The Healer and the Phoenix
By: Linda Trinh
Illustrated by: Quynh Anh Nguyen

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Welcome to the magical world of Van Lang, where in every generation, a team of four adventurous kids and their magical ally animals come together to help their communities recover from The Dark Times.

When ten-year-old Starbright Mai is chosen as the newest member of Van Lang’s Legendary Allies Team by a phoenix named Ruby, her whole world changes overnight. Mai is thrust into a world of secret quests and magical powers. But she struggles to fit in with her new team; and why did Ruby, whose magical power is to heal, choose Mai anyway? Before long Mai starts to feel like her place on the team is all a big mistake.

But when the Legendary Allies get word of an illness, they must act quickly to help save the community. With all of Van Lang counting on them, Mai discovers a key to the cure: will her teammates believe her? And can she find the strength to believe in herself?

In this first installment of a four-book series, award-winning author Linda Trinh explores themes of social justice, empathy, and resilience. Vibrant, full-color illustrations by Quynh Ahn Nguyen bring the world of Van Lang brilliantly to life.

Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Wâpos’s Friendship Garden
By: Sita MacMillan
Illustrated by: Azby Whitecalf

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Spring break has finally arrived, and Sarah Ponakey is so happy that her kôhkom has come to stay with her while her mom is away on a work trip. Sarah will have Kôhkom all to herself! Or will she? Sarah has made a special map to show Kôhkom her favorite places in the city, but her plans keep getting interrupted–by an old friend of Kôhkom’s, an invitation to a language luncheon, and way more time with new people than Sarah was hoping for. Sarah can’t help but be frustrated that nothing is going her way. But when a mysterious little rabbit shows up at the community garden, Sarah starts to realize she has a lot to learn about the importance of patience and how to be a good friend.

Featuring Cree words throughout the story, a glossary, and an author’s note, like the first two stories in the Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher series, Wâpos’s Friendship Garden is a heartfelt celebration of family, friendship, and culture.

The New Player
By: Alain Bergeron
Illustrated by: Caroline Soucy

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It’s me, Thomas! There’s a new student from Syria in my class. His name is Karim. He’s very good at soccer and would love to play hockey, but the equipment can be expensive. Thankfully, my teammates and I have an idea, so it won’t be long until Karim is our newest player!

Join Thomas and his friends as they welcome a new player to the team with open arms!

The Fantastic Freeze Ray
By: Kailei Pew
Illustrated by: Estrela Lourenço

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Vicky von Evil has one goal — learn how to become the baddest, most dangerous villain of all time! The only problem is, being evil is way harder than it looks. Vicky enrolls at SVT, a top academy for all super villains in training. There, she and her best friend Will Wickedson learn important, evil skills. But as Will easily flies through each round of villain tests, Vicky has a harder time adjusting to her new school. Will she be able to stay at SVT? This full-color, fast-paced adventure is full of not-so-evil mess ups and action-packed hijinks!

The Case of the Movie Mayhem
By: Michael Hutchinson

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School’s out for the four Cree cousins, but this is no ordinary summer — a movie is being filmed in Windy Lake First Nation. With superheroes in their backyard, the cousins can’t wait to show the actors and stunt doubles all that Windy Lake has to offer — as soon as they actually meet them, that is. On a film set, everyone has a job. Even the Muskrats, who are helping Mavis, owner of Windy Lake’s well-loved House-taurant, with the film’s catering.

As Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee take care of the cast and crew, a truck filled with specialty props and equipment disappears. Filming is halted — a disaster for everyone, including Mavis — and Windy Lake’s reputation is suddenly at stake. It’s up to the Mighty Muskrats to find the culprits and get the filmmaking back on track!

Collision
By: Eric Walters

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Thirteen-year-old Daniel and his friend Noah race to the banks and see that two container ships have collided and are blocking the canal. Daniel watches as first responders pull the crew from the ships, and soon they discover more people on board: refugees trafficked in a shipping container.

While the refugees are taken to hospital, where Daniel’s mom is the head nurse, an investigation is launched, led in part by Daniel’s dad, a police detective. Daniel is visiting his mom at the hospital when he meets Bol, a refugee his age from South Sudan. When Bol is too scared to be given an IV he desperately needs, Daniel offers up his arm for an IV with saline solution, and shows Bol it won’t hurt. The two boys form a friendship playing video games together and communicating by learning new words in each other’s language. But not everyone is so welcoming. Outside the hospital, protesters gather, chanting “Go home!” Still, Daniel sees others ready and willing to help. Can the community rally and prove that love is stronger than hate?

Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham
By: Ryan James Black

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Surviving on the streets of World War II London alone certainly hasn’t been easy, but Nimble Nottingham has perfected the art of going it alone — and that’s just how he likes it. The only friend he needs is his beloved dog, Winnie. To pass the time between rolling blackouts and bombs falling through the air, Nim spends his days fence-climbing, roof-jumping, and gargoyle-perching…that is when he’s not scrounging for food to stave off the ever-present hunger the war has brought to London.

So when opportunity strikes in the form of a bomb falling onto the notoriously creepy Gravenhurst Manor, Nim knows he has to get inside and find whatever spoils he can get his hands on to sell for food. Get in. Get out. Quick as a flash. At least, that was the plan until Mouse — a member of a local street gang called the Dead End Kids — shows up and invites himself along for the heist.

Inside, Mouse and Nim encounter far more than just crumbling walls and shattered windows. Beneath Gravenhurst Manor lies a secret room and inside that room is a locked safe. Nim, inspired by the Hardy Boys adventures he used to read at Waifs and Strays orphanage, knows that something this protected has to be valuable, and so he cracks the safe and unknowingly unleashes a monster.

A shadow creature is now loose on the streets of London, and it’s up to Nim, Mouse, and a band of unattended children to end its reign of terror.

Kindred Dragons
By: Sarah Mensinga

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Alice has been unhappy ever since her parents sent her to Prince Edward Island to live with her strict grandmother. Alice is fanciful, prone to telling tall tales, and absolutely OBSESSED with dragons! Fairies deliver dragon eggs to a select few, known as Kindreds, but no egg has ever arrived for Alice.

While wandering the woods alone, she finds and secretly befriends a mysterious old dragon named Brim. Alice is excited to finally have a dragon friend of her own, but when Brim suddenly falls ill, Alice must set out on a desperate quest to save him.

As Alice searches for a cure, she discovers that her connection to dragons is unlike that of any Kindred — but will her new power be enough to save her friend?

Free Piano (Not Haunted)
By: Whitney Gardner

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The piano is free, but fame has a price.

On the sleepy streets of Cascade Cove, lonely Margot knows that when she stumbles across a discarded synthesizer with a “not haunted” sign, she’s discovered the key to realizing her dreams. Determined to become a real songwriter and earn her absent father’s admiration, Margot dives headfirst into trying to gain followers and fans online. But her musical journey takes an unexpected turn when she realizes the (not haunted) piano is very much…haunted.

Enter Vision, teen pop sensation of 1979 whose untimely demise left her spirit intertwined with the keys of her synthesizer. Though Margot and Vision couldn’t be more different, the girls form an unlikely bond fueled by their shared passion for music.

But as Margot’s obsession with fame and recognition grows, she may come dangerously close to losing what she loves about music…and herself.

To Steal from Thieves
By: M.K. Lobb

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Within the dazzling halls of London’s Crystal Palace, the event of the season has arrived: The Great Exhibition. An opportunity for the greatest minds of the century to come together under one roof in an unprecedented display of art and invention. And for two unlikely partners in crime, it’s about to become the score of a lifetime.

Charming con man Kane Durante works alone — or on occasion with his best friend, Fletcher. But when his boss, the infamous Kingpin of London’s magical dark market, gives him the impossible task of stealing a priceless artifact from the Great Exhibition, he knows it’s a job he can’t pull off alone. Enter Zaria Mendoza, daughter of one of London’s greatest alchemologists. Ever since her father’s death, Zaria’s been struggling to keep her underground business afloat, and impatient clients are becoming violent. When the infuriatingly handsome Kane offers her the promise of enough money to get out of debt and leave London entirely, she knows she can’t walk away from this dangerous partnership.

But robbing one of the most public, heavily-guarded buildings in London isn’t going to be easy, especially when love and betrayal threaten to ruin everything they’ve worked so hard for.

The Blind Date Agreement
By: Jessica Cunsolo

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Carina has zero issues with being single — even though her best friends, Emi and Kalani, are coupled up. She’s got more than enough to keep her busy between schoolwork, her part-time job at her family’s bakery, and her art. Besides, Carina adores Emi’s partner, Daphne, they always make her feel included and not like a third wheel. Kalani’s another story — being around her and her boyfriend is complicated. That’s why Kalani takes matters into her own hands and arranges a series of blind dates for Carina.

There’s just one hitch: Carina doesn’t want to go. Being single isn’t the problem. The fact that she’s in love with Kalani’s boyfriend, Emmett, is and no amount of distraction can fix that. But with prom on the horizon, the idea of being a fifth, seventh, or eleventh wheel weighs heavily on Carina’s mind. So, she agrees.

And it’s a complete disaster. And every date is worse than the one before. Except for one, pink-short-wearing Jay, who pushes Carina in ways she never expected. Soon she finds herself in a complicated battle between friendship and romance, and she must decide which form of love matters most to her — and which one will surprise her.

I Won’t Feel This Way Forever
By: Kim Spencer

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It’s the summer of 1989, and Mia is on her own — adjusting to life without her ex-best friend, Lara.

Summer vacation starts off well enough as Mia binges MuchMusic and learns how to jar fish with her aunty and uncle. Then her grandma starts feeling unwell. At first, Mia isn’t too worried, but when a call comes in from the clinic to say her grandmother has to go to the hospital in Vancouver, everyone realizes this is serious.

Mia and her mom and aunties head to the city to be by her grandmother’s side. Mia mostly ping-pongs from the hospital to the motel, but she also gets to see some of the city and eat (too much) takeout. She even joins a basketball camp at the Friendship Centre, where she meets a teen coach who inspires her to get back into the game she loves and delve deeper into what it means to be Indigenous. As time passes, Mia’s grandmother’s health doesn’t improve, and she has to face the fact that her beloved grandma might not get better.