniel-Ayoade and Ken Daley (ill.)

Even as she grieves the death of her father, 8-year-old Abioye finds herself leading her small West African community. (In many Yoruba communities, when the king dies without a son, his daughter rules the community ... Read More »

April 17, 2024 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

★ Teeth

By Dallas Hunt

Dallas Hunt’s Teeth is a stirring follow-up to Creeland, his first book of poetry. In “Cree Dictionary,” from his debut collection, Hunt begins with a witty redefinition of terms: “the translation for joy / in ... Read More »

April 10, 2024 | Filed under: Indigenous Peoples, Poetry, Reviews

Crash Landing

By Li Charmaine Anne

In Li Charmaine Anne’s debut, Crash Landing, high school senior Jay Wong finds herself re-evaluating her life after meeting Ash Chan. On discovering a passion for video-editing, Jay’s focus shifts from academics to making skateboarding ... Read More »

April 10, 2024 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

★ The Seventh Town of Ghosts

By Faith Arkorful

Faith Arkorful’s debut book, The Seventh Town of Ghosts, is a collection of lyric poems suffused with a heart-centred intelligence. These poems move through grief, memory, and joy with the insight of “a black girl ... Read More »

April 3, 2024 | Filed under: Poetry, Reviews

Dayspring

By Anthony Oliveira

In his genre-bending debut novel, Dayspring, Toronto writer Anthony Oliveira has crafted a truly one-of-a-kind depiction of the life of Jesus Christ – reimagined from the perspective of the apostle John, described in the Bible ... Read More »

April 3, 2024 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels, Reviews

★ The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets Selected and Translated by Yilin Wang

By Yilin Wang

The Lantern and the Night Moths is an exceptional book of translations and literary criticism by poet-translator Yilin Wang. Wang’s original translations of five Chinese poets and her accompanying essays (one per poet) make for ... Read More »

March 27, 2024 | Filed under: Poetry, Reviews