Birdspell

Birdspell
Author: Valerie Sherrard
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2021-03-13
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770866140

Corbin Hayes has felt alone for as long as he can remember. His mom’s illness means lost jobs, constant moves, new schools and friendships that never get to grow. There’s a gap in his life that’s been waiting to be filled. ​ So, when a classmate offers Corbin the talking bird she can no longer keep, he’s stoked. ​ But when things begin to spiral out of control, Corbin can no longer get his mom – or himself – through the dark period. At his lowest moment, he’s forced to do the one thing he fears the most.

The Brave

The Brave
Author: James Bird
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250247748

Perfect for fans of Rain Reign, this middle-grade novel The Brave is about a boy with an undiagnosed anxiety issue and his move to a reservation to live with his biological mother. Collin can't help himself—he has a mental health condition that finds him counting every letter spoken to him. It's a quirk that makes him a prime target for bullies, and frustrates the adults around him, including his father. When Collin asked to leave yet another school, his dad decides to send him to live in Minnesota with the mother he's never met. She is Ojibwe, and lives on a reservation. Collin arrives in Duluth with his loyal dog, Seven, and quickly finds his mom and his new home to be warm, welcoming, and accepting of his disability. Collin’s quirk is matched by that of his neighbor, Orenda, a girl who lives mostly in her treehouse and believes she is turning into a butterfly. With Orenda’s help, Collin works hard to learn the best ways to manage his anxiety disorder. His real test comes when he must step up for his new friend and trust his new family.

A Bend in the Breeze

A Bend in the Breeze
Author: Valerie Sherrard
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2022-04-16
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770866485

When eleven-year-old Pascale Chardon finds herself on a lifeboat drifting toward an uncharted island with no memory of how she got there, all she wants is to get back to her family. The islanders, however, have a different objective. For many decades, the islanders have been anticipating the arrival of someone foretold only as the Long Awaited. The Long Awaited is said to have knowledge of the island’s future and will tell the islanders of their fate seventeen days after their arrival. At first Pascale is sure she’s not the Long Awaited, but when strange happenings occur, she finds it impossible to be certain of anything. Could she be the Long Awaited after all? A Bend in the Breeze, award-winning author Valerie Sherrard’s 30th novel, is a delightful tale about the importance of love and compassion.

Fifteen Point Nine

Fifteen Point Nine
Author: Holly Dobbie
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2018-05-12
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1770865241

No one at school knew that fifteen-year-old Aggie and her mother were hoarders until the Idiot Boys. That made her even more a target of bullies than she was before. At home, aka The Dump, her loneliness and despair are further punctuated by her mother’s alcoholism, neglect, and paranoia. But Aggie is a warrior and she devises a plan to fight back —?a plan that enlists a few of the other misfits at school. The plan isn’t an easy one, though, and when she is beaten by a group of girls, she finds strength and encouragement from some unlikely sources. Will it be enough to turn her life around? And will she somehow be able to save her mother, who continues a downward spiral of neglect?

The Magpie's Library

The Magpie's Library
Author: Kate Blair
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2019-05-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770865551

Silva and her family visit her grandfather, only to find his health has taken a bad turn. As they struggle with this news, Silva seeks escape in books – at the local library. But she gets more than she bargained for when a magpie guides her to a secret, magical room containing books that she can not only read, but that she can live. Silva finds herself in the worlds of the characters … who all turn out to be real people. People she knows. There’s a catch, though: she soon discovers that the magpie has lured her to these books for selfish and dark reasons. Going back to the books could mean losing her soul …

The Rise and Fall of Derek Cowell

The Rise and Fall of Derek Cowell
Author: Valerie Sherrard
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2020-04-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770865756

Derek didn’t mean to become popular. His accidental photo bomb — the one that made him internet-famous — took him from invisibility to middle-school fame overnight. And you know what? He’s not sure if he likes it. But his best friend Steve does, and schemes to find other ways to help Derek to remain the talk of the school. But what goes up must come down, and Derek’s reluctant rise is followed by a regrettable crash. Funny, emotionally rich, and inspiring, The Rise and Fall of Derek Cowell is the latest book by award-winning, bestselling author Valerie Sherrard.

Oculum

Oculum
Author: Philippa Dowding
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2018-04-22
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1770865136

"I'm Mann, just Mann." The world is slowly recovering after environmental collapse, and the children of the automated, domed city of Oculum have begun to awaken. Miranda, William and the 998 other children wake to tend the fruit trees and gardens behind the thick, opaque walls of their world. Some speak quietly of Outside, which is forbidden. Until William finds a door ... The children outside the dome of Oculum — Mann, Cranker and others raised by Grannie — live amongst the rubble of the old destroyed city. They live with hunger, hard work, and stories about a time before the fall, of buggies without horses, light without fire ... and magical fruit called "peaches." But it must be lies, until one day Mann and Cranker get close enough to the ancient dome to find ... a door....

Shantallow

Shantallow
Author: Cara Martin
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2019-05-26
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1770865535

Shortlisted for the 2020 Ottawa Book Award Longlisted for the 2020 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic Tanvi isn’t the girl of Misha’s dreams; she’s the girl from his nightmares. She has appeared in his chilling dreams before he even meets her; when he DOES meet her, he falls for her. Their relationship turns stormy, bordering on abusive, and takes a dramatic turn when they are held captive by a group hoping to extract money from Tanvi’s wealthy family. But there is something more sinister at work, and the kidnappers and their victims find themselves struggling for survival as a supernatural force from Misha’s nightmares makes itself known in the real world.

Live to Tell

Live to Tell
Author: Lisa Harrington
Publisher: Cormorant Books
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2012-08-07
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1770862188

When Libby Thorne wakes up in the hospital, they tell her she was in a car accident. They tell her it was her fault, and that an innocent victim is clinging to life. And they tell her that criminal charges are going to be brought against her. The problem is, Libby can remember none of it. She can’t remember the accident, the party, the drinking … She can’t even remember the guy who keeps sending her flowers and acts like he’s her boyfriend. With the help of her best friend, Kasey, Libby pieces together the events of the evening that landed her in the hospital. As memories start trickling through, she begins to realize that something is not right, and that what she’s been told about that night may not be what happened at all. But is she prepared for a truth that might be darker than the fiction? A riveting psychological thriller from Lisa Harrington, Live to Tell is filled with staggering twists and emotional punches.

The Tiffin

The Tiffin
Author: Mahtab Narsimhan
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2014-04-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1471402932

A charming, heartbreaking and beautifully evocative novel about fate, friendship and family Every day in the vast and vibrant city of Bombay, thousands of dabbawalla delivery-men transport hundreds of thousands of freshly prepared lunches in tiffin boxes, straight from workers' homes and into their offices. Even though the city is a maze of streets, and the tiffins carry a delivery code only dabbawallas can understand, no lunch ever gets lost. Well, almost never... When a secret note placed in a tiffin box goes astray, the consequences for a young boy are devastating. Separated from his mother and forced to work as a slave in a cafe, Kunal is sure that if he could just find his family, his life and his fortunes would change forever. Recruiting the help of a dabbawalla friend, Kunal vows to find his mother - and it seems the answer may lie with the tiffins once more. If a lost note was the beginning of his destiny, can he use another to change it?