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ing to do schoolwork on her own actually works for her kate s gran tells her she has to earn money if she wants it and kate hits on the idea of running a spinning wheel as a philosophic booth offering answers to life s questions from history s greatest thinkers 2 a question her philosophers range from buddha and marcus aurelius to albert camus her first customer a troublesome neighbour who keeps returning gran s cat even while he fondly purrs and licks her ankles i loved this coming of age book kate her gran and even troublesome ms prawn ellis author of the award winning breadwinner trilogy has created memorable characters in a realistic plot driven story kate is remarkably resilient determined a little vulnerable and desperate to know why gran won t ever talk about her mum she keeps thinking about what adults say turns to what she s read in get back to groovy and starts applying the philosophic wisdom she dispenses to clients to her own life this is one of those novels teachers will love and when you can get a kid to read it i think it ll have a big impact much like tig this is also a terrific canadian book for thoughtful children my thanks to the grand forks b c district public library for including this title in its junior fiction collection it s the paperback version released this year after it earned a spot as a finalist for the 2025 governor general s literary award tig won more discussion and reviews of this novel https www goodreads com book show 244113865 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading cleo dang would rather be dead by mai nguyen 2026 2026 10 10 2026 09 28 michelle mallette leave a comment contemporary fiction adult first off let me just say do not judge this book by the cover the bright lime and pink suggests a lighthearted romance not at all this is a book about a grieving mother and while the back of the book description calls it darkly humourous i found very little about it funny at all it s a beautifully told story achingly so about a woman whose joyful pregnancy ends in a baby s unexpected death at just four days cleo and her husband ethan are devastated and while he finds ways to cope and soon returns to work cleo cannot crawl out of bed her grief is all consuming until her best friend paloma who was pregnant at the same time and whose baby is healthy and alive finally gets her up and showered still cleo is struggling to find meaning for what happened and what she should do her accountancy work is no help she is sent home after dumping coffee on an insensitive coworker s keyboard her doctor keeps prescribing pills ethan turns to running and keeps quiet about his pain but when they go to pick up baby daisy s ashes cleo surprises herself by taking a temporary job at the funeral home there she slowly learns to confront and accept her grief this is a powerful compassionate and emotional novel that clobbered my heart over and over again cleo s behaviour borders on severe depression and i was sorry for her that no one seemed to find a way to help her least of all the pill happy doc the novel is drawn from canadian author nguyen s own loss and the pain never ends the coping improves a very difficult read for me but all absorbing it s already been long listed for the giller prize and i d be surprised if it doesn t make the shortlist next week my thanks to the grand forks b c district public library for including this title in its adult fiction collection more discussion and reviews of this novel https www goodreads com book show 235992820 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading exit party by emily st john mandel 2026 2026 10 03 2026 10 03 michelle mallette leave a comment dystopian science fiction adult netgalley arc it s 2031 and the united states has fallen into chaos with civil wars and militia factions fighting for control but in the new republic of california there s a glimmer of hope for something closer to normalcy as the curfew is lifted and a group gathers for a party ari in her late 40s and recently released from prison for ordering a hit on her cousin anton attends with her roommate gloria even though she doesn t know the host kareem she s uneasy after almost two decades in prison the thought of so many people in one place is overwhelming still everyone is joyful at this opportunity to dance and drink together but then a woman ari doesn t know calls her ibari her legal name but one she never uses a painting on the floor disappears someone says there are extra people here kareem walks out of his own home mumbling there s something wrong with the party and is never seen again author mandel advances the story in layers as the characters move through time and across the ocean to europe slowly explaining backstories and creating an incredibly complex multilayered moody and startling future it is also a cautionary tale for readers today as we watch our neighbours to the south engage in divisive talk and action slowly imploding in a way that is affecting the entire world it s a reality that could go one of two ways and in this novel of parallel universes mandel raises the political question about the price of peace and stability thought provoking and unsettling this latest creation from mandel station eleven the glass hotel and others is a literary exploration of where we may be heading and for sure will be getting nods for various awards one important note she draws on characters from the singer s gun for this novel and some reviewers say reading it first expands your understanding of ari s background i haven t read it and i absolutely loved this as a standalone my thanks to harper collins canada for the advance reading copy of this novel provided digitally through netgalley in exchange for my honest review grand forks b c pals will find a copy in adult fiction you ll need to request it and another in the hot reads section which is first come first to enjoy more discussion and reviews of this novel https www goodreads com book show 245325201 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading full curl jenny willson mystery 1 by dave butler 2017 2026 09 26 2026 09 27 michelle mallette leave a comment mystery adult i m quite enjoying a run of national park mysteries these days this is an older title the first in a well researched series as it is written by a canadian biologist and forester this was butler s first novel he s followed up with two more in the jenny willson series willson is a warden with parks canada working in banff for this novel in this series opener she is the lead investigator when poachers start killing protected species in the national parks right under the park wardens noses suspicion quickly falls on a local hunting guide who is universally disliked but could he really be poaching in the park willson is a pissed off firecracker of a character lots of fun to read as she refuses to budge from doing the right thing she is devoted to doing her job well though she struggles sometimes with finding that difficult balance between protecting the park and its animal denizens and sharing the park with well intentioned but often clueless blundering visitors even more frustrating is dealing with the politically ambitious ladder climbers in parks canada those who care more their own careers and p r fallout than the health of the flora and fauna in canada s protected spaces and worst of all are the low life scum who flout the law and consider the park their own private hunting ground willson won t quit until she has put someone behind bars for this she is a wonderfully developed character with regrets grudges and good humour i m really looking forward to reading more though i have to say i m really glad not to be her boss adding to the fun for the reader is butler s familiarity with and appreciation for the kootenays as he takes us on a tour of the area from banff to cranbrook to creston and into idaho and washington states i also really liked the cover showing that bighorn folds are almost leathery looking my thanks to grand forks district public library for including this title in its adult mystery collection more discussion and reviews of this novel https www goodreads com book show 32799296 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading the storm by rachel hawkins 2026 2026 09 19 2026 09 09 michelle mallette leave a comment thriller adult st medard s bay alabama is famous for the spectacular and sometimes deadly hurricanes that hit the coast the rosalie inn that has survived every storm for more than a century and the scandalous affair between married politician landon fitzroy and 19 year old local beauty lo bailey an affair that ended in his death during 1984 s hurricane marie or was it murder lo was acquitted of the charge but speculation remains rampant even 40 years later geneva corliss is the current owner of the struggling rosalie inn and the daughter of one of lo s best friends despite the arrival of summer tourists have largely abandoned the famous inn for condos and higher end rentals so when author august fletcher offers to pay a premium for a long stay at the inn while he writes about the 1984 death of landon fitzroy geneva is cautiously hopeful that her finances can improve but when august arrives he brings lo with him and geneva realizes that another kind of storm may be brewing as the two revive memories and unveil secrets that have long been buried this is a riveting thriller a fun read that builds tension and uses flashbacks to slowly reveal clues for the reader i spotted one plot twist in advance but completely missed a couple of other ones so this was a lot of fun for me i enjoyed the complex character development especially of the women and the historical touches as the story revisits past storms i really wanted a dorothy hamill haircut hawkins does a good job of creating a sultry setting as the clouds gather and hurricane season approaches the teen lover storyline creates appeal for older teens and new adult readers my thanks to the grand forks b c district public library for including this title in its adult fiction collection more discussion and reviews of this novel https www goodreads com book show 231127264 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading making bank money skills for real life by shannon lee simmons 2025 2026 09 12 2026 09 03 michelle mallette leave a comment nonfiction 12 25 i learned about this book when it was featured in one of our library s monthly new book newsletters if you re a grand forks b c reader and don t know about these check them out here it s aimed at teens so it s shelved in the young adult nonfiction section but it s equally of interest to young adults newly on their own and even i a ahem seasoned person learned lots of interesting things about money simmons is a canadian financial advisor so she has the cred behind her this is her fourth book on managing money but the first aimed at youth and i really liked how she organizes this one using four teen clients to develop scenarios for readers to learn from the four tania david oliver and mia are fictional but based on interviews with teens as well as her own experience with young clients some have jobs some rely on allowances and one oliver has a well meaning parent whose own relationship with money is making it very difficult for oliver to learn about money management simmons meets with the clients several times over the book just as she would with real life clients reviewing their situation and making suggestions to help them reach their very varied financial goals along the way the reader learns concepts like budgeting different saving strategies credit scores and investment the topics are organized around the five financial skills every adult needs track save spend enjoy and grow your money by using the teen clients along the way the chapters are short informative and offer opportunities for young readers to skim delve deeply and learn i was quite invested ha in these four characters and eager to find out how they did as they tried to follow simmons advice and i like that she emphasizes the canadian regulations but notes they are different in other countries and that they may change over time she s not judgmental about the kids missteps but helps them see that mistakes are often a good way to learn a life lesson serving them well in the future nicely done my thanks to the grand forks b c district public library for including this book in its young adult nonfiction collection more discussion and reviews of this title https www goodreads com book show 215989060 share this email a link to a friend opens in new window email share on x opens in new window x share on facebook opens in new window facebook like loading go gentle by maria semple 2026 2026 09 05 2026 08 30 michelle mallette leave a comment contemporary fiction adult i started out loving this book s premise after hearing the author interviewed on cbc radio s bookends with mattea roach a group of older single women living on the same floor in a new york city apartment building form a supportive coven sharing dog walkers celery sticks and occasional use of a single car they commit to caring for each other as they age and our protagonist is a stoic a follower of the greek philosophy of stoicism stick with me it s anything but boring adora hazzard is the stoic a single mum of a teen girl who has figured out the secret to happiness is simple want what you already have and you are freed from desire her work involves research and writing and occasionally teaching moral lessons to a pair of rich twin teens but her happy well ordered life is upended when a stranger sets her heart aflame she learns her employer may be involved in an international crime and her carefully buried past leaps right back into her life kirkus reviews describes this as a wild mess but a fun wild mess it is a fun ride for sure international intrigue great sex and lessons on parenting from both mum and daughter there is interesting philosophical discussion full of truths and laughs and you learn about art history pop culture anti nazi plots and architecture but to be honest i was disappointed that the very thing that appealed to me the collective coven faded into the background so quickly and the spy story aspect requires suspension of disbelief no matter just go into this with no expectations and enjoy the ride this story is good it s just not the one i was expecting my thanks to the grand forks b c district p...