Mindful of Murder by Susan Juby
Selected by Amy Courser, Champion for the Barrie Public Library
3 butlers, 4 guests and a week to remember as family descend on the Yatra Institute, a spiritual retreat on Sutil Island. The goal? To fulfill the last wishes of its owner and determine who is the most suitable heir. But did the owner die of natural causes or is there something more sinister at play?
Check out this book at your local library: Innisfil ideaLAB & Library ● Barrie Public Library ● Essa Public Library ● Midland Public Library ● New Tecumseth Public Library ● Ramara Public Library
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
Selected by Stephanie Cryer, Champion for the Essa Public Library
And Then She Fell follows Alice, a young Haudenosaunee mother who goes through a kind of looking glass, as she deals with postpartum depression and married life away from her family and traditions. It’s a story of difficult truths, told with humour, horror and a bit of surrealism.
Check out this book at your local library: Innisfil ideaLAB & Library ● Barrie Public Library ● Essa Public Library ● Midland Public Library ● New Tecumseth Public Library ● Ramara Public Library
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Selected by Barbara Love, Champion for the Innisfil ideaLAB & Library
When a Mi’kmaq family travels to Maine to pick blueberries for the summer, it’s only a matter of weeks before their four year old daughter suddenly disappears. Norma, who grew up in Maine as an only child, has the impression that her parents haven’t been truthful to her so she trails her family’s secret for years.
As the Mi’kmaq family of this young girl feels loss over decades, The Berry Pickers is about the trauma, search for truth, and unwavering love of family that arises from this mysterious circumstance.
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Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
Selected by Kevin Cascagnette, Champion for the Midland Public Library
It’s been over a decade since a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy. Evan Whitesky led his community in remote northern Ontario off the rez and into the bush, where they’ve been living off the land, rekindling their Anishinaabe traditions in total isolation from the outside world.
As new generations are born, and others come of age in the world after everything, Evan’s people are in some ways stronger than ever. But resources in and around their new settlement are beginning to dry up, and the elders warn that they cannot afford to stay indefinitely.
Evan and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Nangohns, are elected to lead a small scouting party on a months-long trip to their traditional home on the north shore of Lake Huron—to seek new beginnings, and discover what kind of life—and what dangers—still exist in the lands to the south.
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Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline
Selected by Cass Sigler, Champion for the New Tecumseth Public Library
In this queer YA reimagining of The Secret Garden, an orphaned girl is sent to live in the Georgian Bay wilds and discovers family secrets both wonderful and horrifying.
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The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
Selected by Sherry Lawson, Champion for the Ramara Public Library
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.
Check out this book at your local library: Innisfil ideaLAB & Library ● Barrie Public Library ● Essa Public Library ● Midland Public Library ● New Tecumseth Public Library ● Ramara Public Library