Readers may discern riddles, fables, myths, games, magic, poetry, absurdity, and Zen koans in the author’s flash fictions. —Harold Rhenisch reviews The Pink Puppet: A Book of Tales, by Robert Hilles (Oakville: Mosaic Press, 2023) $24.95 / 9781771616966
“In this present book, Ross has himself embarked on a mission, in the Christian sense. It has been a mission of love in which he engages in re-missionizing his own denomination to a better understanding of its historical relations with the Indigenous people whom the Northland Mission set out to reach.” Richard Butler reviews The Holy Spirit and the Eagle Feather: the Struggle for Indigenous Pentecostalism in Canada by Aaron A.M. Ross (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023) $39.95 ISBN 9780228017660
Romance novel stands out for its approachable characters and inclusion of real-world problems. —Myshara Herbert-McMyn reviews The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch, by Jacqueline Firkins (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023) $18.00 / 9781250836526
“The book features over 150 campgrounds, listed alphabetically, with clear maps and detailed directions.” Amy Tucker reviews Camping British Columbia, the Rockies, and the Yukon: The Complete Guide to Government Park Campgrounds, 9th Edition by Jayne Seagrave (Victoria: Heritage House, 2023) $29.95 / 9781772033991
A debut novel “full of both hope and despair” portrays Ines, a conflicted small town skateboarder new to the big city. —Jessica Poon reviews Late September, by Amy Mattes (Madeira Park, Harbour Publishing, 2024) $22.95 / 9780889714564
“People who attended summer camp, or who wish they had, or who, like myself, sent their children to camp, will enjoy the shared memories.” Phyllis Reeve reviews My Paddle’s Keen and Bright: Summer Camp Stories by Rika Ruebsaat (Vancouver: New Star Books, 2023) $24 / 9781554201884
Quietly affecting novel delivers with an elegiac narrator recalling the “vibrant, creative and tragic world” of his youth. —Theo Dombrowski reviews The Marvels of Youth, by Tim Bowling (Hamilton: Wolsak and Wynn, 2023) $24.00 / 9781989496749
“The intermittent chronicle of British Columbia filmmaking offers many examples of motion pictures that could have been made, but somehow never were.” British Columbia film historian and archivist Dennis J. Duffy ruminates on the films based on B.C. literature that got away, such as Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson, in his essay Knowing the Country: The Unfilmed Ethel Wilson
At first, the poetic flurry of puzzling phrases is “like trying to drink from a firehose.” —Joe Enns reviews The Goldberg Variations, by Clint Burnham (Vancouver: New Star Books, 2024) $16.00 / 9781554202096
“Staggering, epic, a treasure trove – are words used to describe British Columbia Artists, an extensive digital finding aid to references for B.C. visual artists, started over 25 years ago…” Christina Johnson-Dean reviews Gary Sim’s British Columbia Artists (Vancouver: Sim Publishing, 2024)
Engaging, insightful poems entwine love, nature, and the cosmos.—gillian harding-russell reviews Asterisms, by Donna Kane (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $22.95 / 9871990776717
Image-rich debut novel sets a naive young character in a new location, job, and romance. Complex problems result. —Joe Enns reviews Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit, by Nadine Sander-Green (Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2024) $23.99 / 9781487011291
“The Notorious Georges is about the rivalry of the two Georges and about the founding of Prince George. It’s also about the drive to tame a wild land with organized townsites and laws, rules, and regulations that needed to be adhered to—civilization as opposed to lawless wilderness.” Steven Brown reviews The Notorious Georges: Crime and Community in British Columbia’s Northern Interior, 1909 – 1925 by Jonathan Swainger (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2023) $32.95 / 9780774869416
“The book traces Silverman’s two-year (Covid) adventure, when he took 15 months to learn all 48 pieces … in the process conveying the emotion and harmony of the ultimate composer.” Isabel Nanton reviews Bach’s Sonic Tapestry: The Well-Tempered Clavier of 1722, Book I by Robert Silverman (Victoria: FriesenPress, 2023) $24.49 / 9781039165229
“Vancouver’s Steve Burgess offers his version of what it means to travel in an increasingly crowded, climate-change affected, and economically divided world.” Trish Bowering reviews Reservations: The Pleasures and Perils of Travel by Steve Burgess (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, April 2024) $26.95 / 9781771624015
Full of lore, a “refreshing, earnest, and hopeful” debut for YA readers captivates and entertains. —Zoe McKenna reviews Why We Play With Fire, by Giselle Vriesen (Toronto: 100 Block Futures, 2024) $23.99 CAD / 9781955905312
“The topics covered in this book cover many issues: portraying girls as full individuals and the theory that anything is possible, sexual awakenings, political activism, and advocating for safe abortions.” Valerie Green reviews The Time of my Life: Dirty Dancing by Andrea Warner (Toronto: ECW Press, April 2024) $19.95 / 9781770417410
“The subject of models is something that is not often written about, yet large portions of museum collects are often models, never used as a part of traditional Indigenous cultures.” Grant Keddie reviews Skidegate House Models: From Haida Gwaii to the Chicago World’s Fair and Beyond
by Robin K. Wright (Vancouver: UBC Press, co-publication with University of Washington Press), 2024 $60.00 / 9780774870641
A “sweet and pleasant” romantic comedy showcases a rural resort and an unlikely pairing. —Valerie Green reviews Love Naturally, by Sophie Sullivan (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2024) $24.00 / 9781250875839
What’s new since 1894? Debut poetry volume an engrossing, trenchant update on “the love that dare not speak its name.” —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Deviant, by Patrick Grace (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2024) $19.99 / 9781772127416