Novels

Mel's best friend Dustin is her dream guy, but she lost her chance with him last year and now he's seeing someone else. Enter Colter, the handsome new guy in school who is definitely interested in her. It's just the thing Mel needs to get her mind off Dustin. Before Mel realizes it, she's spending almost every waking moment with Colter, even skipping volleyball practices and nights out with friends.

When Colter gives Mel a ring, alarm bells start ringing, and Mel worries that maybe they're moving too fast. But every time Mel tries to cool things down a bit, Colter latches on even tighter. Mel can't bring herself to leave him. But she is beginning to wonder what lengths Colter will go to if she does.

Educator & Series Information
Fry reading level - 3.7

This book is part of the SideStreets series.  SideStreets are edgy, fast-paced novels that combine real-world themes and believable characters to make for short, heart-stopping books — sure to engage the most reluctant reader.

Additional Information
144 pages | 4.25" x 7.00"

Gina is the kind of girl who works hard to keep up her appearance -- not just her hair and makeup, but going so far as breast-enhancement surgery and regular diet pills. When tall, athletic, good-looking Colter wants to be her boyfriend, Gina jumps at the chance. She thinks they'll be the perfect couple and ignores the warning signs that things aren't right with him. That includes rumours that his past girlfriend has a restraining order against him. But when Colter’s actions put Gina in physical danger she is finally forced to wake up to what Colter is really like.

Educator & Series 
Fry reading level - 3.0

This book is part of the SideStreets series.  SideStreets are edgy, fast-paced novels that combine real-world themes and believable characters to make for short, heart-stopping books — sure to engage the most reluctant reader.

Additional Information
136 pages | 4.25" x 7.00"

Old ways are pitted against new horrors in this compellingly crafted dystopian tale about a girl who is both healer and seer.Two hundred years from now, blood has become the most valuable commodity on the planet—especially the blood of aboriginal peoples, for it contains antibodies that protect them from the Plague ravaging the rest of the world.

Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Mercredi might be immune to Plague, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe—government forces are searching for those of aboriginal heritage to harvest their blood. When a search threatens Cassandra and her family, they flee to the Island: a mysterious and idyllic territory protected by the Band, a group of guerilla warriors—and by an enigmatic energy barrier that keeps outsiders out and the spirit world in. And though the village healer has taken her under her wing, and the tribal leader’s son into his heart, the creatures of the spirit world are angry, and they have chosen Cassandra to be their voice and instrument....

Incorporating the traditions of the First Peoples as well as the more familiar stories of Greek mythology and Arthurian legend, Shadows Cast by Stars is a haunting, beautifully written story that breathes new life into ancient customs.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

Additional Information
464 pages | 5.50" x 8.25"

In this adventurous novel—set in the ancient Arctic, but narrated for modern readers by an inquisitive and entertaining contemporary narrator—a young, wandering Inuit hunter named Kannujaq happens upon a camp in grave peril. The inhabitants of the camp are Tunit, a race of ancient Inuit ancestors known for their shyness and meekness. The tranquility of this Tunit camp has been shaken by a group of murderous, pale, bearded strangers who have arrived on a huge boat shaped like a loon.

Unbeknownst to Kannujaq, he has stumbled upon a battle between the Tunit and a group of Viking warriors!

As the camp prepares to defend itself against the approaching newcomers, Kannujaq and a Tunit shaman boy named Siku discover that the Vikings may have motivations other than murder and warfare at the heart of their quest.

This lush historical fiction is steeped in Inuit traditional knowledge and concepts of ancient Inuit magic. The unique time and place brought to life in this exciting novel will delight young fans of historical and fantastical fiction alike.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

Additional Information
120 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, The Inconvenient Indian distills the insights gleaned from Thomas King's critical and personal meditation on what it means to be "Indian" in North America, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other. In the process, King refashions old stories about historical events and figures, takes a sideways look at film and pop culture, relates his own complex experiences with activism, and articulates a deep and revolutionary understanding of the cumulative effects of ever-shifting laws and treaties on Native peoples and lands.
This is a book both timeless and timely, burnished with anger but tempered by wit, and ultimately a hard-won offering of hope--a sometimes inconvenient but nonetheless indispensable account for all of us, Indian and non-Indian alike, seeking to understand how we might tell a new story for the future.

Awards

• 2014 Burt Award Second Place Winner

Educator Information
This resource is also available in French in a pocket-sized format: L'Indien malcommode: Un portrait inattendu des Autochtones d'Amerique du Nord (format poche)

Additional Information336 pages | 5.18" x 7.99"

A mesmerizing blend of vampire thriller and coming-of-age story -- now available as a graphic novel.

Newcomers to the Otter Lake native reserve don't go unnoticed for long. So it's no surprise that 16-year-old Tiffany's curiosity is piqued when her father rents out her room to a complete stranger.

But little do Tiffany, her father, or even her insightful Granny Ruth suspect the truth about their guest. The mysterious Pierre L'Errant has a dreadful secret. After centuries roaming Europe as a brooding vampire, he has returned home to reclaim his Native roots before facing the rising sun and certain death. Meanwhile, Tiffany is deeply troubled -- she doubts her boyfriend is being faithful, has escalating disputes with her father, and her estranged mother is starting a new life with somebody else.

Fed up and heartsick, Tiffany threatens drastic measures and flees into the bush. There, in the midnight woods, a chilling encounter with L'Errant changes everything as Pierre introduces Tiffany to her proud Native heritage. For Pierre, though, destiny is fixed at sunrise.

In this stunning graphic version of the award-winning novel, artist Mike Wyatt brings a brilliant story to visual life.

Educator Information
Recommended Grades: 8-12

Additional Information
112 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

In the early 1930s, Oscar Wolf, a 13-year-old Native from the Chippewas of Rama Indian Reserve, sets fire to the business section of his village north of Toronto in a fit of misguided rage against white society, inadvertently killing his grandfather and a young maid. Tortured by guilt and fearful of divine retribution, Oscar sets out on a lifetime quest for redemption.

His journey takes him to California where he works as a fruit picker and prizefighter during the Great Depression, to the Second World War where he becomes a decorated soldier, to university where he excels as a student and athlete, and to the diplomatic service in the postwar era where he causes a stir at the United Nations in New York and in Colombia and Australia.

Beset by an all-too-human knack for making doubtful choices, Oscar discovers that peace of mind is indeed hard to find in this saga of mid-20th-century aboriginal life in Canada and abroad that will appeal to readers of all backgrounds and ages.

One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface because Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

Reading Level: 4.5

“Get on the phone and call them all to a meeting for next Saturday afternoon,” Danny Wind said to his friend Crow. “We’re going to rescue us some buffalo.” He could hardly believe what he was saying. “But don’t tell anyone else. It’s our little secret for now.”

After two years, middle-school student Danny Wind is still not over his father’s death. When his mom marries a white man and they move to a new “white bread” neighborhood, Danny’s life changes for the worse. The school principal considers him a troublemaker, and he has to avoid Willy, the school bully, who calls him “redskin” and “Tonto.” After he acts out and gets suspended from school, Danny’s mom decides to send him to a summer survival camp for American Indian teens on the reservation where his father grew up.

Discover what happens when Danny gets involved in a secret plan to rescue bison from Yellowstone National Park and discovers something important about himself in the process.

Reviews
“It was an honor to read and review the reluctant reader book Thunder on the Plains, the first teen novel in the PathFinders books featuring Native American teen characters and situations. It is very refreshing to finally give our Native American children an opportunity to read stories they can relate to. The book contains characters that are appealing, convincing and complex. Recommended for teens that like books with depth, history and Native American culture. This is a well-written book with characters that are culturally appropriate and accurate.” —Kathleen Marshall (Chumash)

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the PathFinders series.

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.

Recommended ages: 12-16

Additional Information
128 pages | 4.30" x 6.90"

Ethan is trying his hardest to get some attention from his family, but his dad's focus is always directed towards troubled stepsister Haley. When a dark secret threatens to destroy his family life, Ethan turns to his hacking skills to figure out who to believe: his father or Haley. He must also deal with the fact that he has spent his life striving to be just like his dad, someone he may not really know -- or want to be -- at all.

Educator & Series Information
Fry reading level - 3.1

SideStreets are edgy, fast-paced novels, that combine real-world themes and believable characters to make for short heart-stopping books - sure to engage the most reluctant reader.

Additional Information
152 pages | 4.25" x 7.00"

There were machines beside my bed. They were beeping and making weird noises. I had a headache and a side ache and an arm ache. But I couldn’t feel my left leg.
Slowly I looked around the room. There was Mom asleep in a chair next to the bed.
“Mom? Mom, what happened?” She woke up and looked at me.
“Oh, Jason. I’m so glad you’re awake. Don’t try to talk. I’ll call the doctor to come check you.”
“What happened to me?”
“Don’t you remember? You were in a terrible car wreck. Two days ago.” As Mom left to find the doctor, the images of the accident flooded back into my mind.

After a bad car accident, Jason is left with one paralyzed leg. He’s lucky to have survived, but he’s not sure he can handle life confined to a wheelchair. Even when he was protecting his mom and siblings from his drunken father, or escaping from home to be with his friends, he never imagined having to deal with anything like this.
Now Jason sees himself only as someone who will always be paralyzed, but when he becomes part of the Raven Canoe Family and learns to “pull” a canoe, his outlook on life begins to change.

Educator & Series Information
Reading Level: 4.5

This book is part of the PathFinders series.

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.

Recommended ages: 12-16

Additional Information

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Velma Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community, and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness, and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.00" x 7.12" | Paperback

Praise for War Brothers, the novel by Sharon E. McKay:

War Brothers is a novel that very accurately portrays the criminality of adults who abduct kids to carry out crimes against humanity... This engrossing book is a vivid look at the hideous crimes committed by such groups and should be read by anyone wanting to know about Kony's LRA.
-- Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire (Retired), international child soldier advocate

The life of a child soldier is full of unthinkable violence ... But the human capacity to connect with others and for survival is remarkable.

Jacob is a 14-year-old Ugandan who is sent away to a boys' school. Once there, he assures his friend Tony that they need not be afraid -- they will be safe. But not long after, in the shadow of the night, the boys are abducted. Marched into the jungle, they are brought to an encampment of the feared rebel soldiers. They are told they must kill or be killed, and their world turns into a terrifying struggle to endure and survive.

In time, the boys escape. Hunted by the rebels, stalked by a lion, and even pursued by river crocs, they miraculously succeed in reaching safety. However, it is no longer enough. Jacob wrestles with the question of whether we are all really beasts inside. He decides the way through the pain is to record his story.

Daniel Lafrance's powerful, striking, and poignant artwork and the crisp, evocative text vividly capture the haunting experiences of a young boy caught in a brutal war.

This graphic novel is based on an award-winning YA novel by Sharon McKay. Sharon has spent time with child soldiers and based this story on real-life accounts.

A thrilling, human story that takes you well beyond the world of hockey.

Alex McKenzie is back, a promising young hockey player who hopes to make the juniors in Quebec City. Though he still prefers fishing and roaming bush roads on his quad, he trains hard under his demanding coach Larry in his hometown on the Lower North Shore of the St. Lawrence.

His buddy Tommy is vying to make the juniors too. Once in Quebec City, things change. Tommy gets sullen and obnoxious as he hangs out with some dubious types. He and Alex grow apart and then tragedy strikes. In this sequel to Break Away, Jessie on my Mind, young people deal with powerful peer pressure, budding love, and catastrophe.

In this sequel to the award-winning Jessie on my Mind, young people deal with powerful peer pressures, budding love, and tragedy. Their friendships are sorely tested, their values are challenged, and they begin to learn what is important in life.

Educator & Series Information
This is the second book in the Break Away series.  The first book is Jessie On My Mind.

Additional Information
180 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"

Spring 1651: a young man from Paris lands in Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River. Within weeks, the course of his life changes drastically when Iroquois braves capture him. Pierre-Esprit Radisson, then 15 years old, begins a new life. Canoeing rivers and lakes and portaging over mountains, Radisson’s captors take him to distant lands where first they torture him and adopt him as their brother. Radisson then becomes the Iroquois Orinha, goes to war with his new brothers, and learns the life and the ways of his new family.

In this historical thriller readers voyage into the heart of a continent and a heroic era with North America’s most famous explorer, fur trader and coureur des bois.