Genius Jolene

Genius Jolene
Author: Sara Cassidy
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 73
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1459825314

Key Selling Points In this early chapter book, Jolene travels to Los Angeles with her long-haul trucker father who recently came out as gay. The pair come face to face with homophobia but find a way to forgive and behave with kindness. Genius Jolene includes themes of critical thinking, travel, family, acceptance and confronting homophobia. The author’s middle-grade novel A Boy Named Queen was a finalist for the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Silver Birch Express Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award. This book features several black-and-white illustrations, which add to this engaging chapter book.

The Great Googlini

The Great Googlini
Author: Sara Cassidy
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1459817052

Filip, the ten-year-old son of Croatian immigrants, lives in a boring suburb of the big city, where he passes his time either at school or in his cozy kitchen, googling everything from dinosaurs to the Hubble Space Telescope. When his favorite uncle gets sick, Filip turns to Google for answers. Instead he receives a visit from the Great Googlini, a tiny woman in Converse sneakers who swirls out of the computer vents. She's not really a genie, she explains: "I'm more of an archivist." Her visit is a little bit of magic that lets Filip see the magic all around him. Ultimately about the things we can know and the things we can't, this is a smart, touching, funny chapter book about growing up, braving tough times and looking for answers. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

The House on Prytania

The House on Prytania
Author: Karen White
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2024-05-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593334639

A woman is haunted—both literally and figuratively—by ghosts of the past in this second novel of the Royal Street series by New York Times bestselling author Karen White. Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she’s spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign. But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan’s long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting—yet firmly unavailable—Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny’s kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola’s bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael’s powerful family was behind Sunny’s disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won’t be able to ignore—if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she’s worked so hard. Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn’t realize until it’s almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house—a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake...

The Dare Sisters

The Dare Sisters
Author: Jess Rinker
Publisher: Imprint
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250213398

The Goonies meets Book Scavenger when three sisters hunt for Blackbeard’s legendary treasure in this action-packed middle grade novel from Jess Rinker, The Dare Sisters. “The Dare sisters are hunting for treasure, but the real treasure is the story that unfolds in the pages of this book. It’s smart, funny and full of heart; I couldn’t put this rollicking adventure down.” —Kathi Appelt, author of The Underneath Savannah Dare has always wanted to be a pirate. She grew up on legends of Blackbeard from her grandfather—her best friend and fellow treasure hunter. But now he’s gone. Savannah and her sisters, Frances and Jolene are left to find Blackbeard’s lost loot on their own. It was their grandfather’s dream, and they can’t let him down. No one else in their small town on Ocracoke Island believes Blackbeard’s treasure is truly still out there . . . no one except their grandfather’s mysterious old business partner, who’s determined to find it himself. And when their family home is endangered, the Dare sisters realize finding Blackbeard’s treasure is their only hope! An Imprint Book

Death Comes For Christmas

Death Comes For Christmas
Author: P.J. Donison
Publisher: Pamela JP Donison
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2022-03-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1778038700

A beloved aunt dies mysteriously. Fentanyl shows up in all the wrong places. Can a burned out lawyer with a drinking problem figure out who killed Auntie Freda? Camelia Belmont is struggling to manage a stressful job, an escalating anxiety disorder, and a few too many cocktails. She just needs a nice, quiet family holiday back in Saskatchewan, away from her demanding law practice and a very unhappy boss to get her head straight. But when her beloved Auntie Freda dies suddenly, the Phoenix attorney is determined to find the killer. As she digs into the circumstances leading up to her aunt’s death, Camelia discovers a link to a local drug dealer and an exploding opioid crisis. Despite scanty evidence, a keen RCMP retiree, and uncooperative relatives, Camelia is convinced the killer is one of their own. Tracking down clues despite their protests, Camelia worries her tactics could seriously alienate her closest family members, including her husband. Can she discover what happened before the RCMP take over and the whole mess blows up in her face? Death Comes for Christmas is the first book in the suspenseful Camelia Belmont Murder Mystery series and an Origin Story. If you like soft-boiled whodunnits with a smart female sleuth, true-to-life characters, and dark insights into the opioid epidemic, you’ll love PJ Donison’s debut literary mystery. A sudden death. A deadly toxic drug. A squabbling family. Can Camelia Belmont find out who really killed Auntie Freda?

On the Line

On the Line
Author: Paul Coccia
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2022-03-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1459827155

Key Selling Points In On the Line, a basketball star struggles to make sense of things when he learns his father is gay. Veteran children’s author Eric Walters has teamed up with rising star Paul Coccia to bring their expertise together into a single POV. This book explores the themes of family dynamics and divorce. Paul Coccia's book Cub was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and was commended as a CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens. Eric Walters has written more than 10 books featuring basketball, including Triple Threat, co-written with NBA fan-favorite Jerome Williams. Eric Walters founded the I Read Canadian Day movement and the day is now celebrated annually on February 17th.

Unlikely Angel

Unlikely Angel
Author: Lydia R. Hamessley
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2020-10-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0252052404

Dolly Parton's success as a performer and pop culture phenomenon has overshadowed her achievements as a songwriter. But she sees herself as a songwriter first, and with good reason. Parton's compositions like "I Will Always Love You" and "Jolene" have become American standards with an impact far beyond country music. Lydia R. Hamessley's expert analysis and Parton’s characteristically straightforward input inform this comprehensive look at the process, influences, and themes that have shaped the superstar's songwriting artistry. Hamessley reveals how Parton’s loving, hardscrabble childhood in the Smoky Mountains provided the musical language, rhythms, and memories of old-time music that resonate in so many of her songs. Hamessley further provides an understanding of how Parton combines her cultural and musical heritage with an artisan’s sense of craft and design to compose eloquent, painfully honest, and gripping songs about women's lives, poverty, heartbreak, inspiration, and love. Filled with insights on hit songs and less familiar gems, Unlikely Angel covers the full arc of Dolly Parton's career and offers an unprecedented look at the creative force behind the image.

Union

Union
Author: Sara Cassidy
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1459834496

Key Selling Points A 15-year-old boy juggles work, sexual trauma and a new girlfriend in this novel in verse. The power of love to heal past wounds is the central theme. The author explores losing and doubting one's voice in an experimental narrative form. The novel is written almost entirely in single-syllable words, to reflect Tuck’s dissociative mental state. This author’s works have been on many award lists, including the Governor General’s Literary Award, BC & Yukon Book Prizes and Forest of Reading.

Jordan and Max, Showtime

Jordan and Max, Showtime
Author: Suzanne Sutherland
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Total Pages: 62
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1459826973

Jordan had a tough time with the other kids at his old school. So, on his first day at Massey Elementary, he has a plan: to be absolutely invisible. His new classmates don't need to know that his grandmother is his best friend or that they put on shows together dressing up in elaborate costumes each night in their apartment. When he's forced to pair up with Max, a loud-mouthed loner with a love for Hawaiian shirts, Jordan's cover of invisibility threatens to be blown completely. But with the help of his partner's unique artistic vision, Jordan begins to see that his sparkling secret deserves to be revealed. This partially illustrated early chapter book is a gentle exploration of friendship, gender performance and identity.

A Cousin's Challenge

A Cousin's Challenge
Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1607421526

Listening for the Voice of Love After a serious van accident leaves Amish schoolteacher Jolene Yoder profoundly deaf, she leaves home to learn how to read lips and communicate with sign language. But two years later, a family with children who have been deaf since birth moves to Jolene’s hometown, and she is asked to return as their teacher. Lonnie Hershberger has lost faith in God and in women ever since his girlfriend broke up with him when he lost his hearing during an explosion. When he starts falling in love with Jolene, love-shy Lonnie sees no future in becoming emotionally tied to Jolene. For how could he hope to protect her, if he can’t even hear? Besides, Jake Beechy seems to be taking up most of her free time. Meanwhile, Ella Miller is worried Jake will end up breaking her cousin Jolene’s heart. Little does Ella know that Jake is interested in her—not Jolene. What drastic measures will God use to bring these couples together? Indiana Cousins Series: Book #1: A Cousin's Promise Book #2: A Cousin's Prayer