I love a story within a story! At the start of Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, 11-year-old Maizy and her mom travel from their home in Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota where her Oma and Opa run The Golden Palace–a restaurant that’s been in the family for generations.. Although her mom has a strained relationship […]
Tag: Middle Grade
Happy Book Birthday, Elliot Jelly-Legs!
And Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! I’m certainly feeling all the feels as Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle officially hits the shelves today. A good friend reminded me that the seeds of Elliot’s story were sprouting on walks we took over five years ago with my beloved dog, Rover, who’s no longer with us. […]
Eight Days
On the surface, Eight Days is a road trip from Toronto to Chicago with a diverse characters and an unfortunate set of circumstances. Underneath the surface, it’s a story about judgement, racism, addiction, forgiveness, guilt, shame and feeling “haram”–an Arabic term that means forbidden or unwanted. For Sami (the 14-year-old main character) it’s about finding […]
The Whaler’s Daughter
Full disclosure: this wonderful book was written by my equally wonderful friend and writing partner, Jerry Mikorenda. There’s no way I can objectively review The Whaler’s Daughter so I’m not even going to try. The cover speaks for itself (isn’t it beautiful?) and Jerry’s writing skill shines from the very first page. Instead, here’s the […]
The King of Jam Sandwiches
Eric Walters’ Governor General award winning book, The King of Jam Sandwiches, captured me from the first page to the last. I do yoga on a regular basis so I’m aware usually aware of my breath. But it wasn’t until I took the odd break from reading this heart-breaking middle grade novel that I realized […]