Time to Wonder – Volume 2. A Kid’s Guide to BC’s Regional Museums: Vancouver Island, Salt Spring, Alert Bay, and Haida Gwaii by S. Lesley Buxton and Sue Harper Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2022 $22.00 / 9781771605069 Reviewed by Valerie Green * In view of the recent closure of Point Ellice House and Gardens in…
Read more 1921 Treasures from the past
The Wild By Owen Laukkanen Toronto: Underlined, 2021 $13.99 / 9780593179741 Reviewed by C.L. Shoemaker * YA fiction by mystery writer and Vancouver resident Owen Laukkanen, The Wild is a third-person dive into the thoughts and ideas of Dawn, a seventeen-year-old drug addict living with a drug dealer twice her age. When Dawn comes home…
Read more 1881 Grief, detox, murder, and wilderness tips
Shamus, The Urban Rez Dog, P. I. By Leslie Gentile Toronto: Cormorant/DCB, 2023 $14.95 / 9781770867079 Reviewed by Linda Rogers * Teacher, singer, and now writer Leslie Gentile’s second middle grade novel is Shamus, The Urban Rez Dog, P.I. There’s no doubt juvenile readers with an appetite for fiction to match Shamus shameless pursuit of…
Read more 1872 An ‘adventure-filled whodunnit’ (for kids)
Sophia’s Secrets By George M. Johnson (illustrated by Sara Casilda) New York: Clavis Publishing, 2023 $28.50 / 9781605376103 How Hope Became An Activist By George M. Johnson (illustrated by Danielle Grandi) London, UK: Dixi Books, 2020 $19.99 / 9781913680008 Marisa and the Mountains By George M. Johnson (illustrated by Chelsea O’Byrne) Vancouver: Simply Read Books,…
Read more 1867 ‘Altogether lovely’ books for kids
Interview channel update by Richard Mackie * Since January 2023 Trevor Hughes, interim non-fiction editor of The British Columbia Review, has branched out as Video Segment Producer and curator of our new Interview Channel, hosted by YouTube. So far, Trevor has uploaded thirteen interviews that capture in words a broad spectrum of British Columbian authors,…
Read more 1841 BC Review interviews update
Welcome Trevor and Brett by Richard Mackie * On behalf of the Board of the Ormsby Literary Society and our Advisory Board I’d like to welcome Trevor Marc Hughes and Brett Josef Grubisic as interim editors of The British Columbia Review for the year May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024. The position was made possible…
Read more 1813 Welcome Trevor and Brett
Last Winter by Carrie Mac Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada (Random House), 2023 $24.95 / 9781039005198 Reviewed by W.H. New * Readers who finish Carrie Mac’s Last Winter and then turn to her biographical note will recognize that many of the themes of her novel arise from lived experience: a declared identity as queer and…
Read more 1797 Choosing to speak
Dig Deep: Connecting Archaeology, Oceans and Us by Nicole F. Smith, with photographs by Alexander Mackie and others Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2023 $21.95 / 9781459826083 Reviewed by Grant Keddie * Over my 50 years as a curator in Archaeology at the British Columbia Provincial Museum-Royal British Columbia Museum I received numerous requests from teachers…
Read more 1792 The 164,000-year classroom
Knight of the Rails by Christine Welldon Toronto: Red Deer Press, 2022 $14.95 / 9780889956698 Reviewed by Ron Verzuh * Move Over Dickens: Meet a Canadian Pip and An Unusual Artful Dodger Novels for teenagers rarely cross my desk these days. In my youth I revelled in the adventures of the Hardy Boys until Mom…
Read more 1780 Move over Dickens
Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle by Yolanda Ridge (text) and Sydney Barnes (illustrations) Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2023 $12.95 / 9781459833791 Reviewed by Cassidy Lea * In Canada, hockey is kind of our thing. A lot of us have played it, a bunch of us watch it, and if most of us were asked…
Read more 1775 The hockey talisman
Oscar and the Folding Airplane by Peter Chapman, illustrated by Carl Osberg, with Polly Wilson (book design), Brent Alley (photographer), and Tom Hellum (web design) Victoria: Privately printed, 2022 $18.00 / 9781777941505 Also available for free download here Reviewed by Candace Fertile * Peter Chapman’s children’s book grew out of father-son story-telling sessions, in the…
Read more 1768 Oscar and Sawdust take wing
Announcing the BC Review interview series by Richard Mackie * In November 2022, at the most recent board meeting of the Ormsby Literary Society, the chair, Byron Sheardown, suggested that we open a YouTube channel and start an interview series. Board member Trevor Marc Hughes jumped at the suggestion. “I’ve got filmmaking experience,” he said,…
Read more 1757 Announcing interview series
Why Humans Build Up: The Rise of Towers, Temples and Skyscrapers by Gregor Craigie, illustrated by Kathleen Fu Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2022 $29.95 / 9781459821880 Reviewed by Ginny Ratsoy * Was the Tower of Jericho built as a defensive watchtower or a mechanism to help farmers calculate the summer solstice? What are the advantages…
Read more 1737 The sky’s the limit
Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2022 $12.95 / 9781459835580 Reviewed by Cassidy Jean * Growing up is tough. Crushes, hormones, and the expectations that come with going from child to “preteen” are difficult to navigate. Add to that racial tensions, and growing up as an Indigenous girl in the…
Read more 1736 Weird rules we all follow
Two books reviewed by Carole Gerson in consultation with Clarissa Gerson Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros Toronto: HarperCollins Canada (Quill Tree Books), 2020 $15.99 / 9780062875969 * Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros Toronto: HarperCollins Canada (Quill Tree Books), 2022 $28.50 /…
Read more 1722 Time travel with Jo & Anne
When Stars Arise by E.G. Alaraj (text) and Martyna Czub (illustrations) Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2023 $10.95 / 9781459835665 Reviewed by Cassidy Lea * A sweet story to send little ones to sleep, When Stars Arise is the perfect addition to a bedtime routine. The author, E.G. Alaraj, crafts a poetic account of the close…
Read more 1719 Don’t close your eyes
The Valkyrie’s Daughter by Tiana Warner Fort Collins, Colorado: Entangled Publishing, 2022. Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books $14.99 / 9781649373984 Reviewed by Myshara Herbert-McMyn * The Valkyrie’s Daughter is the uplifting story of three underdogs in the Nine Realms. Sigrid is a sixteen-year-old woman who has dreamed her entire life of becoming a Valkyrie….
Read more 1716 Paired with a wingless horse
Sulfur Heart by Brooke Carter Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2022 $10.95 / 9781459831605 Reviewed by Myshara Herbert-McMyn * Sulfur Heart is a wonderfully dark and gritty story with all the elements readers crave in a noir novel: crime, murder, tragedy, whodunnit, revenge. It took me less than ninety minutes to read, and it will no…
Read more 1672 A noir novel for teens
Six books reviewed by Linda Rogers: Meet Your Family/ Gikenim Giniigi’igoog by David Bouchard (text) and Kristy Cameron (illustrations) Victoria: Medicine Wheel Education, 2021 $24.99 / 9781989122662 * The Corn Chief by Karen Whetung (text) and Lindsay Delaronde (illustrations) Victoria: Medicine Wheel Publishing, 2022 $16.99 / 9781989122907 * We All Play by Julie Flett Vancouver:…
Read more 1639 A handful of seeds
Dear Peter, Dear Ulla by Barbara Nickel Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 2021 $16.95 / 9781771872232 Reviewed by Alison Acheson * Barbara Nickel’s Dear Peter, Dear Ulla is a gift. While written for tweens to young teens, many adult readers would enjoy it too. The full cast of characters of all ages are well-developed for their roles,…
Read more 1632 Expecting full envelopes