Novels

From the bestselling author of The Break comes a staggering intergenerational saga that explores how connected we are, even when we’re no longer together—even when we’re forced apart.

Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.

After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she’s hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she’ll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she’s caused (while wondering if she even should). Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on, unlike her own distant mother. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system that pretends to offer success but expects them to fail. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they’ll ever emerge safely on the other side.

A breathtaking companion to her bestselling debut The Break, Vermette’s The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that—despite everything—refuse to be broken.

Reviews
“Katherena Vermette’s The Strangers is a deeply moving story of how colonial institutions continue to bear down on and disrupt the lives of Indigenous women and girls. It is a powerful collective portrait of struggle and resistance, of what it’s like to be in an Indigenous body in twenty-first century Canada. In the end, it adds up to an engrossingly written ode to another kind of care, one against the grain of suffering. A brilliant follow-up!”—Billy-Ray Belcourt, bestselling author of A History of My Brief Body

“The Strangers is a unique and essential triumph of a novel. It is revelatory in its artistry—in its constellating of family against violent separation, in its austere poetics of voice and consciousness.  Katherena Vermette has proven once again that she is among the most gifted and relevant writers of our time: someone with everything to teach us about the telling of necessary stories, about grieving the fallen, honouring survival, and revealing the fiercest beauty.” —David Chariandy, award-winning author of Brother and I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You

Additional Information
352 pages | 5.10" x 7.90" | Paperback

A poignant and evocative novel about the bonds of family and the gifts offered by the land.

When a troubled father and his estranged teenage daughter head out onto the land in search of the family trapline, they find their way back to themselves, and to each other.

Deep in the night, Matthew paces the house, unable to rest. Though his sixteen-year-old daughter, Holly, lies sleeping on the other side of the bedroom door, she is light years away from him. How can he bridge the gap between them when he can’t shake the emptiness he feels inside? Holly knows her father is drifting further from her; what she doesn’t understand is why. Could it be her fault that he seems intent on throwing everything away, including their relationship?

Following a devastating tragedy, Matthew and Holly head out onto the land in search of a long-lost cabin on the family trapline, miles from the Cree community they once called home. But each of them is searching for something more than a place. Matthew hopes to reconnect with the father he has just lost; Holly goes with him because she knows the father she is afraid of losing won’t be able to walk away.

When things go wrong during the journey, they find they have only each other to turn to for support. What happens to father and daughter on the land will test them, and eventually heal them, in ways they never thought possible.

Reviews
“Robertson shines in A Theory of Crows, a multilayered story of love, loss, healing and ultimately belonging. A family on the brink of shattering finds its way through ancient teachings of infinite connection and the roots of truth in the earth’s living memory.” — Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians, winner of CBC Canada Reads

“In weaving together themes of identity, belonging, grief and land, The Theory of Crows is a novel that approaches rapture.” — Yann Martel, author of The High Mountains of Portugal and Life of Pi

“A brilliantly empathetic story that is both gentle and fierce.” — Thea Lim, author of An Ocean of Minutes

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind.

Wyatt would give anything to forget where he came from—but a kingdom demands its king.

In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.

Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.

Reviews
"Edgmon's ebullient debut depicts a variety of trans perspectives with tender sensitivity, and quintessential walking disaster Wyatt's self-deprecating humor, punk glee, and surprisingly level head are vividly lovable... Readers will adore this revolution-tinged celebration of trans joy, which refreshingly builds its conflict without jumping for trauma tropes." – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Edgmon's debut is a spellbinding duology starter, ultimately driven by its core cast of complicated and lovable characters, who will keep readers laughing with deftly written, witty dialogue that never veers into cliché, and a richly layered world that feels incredibly real, with high-stakes fascism, corruption, and oppression. Readers will be left eager for the sequel to this fiery stunner of a fantasy." –Booklist

"A complex fantasy debut, rich in nuanced LGBTQIA+ representation and timely social commentary, perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Holly Black, and Rin Chupeco." –School Library Journal

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 13+

Caution: mature/potentially triggering content, such as violence, misgendering, abuse, sexual harassment, drug use, etc.

This is the first book in The Witch King Duology.

Additional Information
400 pages | 5.32" x 7.79" | Paperback

After a hunting trip one fall, a family in the far reaches of so-called Canada’s north return to nothing but an empty space where their home once stood. Finding themselves suddenly homeless, they have no choice but to assimilate into settler-colonial society in a mining town that has encroached on their freedom.

An intergenerational coming-of-age novel, This House Is Not a Home follows Kǫ̀, a Dene man who grew up entirely on the land before being taken to residential school. When he finally returns home, he struggles to connect with his family: his younger brother whom he has never met, his mother because he has lost his language, and an absent father whose disappearance he is too afraid to question.

The third book from acclaimed Dene, Cree and Metis writer Katłįà, This House Is Not a Home is a fictional story based on true events. Visceral and embodied, heartbreaking and spirited, this book presents a clear trajectory of how settlers dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their land — and how Indigenous communities, with dignity and resilience, continue to live and honour their culture, values, inherent knowledge systems, and Indigenous rights towards re-establishing sovereignty. Fierce and unflinching, this story is a call for land back.

Reviews
"Absolutely exquisite. Told with such love and gentle ferocity, I’m convinced This House Is Not A Home will never leave those who read it. I am in awe of what I’ve witnessed here. Mahsi cho, Katlia. Bravo! " — Richard Van Camp author of The Lesser Blessed and Moccasin Square Gardens

Additional Information
192 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

Celeste, a card sharp with a need for justice, takes on the role of advocatus diaboli, to defend her sister Mariel, accused of murdering a Virtue, a member of the ruling class of this mining town, in a new world of dark fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse.

The year is 1883 and the mining town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity from the high mountains of Colorado with the help of the pariahs of society known as the Fallen. The Fallen are the descendants of demonkind living amongst the Virtues, the winners in an ancient war, with the descendants of both sides choosing to live alongside Abaddon’s mountain in this tale of the mythological West from the bestselling mastermind Rebecca Roanhorse.

Reviews
“Rebecca Roanhorse… [is one] of the Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy — genres in which Native writers have long been overlooked.” — The New York Times

“Readers are in for intricate world-building, engrossing adventure and stunning backdrops.” — The Washington Post

"The pages turn themselves. A beautifully crafted setting with complex character dynamics and layers of political intrigue? Perfection. Mark your calendars, this is the next big thing." — Kirkus, starred review

Additional Information
208 pages | 5.00" x 7.00" | Hardcover

With Cole barely clinging to life, Eva fearlessly takes the lead to investigate Mihko’s diabolical experiments. But where’s Brady?

After finding out Mihko reinstated the Reckoner Initiative in Breakdown, Cole and Eva confronted Mihko head-on. But when Eva stumbles across a secret laboratory, she finds her worst nightmares come to life. After a vicious battle with Mihko’s newest test subject leaves Cole close to death, Eva is forced to continue their investigation without him. With Brady missing and Cole in recovery, Eva is on her own.

What new terrors has Mihko created? Can they be stopped? And can Eva find Brady before it’s too late?

Awards

• Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards, Graphic Novel 2023 Winner

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 15 to 18.

This graphic novel series, The Reckoner Rises, is a continuation of The Reckoner trilogy.  This is the first volume in the series.

Subjects / Themes: Indigenous, Science Fiction, Mental Illness, Superheroes

Additional Information
80 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" | Paperback

In the winter of 1876, a baby is born to Anishinaabe parents along the trapline in the northern Ontario wilderness. Seventy-five years later, her granddaughter is seeking information about her grandmother's life, why her family is so fractured, and what part the residential school played in the dysfunction and estrangement which has shaped her own life. To that end, twenty—two-year-old Janey enlists the help of a hypnotist who regresses Janey back to a time when Indigenous people in Canada lived off the land, supported each other and raised their children without outside interference. But when settlers began to arrive and residential schools were established, all that changed.

In her hypnotic state, Janey is able to follow her grandmother, Wabanang (Morning Star) as a child, as a residential school student and as a medicine woman for her people. But the seeds of distrust and fear sown along the way are destroying her family. Estranged from her mother and living with her only relative, Janey must find her own way through the smoke of confusion to discover who she is.

Although this is a work of fiction. The author has drawn on her own family's history, ceremonies and visions from her own life, stories shared with her by respected elders, as well as many years of researching her own and other families.

Additional Information
232 pages | 5.51" x 8.46" | Paperback

An Indigenous teen girl is caught between two worlds, both real and virtual, in the YA fantasy debut from bestselling Indigenous author Wab Kinew. Perfect for fans of Ready Player One and the Otherworld series.

Bugz is caught between two worlds. In the real world, she's a shy and self-conscious Indigenous teen who faces the stresses of teenage angst and life on the Rez. But in the virtual world, her alter ego is not just confident but dominant in a massively multiplayer video game universe.

Feng is a teen boy who has been sent from China to live with his aunt, a doctor on the Rez, after his online activity suggests he may be developing extremist sympathies. Meeting each other in real life, as well as in the virtual world, Bugz and Feng immediately relate to each other as outsiders and as avid gamers. And as their connection is strengthened through their virtual adventures, they find that they have much in common in the real world, too: both must decide what to do in the face of temptations and pitfalls, and both must grapple with the impacts of family challenges and community trauma.

But betrayal threatens everything Bugz has built in the virtual world, as well as her relationships in the real world, and it will take all her newfound strength to restore her friendship with Feng and reconcile the parallel aspects of her life: the traditional and the mainstream, the east and the west, the real and the virtual.

Reviews
"This smart, entertaining speculative novel gives readers a unique and moving portrait of young life — and the possibilities for gaming life — from a tribally specific corner of the world." —Publishers Weekly

"A thrilling, high-tech page-turner with deep roots." —Kirkus Reviews

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+.

This book is part of the Floraverse series.

This book is available in French: Un pied dans chaque monde

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.50" x 8.20" | Paperback

Sydney never thought she would be the new girl at school, but when she moves to Minneapolis, everything changes. At her old school on the reservation, almost all the kids were Native, and she was a tough bully. Now, at her new school, which has only a few Native kids, she wonders if she will fit in.

Sydney is a teenage girl who has always gone to a school with other Native students on her reservation. She has friends who support her when she bullies a fellow student, but life takes an unexpected turn when her mother moves the family to Minneapolis so she can take a new job. Her mother is excited about the move, but Sydney feels just the opposite. She does not want to become an urban Indian, and she especially does not want to leave her friends.

On the first day of school, Sydney tries to fit in, but it doesn’t take her long to realize that her Native looks make her stand out like a sore thumb. After Sydney accidentally bumps into a classmate in the hall, she becomes the target of bullying. Although she was used to being a bully, the tables are now turned.

When her life becomes almost unbearable, Sydney is approached by a boy in the lunchroom, who asks if he can join her. Not knowing what to think, she agrees, and the chance encounter initiates a close friendship. Her new friend, Finn, who is gay, is also a target of bullying. Sydney’s experience with being bullied, and seeing her friend bullied as well, makes her feel bad about herself and regret who she used to be. She realizes she must make amends with the girl she had bullied at her old school before she can feel better about herself and begin the journey to self-forgiveness.

Reviews
“Sigafus (Ojibwa) has written a brief and accessible novel that will engage readers and help them understand that we all make mistakes…. A compassionate story for reluctant readers.”— Kirkus Reviews

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grades 7 to 9.

Fry Reading Level: 4

This book is part of the PathFinders Collection of Indigenous Hi-Lo- novels. Interest level is pre-teen on up. 

The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features:

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age-appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.

This book is Book 1 in the Sydney's Journey series.

The story examines the effects of bullying on teens, which continues to be a huge social problem.

Additional Information
118 pages | 4.50" x 7.00" | Paperback

Missy’s sweet sixteenth is just around the corner, but her last three birthdays haven’t exactly been cause for celebration. Her beloved little brother died when she turned thirteen and now birthdays are just painful reminders of the void in their lives. If only she had walked him to school that morning like she was supposed to ...

To add fuel to the fire, Missy’s mom was arrested just before she could blow out the candles on her fifteenth birthday.

To escape her guilt and her father’s alcohol-induced rages, Missy volunteers at a nearby store where she busies herself to shut out the feelings that her therapist seems to be pushing her to feel.

But then Missy meets Luke — a new classmate she cannot stop thinking about. Luke understands what she is going through more than anybody, but will Missy ever be able to let him in?

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 13 - 18.

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.37" x 8.00" | Paperback

This book continues the charming story of Lillian and Kokomis, the award-winning book about a complex and not-always-lovable foster kid who finds a sense of peace and belonging from a surprising spirit that returns her to traditional ways, legends, and Indigenous ways of knowledge. Why Are You Still Here? uncovers the mystery of ghosts and spirits that live behind a window at the family farm.

Reviews
"This is a page-turner story with a long-awaited validation of how children have a natural spiritual intelligence. This is a gift in children that needs to be nurtured. Bravo Lillian!" — Robin Decontie MSW, CFNHM, Director, Kitigan Zibi Health and Social Services

"It was my pleasure to pre-read the latest book in the Lillian series. Lynda Partridge takes the reader from the easy chair to the farm to join Grace, Chloe, and Lillian as they work together to understand the mysterious messages coming from the old barn. Reading this story, I was captured by the blending of tradition, culture and the current day pandemic. I also appreciated the messages that Lynda weaves into her writing about appreciating the wisdom of the children as well as the elders. A very good read for all ages!…" —Leo Massi MSW, RSW, Executive Dircetor, H-N REACH

"Lynda Partridge’s latest book from the life of l is an excellent read for children and adults as well. I found myself enthralled, deeply curious about the mystery in the barn. Lynda takes you into the lives of the family on the farm, blending her Indigenous culture and spirituality into this mystery. As you read; you get caught up, the story is so thought provoking and very difficult to put down." —Sandy Herkimer

Educator Information
Recommended for grades 6 to 9. 

This book is part of the Indigenous Spirit of Nature series.

This book is also the second book in the Lillian Mystery series. 

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 10 Black and White Illustrations | Paperback 

Yesterday's Rain is the second book in the Sydney's Journey Series. Sydney is still working through her guilt over being a bully at her previous school on the White Earth Reservation. When she accidently takes a punch in the face that was aimed at her gay friend, everyone expects her to fight back, but her response is totally unexpected. Bullies can change, as Sydney proves at her new school. Can Sydney help her best friend heal an old friendship by demonstrating forgiveness?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grades 7 to 9.

Fry Reading Level: 4

This book is part of the PathFinders Collection of Indigenous Hi-Lo- novels. Interest level is pre-teen on up. 

The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features:

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age-appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.

This book is Book 2 in the Sydney's Journey series.

Additional Information
118 pages | 4.50" x 6.75" | Paperback

The volume brings together two previously published novellas by Richard Wagamese, Him Standing and The Next Sure Thing, with a foreword from author Waubgeshig Rice. Both stories follow the lives of young men who have dreams for a better future. In their search for fame and fortune, Cree Thunderboy and Lucas Smoke end up on paths where their biggest challenge is staying true to themselves.

In Him Standing, Lucas Smoke learns the art of carving from his grandfather. He discovers that he is a natural; he can literally make people come to life in wood. But when Lucas is asked to carve a spirit mask by a mysterious stranger, he quickly learns that his skill with a knife could cost him his dreams.

In The Next Sure Thing, Cree Thunderboy has two things he does well: playing blues guitar and picking winning horses at the track. Picking winners is just meant to be a means to an end—Cree's goal is to make his living playing the blues. He meets a powerful man at the racetrack who convinces him he can parlay his special skill with the horses into a shot at the fame and fortune he seeks.

Celebrated author Richard Wagamese artfully crafts these thrilling yet vulnerable stories of two young men trying to find their place in the world.

Educator Information
Themes: Indigenous, Coming of Age, Own Voice, Carving, Horse Racing.

Both stories in this collection are about a young Indigenous man trying to find his way and leaning on his background and culture to help him.

Both Him Standing and Next Sure Thing have a surreal or magical element. 

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools resource collection for grades 9 to 12 for English Language Arts.

Additional Information
248 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

Brian Isaac's powerful debut novel All the Quiet Places is the coming-of-age story of Eddie Toma, an Indigenous (Syilx) boy, told through the young narrator's wide-eyed observations of the world around him.

It's 1956, and six-year-old Eddie Toma lives with his mother, Grace, and his little brother, Lewis, near the Salmon River on the far edge of the Okanagan Indian Reserve in the British Columbia Southern Interior. Grace, her friend Isabel, Isabel's husband Ray, and his nephew Gregory cross the border to work as summer farm labourers in Washington state. There Eddie is free to spend long days with Gregory exploring the farm: climbing a hill to watch the sunset and listening to the wind in the grass. The boys learn from Ray's funny and dark stories. But when tragedy strikes, Eddie returns home grief-stricken, confused, and lonely.

Eddie's life is governed by the decisions of the adults around him. Grace is determined to have him learn the ways of the white world by sending him to school in the small community of Falkland. On Eddie's first day of school, as he crosses the reserve boundary at the Salmon River bridge, he leaves behind his world. Grace challenges the Indian Agent and writes futile letters to Ottawa to protest the sparse resources in their community. His father returns to the family after years away only to bring chaos and instability. Isabel and Ray join them in an overcrowded house. Only in his grandmother's company does he find solace and true companionship.

In his teens, Eddie's future seems more secure—he finds a job, and his long-time crush on his white neighbour Eva is finally reciprocated. But every time things look up, circumstances beyond his control crash down around him. The cumulative effects of guilt, grief, and despair threaten everything Eddie has ever known or loved.

All the Quiet Places is the story of what can happen when every adult in a person's life has been affected by colonialism; it tells of the acute separation from culture that can occur even at home in a loved familiar landscape. Its narrative power relies on the unguarded, unsentimental witness provided by Eddie.

Awards

• 2022 Indigenous Voices Awards winner

Reviews
"What a welcome debut. Young Eddie Toma’s passage through the truly ugly parts of this world is met, like an antidote, or perhaps a compensation, by his remarkable awareness of its beauty. This is a writer who understands youth, and how to tell a story." —Gil Adamson is the winner of the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for Ridgerunner

"All the Quiet Places is a deftly crafted, evocative story about the trials of growing up Indigenous. Brian Thomas Isaac’s characters are complex, relatable, and overall, beautifully human." —Waubgeshig Rice is the bestselling author of Moon of the Crusted Snow

"All the Quiet Places is the kind of novel that works its way into your soul. Essentially, it's a tale of childhood, all the wonders and tragedies, that befall a young boy on an Okanagan Reserve in the middle of the last century. Familiar, yet unique, Eddie's story will captivate the reader. The best compliment I could bestow on this book is. . . I wish it was one or two chapters longer. I wanted more." —Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake First Nation and is the author of many books including Chasing Painted Horses

"On par with the brilliance of James Welch's Winter in The Blood and Ruby Slipperjack's Little Voice, Brian Thomas Isaac has given us a startling read that'll live wire your soul and haunt you for a good long while. Pure brilliance. Wow." —Richard Van Camp is the author of The Lesser Blessed and Moccasin Square Gardens

Educator Information
Keywords: Coming of Age; Own Voices; Indigenous

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools resource collection as being useful for grades 11 and 12 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.

Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.

Reviews
“Rebecca Roanhorse… [is one] of the Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy — genres in which Native writers have long been overlooked.” — The New York Times

"The pages turn themselves. A beautifully crafted setting with complex character dynamics and layers of political intrigue? Perfection. Mark your calendars, this is the next big thing." — Kirkus, starred review

"A a razor-sharp examination of politics, generational trauma, and the path to redemption...Roanhorse strikes a perfect balance between powerful worldbuilding and rich thematic exploration as the protagonists struggle against their fates. Fantasy fans will be wowed." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Educator & Series Information
This is the first book in the Between Earth and Sky Series.

Additional Information
496 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"