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.

Standing on Neptune

Standing on Neptune
Author: Valerie Sherrard
Publisher: DCB Young Readers
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2023-04-15
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1770866884

Am I pregnant? This question shatters the peace of seventeen-year-old Brooke Palinder’s life one Monday morning when she realizes her period is late. Although shaken, she’s determined to hide her feelings and go about her daily routine as though nothing is wrong. Brooke’s boyfriend Ryan handles the news poorly, and she can’t bring herself to confide in anyone else, not even her best friend. In an effort to distract herself, Brooke throws herself into a school project about Neptune, which leads her to some startling discoveries and a surprising sense of connection to the distant planet. But by Saturday, she knows she must face the answer to the question that began her week. Standing on Neptune is a novel in verse from the celebrated author of Counting Back from Nine, The Glory Wind, and Birdspell.

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.

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.

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.

Home Truths

Home Truths
Author: Jill MacLean
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2010-09-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1770860193

Brick’s home life is a horror show. His dad has a temper like a pressure valve; you never know when he’s going to blow. His mom’s a self-absorbed flake who leaves the care of his little sister to Brick. A guy could go crazy with all that tension. It’s no wonder Brick has to let off a little steam of his own once in a while. It’s not like he’s anything remotely like his dad. The day he turns sixteen, Brick’s out of there. This summer he’s going to take up Mr. Larkin’s offer of work, even though he’s been forbidden to “fraternize with the neighbors.” And he’s going to earn enough money to escape. Get out and never look back. But who will his dad turn to when he doesn’t have a son to kick around anymore? A compulsive read by a two-time winner of the Ann Connor Brimer Award, Home Truths is a revealing portrait of a bully-in-training and his journey to redemption.

Run

Run
Author: David Skuy
Publisher: DCB
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2017-03-24
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 177086489X

Terrified of being targeted by bullies for being overweight, Lionel tries to go through Grade 8 attracting as little notice as possible. But he discovers something about himself: he’s fast. And Lionel takes up running. That leads to joining a running group, and being recruited for the school track team. But being on the track team and getting more attention brings him closer to the bullies he’s been avoiding, and makes him a target.

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?

Encyclopedia of Life Writing

Encyclopedia of Life Writing
Author: Margaretta Jolly
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1141
Release: 2013-12-04
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1136787445

First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Green City and Social Injustice

The Green City and Social Injustice
Author: Isabelle Anguelovski
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1000471675

The Green City and Social Injustice examines the recent urban environmental trajectory of 21 cities in Europe and North America over a 20-year period. It analyses the circumstances under which greening interventions can create a new set of inequalities for socially vulnerable residents while also failing to eliminate other environmental risks and impacts. Based on fieldwork in ten countries and on the analysis of core planning, policy and activist documents and data, the book offers a critical view of the growing green planning orthodoxy in the Global North. It highlights the entanglements of this tenet with neoliberal municipal policies including budget cuts for community initiatives, long-term green spaces and housing for the most fragile residents; and the focus on large-scale urban redevelopment and high-end real estate investment. It also discusses hopeful experiences from cities where urban greening has long been accompanied by social equity policies or managed by community groups organizing around environmental justice goals and strategies. The book examines how displacement and gentrification in the context of greening are not only physical but also socio-cultural, creating new forms of social erasure and trauma for vulnerable residents. Its breadth and diversity allow students, scholars and researchers to debunk the often-depoliticized branding and selling of green cities and reinsert core equity and justice issues into green city planning—a much-needed perspective. Building from this critical view, the book also shows how cities that prioritize equity in green access, in secure housing and in bold social policies can achieve both environmental and social gains for all.