“Defiant 511 is not a book for everyone. For those who have survived childhood abuse, it could be a trigger. For younger readers, it could be a traumatising glimpse into the pit of human degradation. But for those who should know what happened to generations of Native children and their subsequent tragedies and triumphs, it is essential reading.” Linda Rogers reviews The Defiant 511 of the Alberni Indian Residential School, by Evelyn Thompson-George and Art Thompson (Victoria: FriesenPress, 2025) $21.99 / 9781038315359
Uniquely written debut novel “is a book that plumbs the depths of a young man’s search for meaning that will appeal to those who are looking for an intellectual, character-driven examination of religious belief.” —Trish Bowering reviews Broken Water, by Nick Perry (Durham: Chicken House Press, 2025) $19.99 / 9781990336836
“In these pages we meet smugglers, rumrunners, and largely forgotten explorers, and learn of disastrous voyages, horrendous outbreaks of disease, and early maritime maps that reflected political motives more than geographic precision.” Tom Koppel reviews Who Shot Estevan Light? and other tales from the Salish Sea and beyond, by Douglas Hamilton (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $26 / 9781773861531
“When I arrived at Burnaby’s Simon Fraser University in the spring of 1970, the dust had barely settled on the previous five years of growing pains. A Magical Time took me back to the many exciting moments that would leave a lasting impression on members of my student cohort for better or worse.” Ron Verzuh reviews A Magical Time: The Early Days of the Arts at Simon Fraser University by the Simon Fraser University Retirees Association (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025) $38.95 / 9781998526062
“She fell in love with him, and remained in love for a long time, despite everything. Maskerine explains this is one reason why these relationships are so complicated and so difficult to end. Perpetrators of abuse are often Jekyll and Hyde characters, extremely caring and gentle one moment, inexplicably violent the next.” Susan Sanford Blades reviews Beneath my Scars: Surviving Domestic Violence, by Anna Maskerine (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $26 / 9781773861593
“Paul Zizka’s compelling and creative images in The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered are in the highest reach of ‘A’ level evocative photographs. The front cover of the book, ice climber ascending, soft purple northern lights backdrop, focused light on the climber a definite promise and hint of visual beauties to come—such creatively distinct approaches to the Rockies summon forth, for those who have lingered long in such enticing grails of the soul, a longing to return to deeper places.” Ron Dart reviews The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered, Photographs by Paul Zizka (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2025) $40 / 9781771607391
An appealing trio of picture books for young readers take journeys to forests and seas. Among the vivid colours and striking images: invaluable lessons about cooperation, language, and ecosystems. —Ginny Ratsoy reviews What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean, by Kirsten Pendreigh (illustrated by Katie Melrose) (Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2025) $28.99 / 9781464218965; Mother Aspen: A Story of How Forests Cooperate and Communicate, by Annette LeBox (illustrated by Crystal Smith) (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2024) $22.99 / 9781773069357; and The Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom, by Leigh Joseph (illustrated by Natalie Schnitter) (Dover: Quarto Publishing, 2025) $25.99 / 9780760392911
Couplets driven by narrative (or prose with poetic DNA), an extravagantly told book relates a 24-hour period in a city with inhabitants under the yoke of capitalism. —Joe Enns reviews Kingdom of the Clock, by Daniel Cowper (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s UP, 2025) $24.95 / 9780228023715
“…Woodruff is to be commended for eschewing preachiness: she does not pontificate on the ills of drink so much as illustrate the deleterious impact a culture focused on alcohol can have on particular individuals, while drawing on research to reinforce her lived experience.” Ginny Ratsoy reviews Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at our Boozy Culture, by Veronica Woodruff (New Westminster: Tidewater Press, 2025) $24.95 / 9781990160462
“Fisher and Dickinson worked together for decades to preserve the history of Atlin. Tales, Trials and Triumphs makes a valuable contribution to this preservation. Though the book is largely a collection of photographs, its text is substantial and substantive, complementing and explaining the hundreds of black & white and colour photos and maps.” Howard MacDonald Stewart reviews Tales, Trials and Triumphs: Echoes of Atlin, by Kate Fisher and Christine Dickinson (Atlin: Atlin Historical Society, 2025) $50 / 9781069075604
“Before I read Liz’s book, I wondered how both Liz and David sourced the strength to navigate the myriad of disconnections caused by dementia. The loneliness, the grief, and, ultimately, his death. Against relentless adversity, they sustained their love.” Lee Reid reviews Love in a Different Way: A Journey Through Dementia by Liz and David Amaral (Nelson: Amazon, 2025) $28.10 / 9781834180823
“Arnott’s storytelling has some of the qualities of Mark Twain floating down the Mississippi or Walt Whitman strolling the Great White Way. Lord Byron, too, comes to mind with his peripatetic Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. But perhaps this travel memoir is more akin to John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. More like Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.” Ron Verzuh reviews A Season in the Okanagan, by Bill Arnott (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2025) $20 / 9781771607247
“A security officer, Damian has good reason to dislike his graveyard shift job. As the Victoria-based author makes all too clear, so do the protagonists of nearly all the other jobs he writes about. Poor pay, ungodly hours, and rough conditions: the jobs Taylor documents, readers will need little convincing, are grindingly ‘shitty.’” —Theo Dombrowski reviews Security and Other Shitty Jobs: Parables of the Morally Suspect, by Jason A. N. Taylor (Victoria: Jason A. N. Taylor, 2025) $13.99 / 9798281668194
“Adhiya tells us that Terry was an ordinary teenager, an athlete who dreamt of one day becoming a teacher and sports coach. He also faced many challenges as a child such as being short. He never let those things bother him.” Valerie Green reviews Hope by Terry Fox, by Barbara Adhiya (ed.) (Toronto: ECW Press, 2024) $30 / 9781770416819
“Blanchet was a single mum after her husband’s disappearance. He apparently fell from the family’s boat, Caprice. Nevertheless, she kept the vessel and explored the Salish Sea from Puget Sound to Queen Charlotte Sound.” Marianne Scott reviews The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024 revised edition) $19.95 / 9781990776786
“Throughout the book, Hafting weaves a powerful thread of connection—not just between birds and humans but between people themselves. ‘Birds connect us and reflect how we are connected to those we love,’ she observes. That sentiment lingered in my mind long after I closed the book.” Amy Tucker reviews Dare to Bird: Exploring the Joy and Healing Power of Birds, by Melissa Hafting (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2024) $45 / 9781771606547
“Death on the Caldera is brimming with interesting plot lines, compelling characters, and beautiful world-building. When these elements are given room to breathe, they are truly wonderful to experience.” —Zoe McKenna reviews Death on the Caldera, by Emily Paxman (New York: Titan Books, 2025) $24.99 / 9781835411582
In a warm, captivating tale, campaigning politicians, lovestruck Cranbrookers, and the Sells-Floto Circus turn 1920s small town BC into the proverbial three-ringer. —Ron Verzuh reviews Frank and the Elephants: A Romance of the Rockies, by R.D. Rowberry (Nelson: Nelson History Theatre Society, 2024) $18.95 / 9781738218004
Composed of one poem and thirteen short stories, an anthology loosely tied together by a geographic theme pays close attention to human relations (the good, the bad, and the ugly) in various Canadian locales. To winning effect. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Not the Same Road Out: Trans Canada Stories, by K.J. Denny (editor) (New Westminster: Tidewater Press, 2025) $24.95 / 9781990160509
The middle volume of The Lost Wells Trilogy overcomes middlevolumeitis with sharpened relations between characters and intriguing world-building. —Myshara McMyn reviews Mantle of the World Ruler, by Kate Gateley (Altona: Friesen Press, 2023) $31.99 / 9781039155251
