I Am Canada: Sniper Fire

I Am Canada: Sniper Fire
Author: Jonathan Webb
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2016-10-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1443146811

A young Canadian soldier’s account of the battle of Ortona, Italy! Seventeen-year-old Paul Baldassara lies about his age to enlist in the Canadian Army. He joins the Loyal Edmonton regiment, which is tasked with taking Italy’s port town of Ortona. Little does he know the horrors of the battle that lie ahead . . . Paul soon finds himself in the midst of the fierce fighting that earned Ortona the name “the Italian Stalingrad,” because of the massive casualties and deaths. He and his fellow Canadian soldiers resort to tactics such as “mouse-holing” — blasting their way through the walls of houses which German snipers have made the streets and courtyards. Will Paul prevail and help the Canadians save Ortona, no matter what the risk?

Unflinching

Unflinching
Author: Jody Mitic
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2015-09-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476795126

Elite sniper Jody Mitic loved being a soldier. His raw, candid, and engrossing memoir follows his personal journey into the Canadian military, through sniper training, and firefights in Afghanistan, culminating on the fateful night when he stepped on a landmine and lost both of his legs below the knees. Afghanistan, 2007. I was a Master Corporal, part of an elite sniper team sent on a mission to flush out Taliban in an Afghan village. I had just turned thirty, after three tours of duty overseas. I’d been shot at by mortars, eyed the enemy through my scope, survived through stealth and stamina. I’d been training for war my entire adult life. But nothing prepared me for what happened next. A twenty-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, Jody Mitic served as a Master Corporal and Sniper Team Leader on three active tours of duty over the course of seven years. Known for his deadly marksmanship, his fearlessness in the face of danger, and his “never quit” attitude, he was a key player on the front in Afghanistan. As a sniper, he secured strongholds from rooftops, engaged in perilous ground combat, and joined classified night operations to sniff out the enemy. One day in 2007, when he was on a mission in a small Afghan village, he stepped on a landmine and the course of his life was forever changed. After losing both of his legs below the knees, Jody was forced to confront the loss of the only identity he had ever known—that of a soldier. Determined to be of service to his family and to his country, he refused to let injury defeat him. Within three years after the explosion, he was not only walking again, he was running. By 2013, he was a star on the blockbuster reality TV show Amazing Race. In 2014, Jody reinvented himself yet again, winning a seat as a city councillor for Ottawa. Unflinching is a powerful chronicle of the honour and sacrifice of an ordinary Canadian fighting for his country, and an authentic portrait of military life. It’s also an inspirational memoir about living your dreams, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, and having the courage to soldier on.

Crossing to Freedom

Crossing to Freedom
Author: Virginia Frances Schwartz
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2013-02-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1443124656

An inspiring tale of fugitive slave who finds freedom in Canada, but still struggles to find a real home. Eleven-year-old Solomon is a fugitive slave on a dangerous journey north to Canada, and to freedom. His young life has seen many losses: his mother was sold in a slave auction when he was a baby; his father escaped from the plantation and hasn't been seen in five years; and now his grandfather, who has been injured during the last leg of their journey to freedom, and is forced to stay behind.Solomon continues with their group leader, but his feelings of loss and isolation haunt him, as he attempts to forge a new home in Canada. It soon becomes apparent that racial prejudices know no borders, and while Solomon works hard and begins to experience some newfound freedoms, he faces discrimination and segregation and lives with the ongoing fear of being caught by slavecatchers and dragged back to the South. With all of these barriers facing him, Solomon must find the strength — the same strength that brought him north, the same strength that gives him hope of finding his father — to persevere and understand the true meaning of freedom.

Three Day Road

Three Day Road
Author: Joseph Boyden
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2006-04-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101078170

Set in Canada and the battlefields of France and Belgium, Three-Day Road is a mesmerizing novel told through the eyes of Niska—a Canadian Oji-Cree woman living off the land who is the last of a line of healers and diviners—and her nephew Xavier. At the urging of his friend Elijah, a Cree boy raised in reserve schools, Xavier joins the war effort. Shipped off to Europe when they are nineteen, the boys are marginalized from the Canadian soldiers not only by their native appearance but also by the fine marksmanship that years of hunting in the bush has taught them. Both become snipers renowned for their uncanny accuracy. But while Xavier struggles to understand the purpose of the war and to come to terms with his conscience for the many lives he has ended, Elijah becomes obsessed with killing, taking great risks to become the most accomplished sniper in the army. Eventually the harrowing and bloody truth of war takes its toll on the two friends in different, profound ways. Intertwined with this account is the story of Niska, who herself has borne witness to a lifetime of death—the death of her people. In part inspired by the legend of Francis Pegahmagabow, the great Indian sniper of World War I, Three-Day Road is an impeccably researched and beautifully written story that offers a searing reminder about the cost of war.

Act of Treason

Act of Treason
Author: Vince Flynn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2008-09-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1847395708

THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER Two weeks before the election - and presidential candidate Josh Alexander's motorcade is decimated by a terrorist bomb. Alexander survives the attack, although members of his entourage are not so lucky. It appears to be the work of al-Qaeda. But then CIA director Irene Kennedy is presented with classifed information so toxic that she considers destroying it altogether. Instead she summons Mitch Rapp, the one man reckless enough to follow the evidence to its explosive conclusion... AMERICAN ASSASSIN, book one in the series, is soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Dylan O'Brien (Maze Runner), Taylor Kitsch (True Detective) and Michael Keaton. Praise for the Mitch Rapp series 'Sizzles with inside information and CIA secrets' Dan Brown 'A cracking, uncompromising yarn that literally takes no prisoners' The Times 'Vince Flynn clearly has one eye on Lee Child's action thriller throne with this twist-laden story. . . instantly gripping' Shortlist 'Action-packed, in-your-face, adrenalin-pumped super-hero macho escapist fiction that does exactly what it says on the label' Irish Independent 'Mitch Rapp is a great character who always leaves the bad guys either very sorry for themselves or very dead' Guardian

Polaris

Polaris
Author: Michael Northrop
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 133816399X

A crew of children must pilot a ship across unfamiliar seas while a strange creature lurks belowdecks in this fast-paced survival story from New York Times bestselling author Michael Northrop. Alone at sea, with only the stars to guide them...The proud sailing ship Polaris is on a mission to explore new lands, and its crew is eager to bring their discoveries back home. But when half the landing party fails to return from the Amazon jungle, the tensions lead to a bloody mutiny. The remaining adults abandon ship, leaving behind a cabin boy, a botanist's assistant, and a handful of deckhands -- none of them older than twelve. Troubled by whispers of a strange tropical illness and rumors of a wild beast lurking onshore, the young sailors are desperate to steer the vessel to safety. When one of their own already missing and a strange smell drifting up from below deck, the novice crew begins to suspect that someone -- or something -- else is onboard. Having steeled themselves for the treacherous journey home, they now have more to fear than the raging waters of the Atlantic...

I Am Canada: Deadly Voyage

I Am Canada: Deadly Voyage
Author: Hugh Brewster
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 144311927X

Historical fact and fiction blend in this riveting novel set aboard the Titanic. Fourteen-year-old Jamie Laidlaw is returning to Canada from England aboard the Titanic. In his four days on board, he busies himself with new friends, finding ways to explore the ship's forbidden areas, and generally landing himself in trouble. When disaster strikes and the horrifying scramble for survival ensues, Jamie is on the front lines — struggling to help free the lifeboats and get people on board them. When a huge wave washes over the ship's sloping deck, it's time for Jamie to take action — and take his fate into his own hands. With hundreds of others, he dives into the sea, hoping he will find a way to survive. Since its launch in Fall 2010, the I Am Canada series has been praised for its accurate and energetic exploration of fascinating moments in Canadian history, through the eyes of young men who lived through them. In Deadly Voyage, award-winning author and noted Titanic historian Hugh Brewster draws from his vast knowledge of that fateful journey to create an enthralling tale of historical fiction — the ultimate adventure, whose terrifying end we know all too well.

World War II Snipers

World War II Snipers
Author: Gary Yee
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2022-05-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1636240992

"Gary Yee takes what is already a well-researched deep dive into the specifics of sniper training, employment and equipment to a new level." - American Rifleman Magazine Thousands of volumes have been published about World War II but relatively little attention has been given to the sniper. Drawing from memoirs, government documents and interviews, World War II Snipers incorporates eyewitness accounts to weave a comprehensive narrative of snipers in World War II. While certain common traits were shared among belligerents, each had its unique methodology for selecting and training snipers and, as casualties were high, their replacements. Drawn from hunters, competitive shooters, natural marksmen, outdoorsmen, city dwellers, farmers and veteran soldiers, they fought to assert local battlefield dominance and instill among their enemy a paralyzing fear. Sometimes admired and other times reviled by their own comrades because of the retaliation they drew, they were always too few in number. Their battlefield role, their victories and their defeats are retold here from neglected or forgotten sources. The scope of World War II Snipers is extensive with three chapters each on the major theaters of the war including Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Pacific. This is supported by a lengthy chapter on the sniper rifles used by the snipers and their equipment.

I Am Canada: Storm the Fortress

I Am Canada: Storm the Fortress
Author: Maxine Trottier
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2013-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1443100072

A young sailor is caught up in the naval siege of Quebec leading up to the battle on the Plains of Abraham. Fourteen-year-old William Jenkins is working at a printing house when he comes to the attention of navigator and naval officer James Cook. William signs up to serve with Cook on the warship HMS Pembroke, part of Britain's fleet setting out to take the French stronghold of Quebec. William soon learns that the world of a British sailor is a harsh one, especially when the ship lays siege to the fortress and is attacked by French fire ships -- burning wrecks sent downstream to set the British warships on fire. On one raid, William is captured by the French allies, the Abenaki, and taken into Quebec itself, which is under constant bombardment from British cannons. With the siege strangling Quebec's lifelines, William finds a way outside the fortress walls just in time to join the British soldiers landing their boats and preparing to face the French on the Plains of Abraham. A dramatic story of the Seven Years' War, culminating in the siege and battle that claimed Canada for Britain.

I Am Canada: Shot at Dawn

I Am Canada: Shot at Dawn
Author: John Wilson
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1443119296

Sentenced to death for abandoning his unit, a soldier recounts the events leading up to his arrest. The reality of trench warfare is a shock to Allan McBride. Like many other young soldiers, he enthusiastically signed up for the chance to join the war effort and be a part of the fighting. But after months in the ravaged battlefields, watching men, including his friend Ken, get blown up by German shelling, something in Allan snaps and he leaves his unit, believing he is "walking home to Canada" to get help for his friend. After nearly a week of wandering aimlessly, Allan is taken in by a band of real deserters — men who have abandoned their units and live on the edge of survival in the woods of northern France. Once Allan realizes what he's done, he is paralyzed by the reality of his circumstance: if he stays with these men, it's possible they will be found and have to face the consequences; and if he returns to his unit, he will be charged with desertion — a charge punishable by death. In this outstanding new title in the I Am Canada series, acclaimed author John Wilson explores life in the horrific trenches of WWI and the effect of battle on a shell-shocked soldier.