Stewart, the 13-year old narrator of this tale, is struggling with the death of his mother (and perhaps with his father’s complete acceptance and healing from it). He is socially inept but brilliant in academic ways. He has been in a special school for gifted children where he has excelled, and has a very […]
1001 Recipes You’ve Always Wanted to Cook Collins & Brown; Edited by Heather Brown When I have the time, I love to cook and although I already have hundreds of cookbooks on my shelf at home (no, seriously!) I continue to be attracted to new cookbooks and new recipes to try. Most recently, I had […]
Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight By Alexandra Fuller Written by a British expatriate, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is a memoir of growing up in Africa. Set in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Mozambique and Malawi, this book follows Alexandra Fuller from the age of three as her family builds a life in […]
Leonard By William Shatner As a child I used to watch old re-runs of Star Trek and wish for the time when there was such a crew of great men and women that would keep peace all over the universe. My two favourite characters have to be the stoic and calm Mr. Spock and the […]
As the jacket description reads, “it took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others.”This book is about a school shooting, but it’s about much more than that, too. Each chapter of the book is told from […]
Orange is the New BlackBy Piper KermanUsually I like to read the book before I watch the show but in this case I went a little backwards. Orange is the New Black, the Netflix show, is one of my favourites, I had not even thought that it was a book first so when I saw […]
By Leslye WaltonIn this award winning novel, Ava Lavender’s family has a history of tragic love stories. Her great-grandmother, Maman; grandmother, Emilienne; and mother, Viviane’s stories are all told through this multi-generational saga of love and love lost. A bad track record of foolish love does not forecast a hopeful future for Ava, and is […]
By David Wong There are so many internet connected devices available. I have the usual devices: smartphone, gaming consoles, a connected TV, a tablet, a regular computer. I haven’t got a smartwatch yet and virtual reality googles are still a bit too expensive, but I expect I will get them eventually. All this technology is […]
The Memory of LightBy Francisco X. StorkI just finished reading an advanced copy of this book. I know that it is a YA book but I wanted to recommend it for parents and adults as well. Francisco Stork has tackled the world of mental illness in a very real and sensitive way. I would recommend […]
Crooked Heart By Lissa Evans Lissa Evans’ “Crooked Heart” is a startlingly funny odd-couple story set against the backdrop of World War II London. It follows Noel Bostock, a ten-year-old orphan being raised by his anti-authoritarian suffragette godmother, Mattie. She isn’t a particularly affectionate woman, but she does adore him and maintains his education from […]