Secondary (9-12) Grades 

Basic Package

Winter - 2008 - 2009

The book packages listed below are from our previous packages and are not currently for sale online.

They are presented here as a sample of the grade level appropriate type of books CanLit selects and offers to school libraries.

These book packages can be ordered (depending on availability of books) by email (canlit@shaw.ca) or by calling CanLit toll free at 1-888-656-9906.

FICTIONS

Back to Book Packages 2008 - 2009

Bonechiller by Graham McNamee

Regular List Price: $18.99

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 304

Danny’s dad takes a job as caretaker at a marina on the shore of a vast, frozen lake in Harvest Cove, a tiny town tucked away in Canada’s Big Empty. If you’re looking for somewhere to hide, this is it.

It’s the worst winter in years. One night, running in the dark, Danny is attacked by a creature so strange and terrifying he tries to convince himself he was hallucinating. Then he learns about Native American legends of a monster that’s haunted the lake for a thousand years. And that every generation, in the coldest winters, kids have disappeared into the night. People think they ran away. But Danny knows better because now the beast is after him! This one tells a thrilling and suspenseful story.

Reviewed by Tanya Boudreau. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, October, 2008 Recommended. “Danny has been running from pain for too long. It started after his mom died and hasn't ended yet. He's been to three schools in two years, always a drifter; never fitting in. ...something else has found Danny. It's chasing him, and he has nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. This is a must-have book for libraries.”

Reviewed by John Wilson. Quill and Quire, July, 2008 "Like all horror stories, Bonechiller requires a healthy suspension of disbelief, but the well-developed characters, convincing relationships, and the speed with which the story hums along give the reader little chance to worry about that. McNamee has crafted a fine thriller that offers more than simple serial gore and pointless frights."

Broken by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 162

With purple hair and '90s retro clothes, Ash Perrault is a modern-day Cinderella. Her dad’s fiancée/stepmother is moving into their house; her stepsisters are most annoying and her rocky relationship with the school prince, Seth, is confusing and often hurtful. But she has a problem Cinderella didn't have - a dangerous problem that keeps on getting worse and she can’t explain why. The glass around her keeps breaking without her touching it. It is not only eerie, it's downright dangerous. Can she find a way to control it?

Call Me Mimi: The World's Ugliest Beauty Queen by Francis Chalifour

Regular List Price: $14.99

Suggested Grades: 7 to 10

Pages: 184

Mimi loves flowers, crystal chandeliers, kittens, Céline Dion’s voice, the color pink, swaths of satin, the Queen of England, and chocolate. Far, far too much chocolate. She craves beauty and her own overweight self is emphatically not beautiful, at least in her own eyes. And despite her size, she doesn’t feel whole because all she knows about her father is that he was a sperm bank donor seventeen years before. Mimi is a fractured soul.

Mimi knows that she needs to take charge of herself to find a person she can love within her self-imposed wall of weight. She leaves her doting mother and Montreal behind and heads to Toronto to find her father. What she finds is far more important than anything she could possibly have imagined.

Francis Chalifour’s ability to bring the unforgettable Mimi to life makes this a novel that will touch the reader’s funny bone and heart.

Chenxi and the Foreigner by Sally Rippin

Regular List Price: $10.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 208

Fresh out of high school, Anna has joined her father, who works in Shanghai. She’s eager to see China beyond the bicycle-crowded streets between their apartment, her father’s expatriate community, and the art school she’s attending. That’s why she’s thrilled when her father hires a local - a fellow student named Chenxi - to be her translator and guide.

Too bad Anna seems nothing but trouble for Chenxi. His ideas about art already rankle the authorities and he could do without the added attention of being with a wai guo ren - a foreigner. Even so, he is intrigued by Anna’s brashness and the freedoms she takes for granted. But when Anna turns their friendship towards passion, her actions have consequences that are intensified by a watchful regime looking to get rid of disruptive artists.

Set around the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, and inspired by the author’s time spent in China as a teenager, this novel crackles with emotion, ideas, and authenticity .

Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls Edited by Deb Loughead and Jocelyn Shipley

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 11

Pages: 185

The innovative stories in this collection are all about taking pride in wearing our bodies just the way they are. They're about hating our mothers and loving them, fitting in and breaking out. These characters articulate ways of looking at the world, of looking at others and of seeing life's possibilities. Touching on a range of issues from cosmetic surgery and makeup, and unhealthy attitudes toward eating, to sexuality and teens' impressions of their own and others' bodies, these stories challenge stifling mainstream notions of beauty and femininity.

Reviewed by Joan Marshall. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, December, 2008 Highly Recommended. “This eclectic collection of short stories, edited by Deb Loughead and Jocelyn Shipley, both award-winning writers for young people themselves, is tied together by theme: girls struggling with body image and their relationships with their mothers. The female authors of these 15 stories have nailed to the wall the self-absorption of teenage girls who think and act as if their problems are the centre of the entire world.”

Reviewed by Sarah Steinberg. Quill and Quire, December, 2008 "Loughead and Shipley have assembled an eminently readable collection here, one that may be as enlightening and enjoyable for mothers as their teenage daughters."

Far by Carol Matas (The Freak Three)

Regular List Price: $9.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 152

Ever since Jade discovered her “abilities,” she’s been looking for answers - answers to questions about what her powers mean, and how best to use them. Now, she’s hoping that a family trip to Palm Springs, California, will answer these questions and more. A local university there boasts an entire division devoted to psychic testing, and Jade is eager to see what these experts will make of her. But as excited as she is to share her experiences and talk to others like herself, Jade hates being away from Jon. Does the dark feeling she’s been having about his new tutoring student mean Jon is in some kind of danger? And what about the “accidents” that keep happening to her and her family? Are they omen of terrors yet to come?

First Time by Meg Tilly

Regular List Price: $9.95

Suggested Grades: 8 to 12

Pages: 112

After her best friend meets a new, older guy, Haley feels left out. So when her mother’s new boyfriend starts making unwanted advances, Hayley realizes she has no one to tell. Not wanting to upset her mother’s happiness, she has to face her tormentor alone and face up to some hard truths.

This is a short high-interest novel with a contemporary theme, written expressly for teens reading below grade level.

Greener Grass: The Famine Years by Caroline Pignat

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 12

Pages: 278

Kit Byrne’s family is a strong one, but their strength and unity are being severely tested, as life becomes more and more desperate in 19th century rural Ireland. Lord Fraser is the wealthy landowner, from which the Byrne’s and many other families rent their lands. When the potato blight hits, the farmers can no longer make their payments much less produce food for themselves, and the cruel system has no mercy as Lord Fraser wields an iron fist, driving families from their homes and burning their cottages.

This story is a glimpse into the tragic events of the Great Hunger, the famine that devastated Ireland, forcing thousands of impoverished families to seek better livelihoods outside of their homeland.

EDUCATOR’S GUIDE IS AVAILABLE.

Reviewed by Ann Ketcheson. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, December, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Pignat’s writing is strong and detailed, bringing to life historical events in a personal and tangible way. Readers relate to Kit’s emotions as she battles problems that seem virtually insurmountable. She is to be greatly admired, even though circumstances lead her to theft and even attempted murder. Difficult times mean difficult decisions, and protagonist Kit may struggle with her conscience even as she does what must be done to save her family.”

I Know It's Over by C. K. Kelly Martin

Regular List Price: $19.99

Suggested Grades: 10 to 12

Pages: 256 *SOME SEXUAL CONTENT*

With the collateral damage from his parents’ divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing Nick needs. All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he’s neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn’t mind in the least. But Nick’s world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then, weeks later, while Nick’s still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she’s pregnant. Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can’t stop caring for, the girl who insists that it’s still over.

Reviewed by Ann Ketcheson. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, October, 2008 Highly Recommended. "Some critics may find this novel too gritty and detailed for teen readers, but I applaud Martin for her intelligent characters and her sensitive portrayal of their honest reactions and emotions. Relationships, love and sex are important parts of teens’ lives, and this book deals openly and honestly with them as well as with an unplanned teen pregnancy. This is a worthwhile and perhaps even necessary novel for all teens and might well enlighten their parents and teachers also. I Know It’s Over should be widely available, and I would encourage all teens to take the time to read it."

Initiations: A Selection of Young Native Writings edited by Marilyn Dumont

Regular List Price: $16.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 168

These 21 essays, poetic prose, fiction, non-fiction, biography, and poetry are written by accomplished Aboriginal youth over the three years of the Dominion Institute’s Our Story Writing Challenge. The youth were given the general task of writing a narrative that portrayed a moment in time of First Nations history. The writings are moving, intriguing, challenging, and heart-felt. The essays discuss the potlatch tradition, residential school, roles of men and women, band council elections, hunting, identity, sovereignty, repatriation, and land reclamation or land claims. The overall collection is a strong statement about the wealth of talent among First Nations youth and fits nicely into Native Studies courses at the secondary level.

The Lit Report by Sarah N. Harvey

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 176

Julia and Ruth have been unlikely best friends since they first met in Sunday school - Ruth was standing on the Bible-crafts table belting out "Jesus Loves Me." Now that they're a year away from graduation, they're putting the finishing touches on their getaway plans. But their dream of a funky big-city loft and rich, interesting older men is threatened when preacher's daughter Ruth goes to a wild party without studious Julia, and all hell breaks loose. Ruth gets pregnant; Julia gets creative. Determined to support her friend and stay on track for life after high school, Julia comes up with a plan that will require all her intelligence, compassion, ingenuity and patience. Drawing on some great (and some not-so-great) works of literature, Julia proves that you can learn a lot just by opening up a book. Readers are going to love this one - I know I did!

Reviewed by Rachel Steen. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, September, 2008 Highly Recommended. “The novel is well written and multi-layered, and though it may seem at times that all of the conflicts work out too tidily, the narrator carefully points out that this is an exception rather than a rule. Neither condoning nor condemning, this novel will fit perfectly into a high school parenting or family studies class, offering students a great deal of material for discussion."

Lunch with Lenin and Other Stories by Deborah Ellis

Regular List Price: $14.95

Suggested Grades: 8 to 12

Pages: 192

Deborah Ellis's first collection of short stories explores the lives of children who have been affected directly, or indirectly, by drugs. Sometimes touching and often surprising, the stories are set against backdrops as diverse as the remote north and small town America to Moscow's Red Square and an opium farm in Afghanistan.

This is an unforgettable collection of stories that will elicit discussions about the toll drugs take on the lives of teenagers and their families.

Reviewed by Dave Jenkinson. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, September, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Ellis's first collection of short stories for YAs exhibits the same fine writing quality that readers have come to expect from her. As occurs in the majority of her books, Ellis addresses a social concern, this time drugs and addictions, but she does so without engaging in any preaching or making of overt value judgements. Instead, she just lets readers draw their own conclusions from the stories' happenings. The 10 character-driven stories, which range in length from 10-23 pages, feature six males and four females, ranging in age from 14-16, as central characters."

Reviewed by Sarah Jessop. Quill and Quire, December, 2008 "This collection is guaranteed to provoke discussion and debate among those who do read it, ... and is likely to attract teachers looking for accessible and interesting classroom reading."

Mackenzie, Lost and Found by Deborah Kerbel

Regular List Price: $12.99

Suggested Grades: 8 to 12

Pages: 256

Fifteen-year-old Mackenzie Hill knows something is up when she arrives home to find her father making a home-cooked dinner, instead of his standard delivery pizza. But nothing prepares her for the bombshell announcement: Mackenzie and her dad, alone since the death of her mother a year ago, are moving to Jerusalem, where her father has taken a position as a visiting professor at a university.

The adjustment from life in Canada to life in Israel is dramatic - though it's eased somewhat when Mackenzie is befriended by an American girl in her new school. The biggest shock of all comes when Mackenzie faces the wrath of her new friends, new community, and even her own father after she begins dating a Muslim boy. A timely work.

My Parents are Sex Maniacs: A High School Horror Story by Robyn Harding

Regular List Price: $10.95

Suggested Grades: 10 to 12

Pages: 224 *REFERENCES TO ORAL SEX*

Sixteen-year-old Louise Harrison is insecure about a lot of things - amongst them: her hair, her fashion sense and her “big-boned” build. At least her social status is secure because of her BFF, Sienna Marshall, a certified member of the mega-watt crowd. But all hell breaks loose when Louise’s brother walks in on their father, Len, and Sienna’s mother, Sunny, in a flagrantly compromising position.

Wry and melodramatic, smart and spirited, Louise is a typical girl who just wants to fit in. This fun and upbeat novel will captivate readers as they enter Louise’s wildly topsy-turvy world.

N4mbers by David A. Poulsen

Regular List Price: $19.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 232

At the start of the school year Andy starts to think that his luck has changed. Although Parkerville High isn’t the coolest school on earth, there’s one very cool thing about it: Mr. Retzlaff. And Andy’s got him for Grade 10 Social Studies.

It is awesome from Day One covering World War II, Hitler, and the Holocaust. It’s the class in which Mr. R. stresses that pictures can be deceiving, and encourages his students not to believe everything they hear. It’s the class that Andy wants to ace - if only to make Mr. R. proud. Before long, though, Andy starts to realize that Mr. R’s version of history doesn’t quite match everyone else’s, and that acing this particular class may cost more than he’s willing to pay.

With Numbers, award-winning author David A. Poulsen offers a piercing look at the costs of turning your back on what is popular and learning to think for yourself.

Starred Review by Shaun Smith. Quill and Quire, November, 2008 "Anti-Semitism is the central issue here, but Poulsen elevates Numbers above the status of “issue book” through his funny and sympathetic depiction of contemporary teenage life. ... Numbers is a deeply moving, nuanced, and fascinating depiction of how confusion and vulnerability can sometimes cause damages that can never be fully repaired."

Starred reviews for Quill and Quire indicate books of exceptional merit.

Raven by Allison Van Diepen

Regular List Price: $18.99 (hardcover)

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 288

Zin dances with fire in every step and sees with eyes that can peer into the soul. It's no wonder Nicole is madly in love with him. But she cannot understand why Zin keeps her at a distance. He carries a very old secret, and when Nicole uncovers the truth, her love may be the only thing that can save him from it.

Will be popular with fans of the Twilight Series.

Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 12

Pages: 280

In the isolated rural community of Unity, the people of The Movement live a simple life guided by a set of religious principles and laws that are unique to them. Polygamy is the norm, strict obedience is expected and it is customary for young girls to be assigned to much older husbands. Celeste was born and raised in Unity, yet she struggles to fit in. At fifteen she is repulsed at the thought of being assigned to an older man and becoming a sister wife and she knows for certain she is not cut out to raise children. She wants something more for herself, yet feels powerless to change her destiny because rebelling would bring shame upon her family. Although she is assigned to a caring man, his sixth wife, she is desperately unhappy. How will Celeste find her way out of Unity?

Torn from the headlines and inspired by current events, Sister Wife is a compelling portrait of a community where the laws of the outside world are ignored and where individuality is punished.

Reviewed by Darleen Golke. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, November, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Indoctrination begins at an early age for children in fictional Unity, a closed community that practices polygamy and dictates that girls will be assigned to a husband soon after they reach the age of 15. ... Hrdlitschka handles the sensitive areas of sex and abuse skillfully, keeping the emphasis on a young woman's attempts at understanding herself and coping with difficulties rather than the actual acts."

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Regular List Price: $14.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 400

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts - everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, but as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire - Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

A Thousand Shades of Blue by Robin H. Stevenson

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 11

Pages: 240

A sailing trip to the Caribbean might sound great, but sixteen-year-old Rachel can't stand being trapped on a small boat with her family. She misses her best friend and feels guilty about leaving her older sister Emma, who lives in a group home. Her father is driving her crazy with his schedules and rules, her brother is miserable, and there is never anyone her own age around. Worst of all, there is nowhere to go when her parents fight. While their boat is being repaired, the family spends a few weeks in a small Bahamian community, where Rachel and Tim discover a secret which turns their world upside down and threatens to destroy the fragile ties that hold their family together.

Reviewed by Lois Brymer. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, October, 2008 Highly Recommended. "A Thousand Shades of Blue is a thought-provoking read for teens and parents alike who may see something of themselves in Rachel and her family. With so many pressures and stresses placed on families these days (such as coping with and caring for a disabled child like Rachel's sister) this is a timely novel. It is a well-written, well-paced, easy to read and conveys the message that there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Young readers will like that! "

Tripping by Heather Waldorfy

Regular List Price: $12.95

Suggested Grades: 9 to 12

Pages: 196

An opportunity to escape a dull summer - and perhaps to find a future for herself after high school - persuades Rainey Williamson to join a school-sponsored program that will take her and five other teenagers on an eight-week road trip across Canada. The challenge of this journey is heightened, in view of the fact that Rainey has had to wear an artificial leg from birth. On the eve of her getaway, a crucial complication arises: she finds out that the mother who left when she was just a few months old is alive and well and living in Squamish, B.C., directly on the route of the student expedition. What’s more, her mother now wants to see her.

The story is laced with Heather Waldorf’s customary sharp intelligence and sense of humour - and her understanding of the themes teenagers are most engaged with.

War Brothers by Sharon McKay

Regular List Price: $20.00

Suggested Grades: 7 to 12

Pages: 224

Sharon McKay sets her new novel in Uganda, where Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has, since 1987, abducted up to 30,000 children from their villages and homes for use as soldiers and slaves. It is in these nightmarish times that the fates of 5 boys and a girl are entwined. Captured from their school by the LRA, the boys wait for rescue only to discover that if they are to survive they must rely on themselves. But friendship, courage, and resilience might not be enough to save them. Based in part upon interviews with child soldiers in Northern Uganda, War Brothers is a stunning depiction of the human cost of wars fought by children.

Reviewed by Dave Jenkinson. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, August, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Though War Brothers does deal with some “tough” content, especially when the six adolescents are the (Lord's Resistance Army) LRA’s captives, McKay does not treat the events in any exploitive way. No doubt many Canadian middle schoolers have met similar scenes in books about the Holocaust, but it easy for them to think of such terrible happenings as simply belonging to the past. War Brothers speaks to the present! ”

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Regular List Price: $17.99

Suggested Grades: 8 to 12

Pages: 327

Kelley Winslow is living her dream. Seventeen years old, she has moved to New York City and started to work with a theatre company. Sure, she’s only an understudy for the Avalon Players, a third-tier repertory company so far off-Broadway it might as well be in Hoboken, but things are looking up - the lead has broken her ankle and Kelley’s about to step into the role of Titania the Faerie Queen in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Faeries are far more real than Kelley thinks, though, and a chance encounter in Central Park with a handsome young man named Sonny Flannery plunges her into an adventure she could never have imagined.

The first in a planned trilogy that puts a fresh new spin on classic faerie lore, Wondrous Strange blends a gripping plot with fully believable characters, fascinating ideas and just the right amount of romance to create a story that is vivid, thrilling and engaging.

Reviewed by Robert J. Wiersema. Quill and Quire, December, 2008 "... the debut novel (and first book in a planned trilogy) ... manages to stand as a powerful and largely original work in its own right...The narrative is rich with incident and mounting tension, but allows for imaginative set pieces, such as a tavern that forms a bridge between worlds."

NON-FICTION

Dominant Dany Heatley by Dany Heatley; Lorna Nicholson

and

Unbeatable Martin Brodeur by Andrew Podnieks

Regular List Price: $14.95 (per title)

Suggested Grades: 6 to 12

Pages: 80

These titles chronicle the careers of their particular subject from their early childhood playing amateur hockey to their NHL debuts. Both have interesting stories to tell about games played and lessons learned. This informative, clearly written and up-to-date series draws the reader into the world of professional hockey.

From Rocks to Rockets: Arms and Armies Through The Ages by William Gilkerson

Regular List Price: $15.95

Suggested Grades: 6 to 12

Pages: 66

William Gilkerson takes the broad, sweeping history of the human race and puts it in story and pictures that are at once meaningful, sometimes profound, and always funny. His pen takes us from cave men with rocks, to modern bombs and rockets, and depicts the chaos throughout. First published in 1963, this amusing and glorious look at arms and armies through the ages is reissued for a new audience. There are laughs on every page, but also wry, though provoking observations, all expressed through Gilkerson’s wonderfully detailed drawings which will enthrall students of all ages.

Nobel's Women of Peace by Michelle Benjamin; Maggie Mooney

Regular List Price: $10.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 12

Pages: 147

Each year since 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a person who has made a difference in the world. Twelve women have been given this award and each had to struggle to be heard because she was a woman. Each one shares an incredible determination, commitment, and hope for the future.

The most recent winner, Wangari Maathai of Kenya, has helped African women plant more than 30 million trees. How does planting trees promote peace? By improving the lives of communities. Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has also fought to improve lives by trying to bring democracy to her country. Máiread Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams worked to end violence in Northern Ireland, Jody Williams campaigns to ban landmines, and Mother Theresa was an example of compassion to millions. The courage of these women is inspiring.

When Elephants Fight: The Lives of Children in Conflict by Eric Walters; Adrian Bradbury

Regular List Price: $19.95

Suggested Grades: 7 to 10

Pages: 96

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. This ancient proverb is as true today as when the words were first spoken, perhaps thousands of years ago. Its essence is simplicity-when the large fight, it is the small who suffer most. And when it comes to war, the smallest, the most vulnerable, are the children.

This book presents the stories of five children from five very different and distinct conflicts. Along with these very personal accounts, the book also offers brief analyses of the history and geopolitical issues that are the canvas on which these conflicts are cast.

Reviewed by Marilynne V. Black. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, August, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Since children continue to suffer, the authors emphasize that "For the future to be better than the past, better than the present, we must help equip our children with the awareness and understanding of the world around them and their ability to bring about change." Used with novels with a similar theme, the opportunities for understanding and possible change are greatly enhanced. When Elephants Fight is a solid vehicle for discussions about the effects of war on children.”