Staff Review: Honey Girl

Title/Author: Honey Girl - Morgan Rogers

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, BIPOC Experiences, Psychological, LGBTQ+

28 year old Grace just completed her PhD in astronomy and is looking towards her future in STEM, where her status as a biracial, gay woman means she is going to have to work three times as hard to gain respect as her white, male, heterosexual peers...and so she drunkenly marries a woman she doesn’t know in Vegas. This book divides it’s time between being a rom-com and being an examination of women’s trauma. When it’s being cute, it is very, very cute, but it truly shines when it looks at the hoops marginalized identities, particularly women of colour, have to jump through against the establishment of primarily straight male dominated fields, and the psychological toll that can take, a toll we often overlook.

Reviewed by: Alex

Staff Review: Son of a Trickster

Title/Author: Son of a Trickster – Eden Robinson

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Indigenous, LGBTQ+

Blending the modern realities of being a teenager growing up in the BC Interior with the mysteries of Haisla legend and spirituality, Son of a Trickster follows the daily struggles of 16 year old Jared Martin as he tries hard to excel in school, while making a name for himself locally as the best baker of pot-cookies, all while having random conversations with corvids, whales and creatures that come out of a hole in his bedroom.

Reviewed by: Ben

Staff Review: Moon of the Crusted Snow

Title/Author: Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Indigenous Fiction, Dystopian

Rice's latest book offers a conveniently topical examination of how societies respond when the power goes out forever! This intense and mystifying story will leave you on the edge of your seat and completely enraptured in this loving community's thrilling tale. About more than just the fall of modern society, this is about love, family, and connection in a community. This book will leave you questioning just how sustainable our current way of life is.

Reviewed by: Shelby

Staff Review: Hamnet

Title/Author: Hamnet (aka Hamnet & Judith) - Maggie O’Farrell

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Historical, Family

I’m not usually one for historical fiction, but a jet engine of a plot, prose that is both restrained and vivid, and an emotional weight makes this a wonderful surprise.

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: Bewilderment

Title/Author: Bewilderment - Richard Powers

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Nature & the Environment, Political

Richard Powers does a great job in Bewilderment of retelling Flowers for Algernon in an environmental context. Theo Byrne is an astrobiologist with a son that is as special as he is troubled. Young Robin is a stand in for the rest of us living against the backdrop of his previous novel, Overstory. This book is touching, beautifully written and if not the equal of Overstory, it bests much else on offer this year (and this is a hell of a year).

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: The Winter Wives

Title/Author: The Winter Wives - Linden MacIntyre

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Family Life, Crime

This guy never misses. High testosterone, secrecy between couples and from each other, the two male leads play out on a field laced with ambition and admiration. This is a big book that moves quickly and ends with a bang!

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: The Topeka School

Title/Author: The Topeka School - Ben Lerner

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Coming-of-Age, Family Life

This is a literary work that, over twenty plus years time, foretells toxic masculinity, political discord and much of where we find ourselves currently. The Topeka School greatly rewards close reading.

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: The Charm Offensive

Title/Author: The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Romantic Comedy, LGBTQ+

For everyone who loves to hate reality TV. This story is located on the travelling TV set of a show reminiscent of ‘The Bachelor’. Providing a hilarious inside scoop on the staged drama of reality TV, the twist is that behind the scenes a gay romance is blossoming with the show’s lead Prince Charming. With witty dialogue and characters that will have you rooting for them from beginning to end, this book is also a meaningful exploration of the fears of intimacy, anxiety, OCD, and depression. A delightful queer love story that defies the inflated ego of heteronormativity.

Reviewed by: Rosemary

Staff Reviews: Rabbit Foot Bill

Title/Author: Rabbit Foot Bill - Helen Humphreys

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Historical, Medical

Helen Humphreys never misses. While quite different in tone and presentation, she still writes perfect sentences and effortlessly reveals complex complex and utterly human characteristics and foibles.

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: Speak, Silence

Title/Author: Speak, Silence - Kim Echlin

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Politics

One of my favourites of 2021. This is a literary novel of high style & hushed brilliance with a singular, lasting power. There’s not a wasted word anywhere, and it’s damned-near perfect!

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood

Title/Author: Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood - Anna Burke

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Retellings, LGBTQ+

Another fantastic retelling of a classic story, this book tells the ‘true’ story of Robin Hood: that the legendary outlaw of Sherwood Forest was actually a woman, and still in love with maid Marian, in spite of her being the daughter of Robyn’s hated enemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham. A wonderful intersectional feminist retelling of the famous story, Anna Burke gives this ancient world life, infusing a modern twist while maintaining a thoroughly historical setting. One of my favourite reads of 2021!

Reviewed by: Alex

Staff Review: Fight Night

Title/Author: Fight Night - Miriam Toews

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Family Life, Black Humour

As delightful as always, Toews creates an insanely intimate peek at the relationships of a multi-generational family (a mother, grandmother & daughter). A touchingly funny and brutally honest take on the modern world, you will leave feeling like a part of their family.

Reviewed by: Shelby

Staff Review: Operation Angus

Title/Author: Operation Angus - Terry Fallis

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Political Satire, Humour

Burner phones, centuries old grievances and domestic & international treachery abound in this tale. It’s up to Terry Fallis to make it funny, and it works because with his eighth novel, our guy is an old pro now. In the midst of an election, Angus McLintock is a political figure that everyone should be able to vote for.. 

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: The Listeners

Title/Author: The Listeners - Jordan Tannahill

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Psychological

When a barely perceptible noise disrupts Clare Devon's life to the point of sleeplessness and proceeds to quickly upend her life, with others similarly afflicted form an ad hoc self help group. A perfectly paced airless room takes the stage after that, and it makes for an ending that is both shocking and inevitable. The Listeners is equally funny and disturbing. In a time when our politics has devolved into opposition to "The Other" (whomever they are) this is a prescient, manic and deeply weird book (too weird to win the Giller, but it is deserving of its spot on the longlist).

Reviewed by: David

Tannahill will have you feeling intrigued and disoriented. The flow of his writing and the relatability of his characters will leave you questioning where it all went wrong, as you root for characters that you also distrust. Claire is sensible, logical, a thoughtful teacher, a caring friend and a loving wife and mother. Yet things begin to unravel when the unexplainable sound of the hum overwhelms her psyche. Isolation, fear, and vulnerability take hold, as relationships with family and friends are torn apart and a new family emerges. A family that bonds through shared experience and begins to leech off of each other's humanity, conspiracy and delirium festering. All the while the hum reverberates in the background, and you wonder if you would've done the same thing under such circumstances.

Reviewed by: Rosemary

Staff Review: Idaho

Title/Author: Idaho - Emily Ruskovich

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Americana

In her debut novel, Ruskovich creates an enticing plot around parenting, found family and the American prison system. Though the overarching story is quite dark, Ruskovich’s elegant prose will have you wanting to pack up and move to Idaho.

Reviewed by: Shelby

Staff Review: Butter Honey Pig Bread

Title/Author: Butter Honey Pig Bread - Francesca Ekwuyasi

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, LGBTQ+, Women & Families

An intergenerational saga of love, secrets, healing and legacy. Set in both Nigeria and Canada, this is a must summer read!

Reviewed by: Ben

Staff Review: Even So

Title/Author: Even So - Lauren B. Davis

Genre(s): Literary Fiction

Lauren B. Davis never misses and this is the best novel that I’ve read in 2021. Even So is a book possessed by beautiful sentences, it dives deep into the mess that is the human condition, and for all it’s artistry, the novel moves like a cheetah. This is as good as the modern novel gets.

Reviewed by: David

Staff Review: Everyone in this Room with Someday by Dead

Title/Author: Everyone in this Room with Someday by Dead - Emily Austin

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Black Humour, LGBTQ+

How does an atheist lesbian find herself working at a Catholic church and becoming involved in a potential murder mystery? Gilda is a young woman who loves deeply but struggles to communicate this to her girlfriend and brother. In this darkly hilarious story you will empathize with the sorrow and frustration of living with anxiety and depression from a young age; you will contemplate the philosophy of life & death; and will be swept up in human miscommunication & fragmented childhood memories, all leading to the painful joy of getting out of bed to face another day.

Reviewed by: Rosemary

Staff Review: Pachinko

Title/Author: Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

Genre(s): Literary Fiction, Historical, Family Drama

This powerful and multi-generational story follows one family’s lineage from an impoverished young mother in Japan-occupied Korea through her & her descendants lives as they learn to traverse a life fueled by racism and poverty. I learned so much!

Reviewed by: Shelby