Troubled teen heals in B.C. wilderness

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This article was published 18/07/2020 (2271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local author Anita Daher’s latest young adult novel, You Don’t Have to Die in the End (Great Plains, 192 pages, $15, paperback), is both fascinating and challenging.

It’s fascinating because it has a multi-layered main character, Eugenie (Genie), and an interesting setting, a youth corrections ranch in northern British Columbia. It can also be frustrating because Genie’s friend Luda identifies as non-binary, so Daher makes all pronouns relating to Luda in the plural form (they/their rather than he/she). With most of the conversation between Genie and Luda in the first few pages, this can make the opening difficult to follow.

Early on we see Genie in court, coming from a difficult home background and with alcohol problems, accused of a violent attack. Facing jail time, she is offered an alternative: time in a youth correctional facility in a wilderness setting.

Once there, Genie finds hard work and strict rules but also understanding and healing. Daher paints a vivid and convincing picture here of a young person with a complicated and tragic history attempting to straighten out her life. The strongest passages here are when she is living in the correctional camp.

While the introduction of ghostly personages seems to complicate matters unnecessarily, readers 14 and up will find this a compelling read.

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Memories are powerful, especially when they are connected to the person of a beloved grandparent. In her first picture book, Toronto author Loretta Garbutt describes how a stopwatch provides healing recollections in A Stopwatch from Grandpa (Kids Can Press, 32 pages, $20, hardcover), written for ages 4-7.

When her grandpa dies, a little girl is desolate. She remembers how he used to time everything: “He timed me eating bubblegum ice cream: one minute, 58 seconds;” “we timed a swallowtail caterpillar crawling up my pant leg: seven minutes, 22 seconds.” She wants her grandpa, not the stopwatch he left her, but finds the watch brings back precious memories.

Carmen Mok from St. Catharines, Ont., has added attractive full-colour illustrations.

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Fanciful readers will enjoy The Girl and the Witch’s Garden by American writer Erin Bowman (Simon and Schuster, 288 pages, $24, hardcover).

Twelve-year-old Piper Peavey is familiar with Mallory Estate in rural Connecticut. But when her father becomes ill, she hears rumours of a magic potion granting eternal life hidden somewhere in the garden — and she knows she has to find it.

With statues that come to life, a magical pool that drains to reveal a secret tunnel and a cloak of invisibility that saves Piper from her enemies, Bowman’s novel has plenty to keep mid-level readers turning the pages.

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Serious readers will find plenty of information in Canadian Women Now and Then by Toronto author Elizabeth MacLeod (Kids Can Press, 80 pages, $20, hardcover).

The subtitle, More Than 100 Stories of Fearless Trailblazers, tells it all: most of the women get a full page of carefully researched data, accompanied by a full-colour portrait by Montreal artist Maia Faddoul. Mac- Leod has chosen women who “made a difference,” from Nellie McClung and Viola Desmond to Margaret Atwood and Clara Hughes.

In addition, she often includes sidebars that highlight other outstanding women in that category, such as “More Amazing Olympians.” Good for ages nine and up.

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Pirates are always a popular choice for young readers, and the story of a real pirate queen has an automatic attraction.

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao, by Toronto author Helaine Becker (Groundwood, 36 pages, $18, hardcover), is the story of a historical figure who ruled the South China seas in the early 19th century.

With delicate artwork by American artist Liz Wong, this book is aimed at readers ages six to nine.

Helen Norrie is a Winnipeg writer who would enjoy being a pirate.