YOUNG ADULTING

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

August 11, 2020

Review by Ciara Javier

After losing his best friend Eddie in an accident, Tristan Strong is sent to his grandparents’ home in Alabama to heal from the loss. But on his first night there, Tristan encounters a sticky doll who attempts to steal Eddie’s journal, which contains folklores from both their grandmothers, and is Tristan’s last remaining connection to Eddie. … More Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

August 4, 2020

Review by Hira Peracha

Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross, told in two separate third-person narratives, introduces Polish lore to the teen reader in an easy and accessible way. … More Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

5 Questions for Uzma Jalaluddin

August 3, 2020

Uzma Jalaluddin is a teacher and writer based in Toronto, Canada. Her debut novel, Ayesha at Last, is a modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal and Kirkus. … More 5 Questions for Uzma Jalaluddin

The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

July 28, 2020

Review by Louise Brecht

To studious Becca Hart, real love is a temporary and tragic phenomenon. At its end, husbands abandon wives and fathers walk out on their pre-teen daughters without explanation. … More The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

Girl Under a Red Moon by Da Chen

July 21, 2020

Review by Micah Killjoy

What would it be like to be eight-years-old during a massive societal upheaval? In Da Chen’s memoir for young readers, Girl Under a Red Moon, he tells the story of when China’s Cultural Revolution came to his home village, changing the lives of his family in surprising and horrifying ways. … More Girl Under a Red Moon by Da Chen

Revenant March by Strandline Games

July 14, 2020

Review by Juhyun Tony Bae

Revenant March is a visual novel. Similar to a video game, it is a genre of storytelling you read and interact with on the computer. In this grim fantasy, you are not only told the main character’s story, you also make many of her decisions, directing the plot with your choices. … More Revenant March by Strandline Games

When Emily Was Small by Lauren Soloy

July 9, 2020

Review by Logaine Navascués

When young Emily Carr goes into the garden, she cannot help but feel tuned in to its natural rhythms. The reader follows the thumpety-bumpety of Emily’s heart and discovers the girl’s way of seeing and her connection to the Wild. … More When Emily Was Small by Lauren Soloy

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena

July 7, 2020

Review by Louise Brecht

Émigré Susan Thomas is intrigued by desi boy Malcolm Vakil. She wants to fit in the way he does: to her new country, her new city—Mississauga, Ontario—and especially to her new school. Arthur Eldridge High is a world away from her last institution in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and even farther from the family’s home base in India, but her parent’s decree that Susan complete her senior year in Canada is absolute. … More The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena

5 Questions for Kyo Maclear

July 6, 2020

Interview by Valeria De La Vega

Kyo Maclear was born in London, England and moved to Toronto at the age of four. She was raised in a creative household, her British father a documentary filmmaker, and her Japanese mother an artist and art dealer. … More 5 Questions for Kyo Maclear

Natsumi’s Song of Summer by Robert Paul Weston, Illus. by Misa Saburi

July 2, 2020

Review by Logaine Navascués

Friends share a common language. Sometimes it’s in the words they speak or in the games they play. Others, in the small details of daily life, those instants when magic reveals itself, such as when cicada bugs leave the underground world and emerge into the sunlight. … More Natsumi’s Song of Summer by Robert Paul Weston, Illus. by Misa Saburi

Serious Reviews of Teen Fiction