Loosely inspired by his own mother’s journey to Canada, Dimitri Nasrallah’s Hotline follows Muna Heddad and her son Omar, two refugees from the war torn country of Lebanon, as they immigrate to Montreal in 1986 following the tragic death of Muna’s husband. In her previous life, Muna was a French teacher, but roadblocks in place…
Michael Christie’s GREENWOOD is a multi-generational saga following over a century of the Greenwood family through both its meteoric rise and devastating fall. Beginning in 2038, we begin with Jake Greenwood, an overqualified guide offering tours of one of Earth’s last remaining natural forests following the climate apocalypse some years earlier. She is presented with…
Scarborough centers around a publicly funded literacy program in Southern Ontario. The educators, the parents and the children attending are the focus of the story as the author shifts perspectives from each family in an effort to dig deeper into a struggling low-income community. This was a tough read. It’s not a long book, but…
Five Little Indians is a novel that looks at the lives of five individuals and their struggle to find a place in the world following the trauma they were subjected to within Canada’s Residential School system. We’re only two months into 2022 and I’m positive that Michelle Good’s novel will easily earn a spot in…
Washington Black – or Wash as he comes to be known – is an eleven year old slave at a plantation in Barbados. Wash is discovered by Christopher “Titch” Wilde – the younger brother of the plantation’s owner – to be a gifted illustrator. Spending years developing a flying machine he’s dubbed “The Cloud Cutter”,…
Eager to learn more about her grandparents and where they came from, author Jessica J. Lee embarks on a trip to Taiwan to explore the island’s landscape and cultural history. This isn’t going to be a long review. Normally, I love a good travel/adventure book, but Lee’s look at the geographical history of Taiwan left…
Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the story of a mother, Kambirinachi, and her two daughters, Kehinde and Taiye. Kambirinachi was born an Ogbanje – a spirit that brings misfortunes to families in the form of a miscarriage or early childhood death. Rather than succumb to her purpose Kambi decides to live, thus spends her life…
Jonny Appleseed follows a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer person living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Having left the Rez years prior, Jonny receives news that his step-father has passed away. Broke and wary of returning home, Jonny must quickly come up with the funds to travel home to be with his mother. In doing so, Jonny aggressively turns to…
Every Read Thing 