by Eric Chacour Eric Chacour’s What I Know About You has been widely lauded in French. It is a tale of forbidden love that is beautifully written and emotionally devastating. It explores themes of identity, repression, love, and the invisible boundaries of social and familial expectations. Set against the backdrop of post-Nasser Egypt in the […]
by Amanda Peters June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to learn about experiences of Indigenous people and celebrate culture. Such an important time calls for a review of a beautiful book that not only shows the hardship of two families but the resilience that is at the heart of many Indigenous communities. Amanda […]
by Syou Ishida We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is an award-winning Japanese cozy collection of short stories by Syou Ishida. The English translation by E. Madison Shimoda has quickly become a USA Today bestseller. This charming book’s popularity most likely comes from how it playfully addresses universal themes such as mental health and the love […]
by Ruby Smith Diaz Diaz’s first book is a highly detailed accounting of one of Vancouver’s most notable historical figures, Serafim “Joe” Fortes, the popular volunteer lifeguard and Constable who saved so many from drowning in English Bay at the turn of the century. What makes Searching for Serafim so unique however is Diaz’ own […]
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi A small café in Tokyo serves up more than just coffee and cake. Funiculi Funicula offers its customers a chance to visit the past, to a time of their choosing, but they must return to the café Before the Coffee Gets Cold. As with most time travel opportunities, there are rules that […]
by Kiley Reid Come and Get It by Kiley Reid is a sharp and thought-provoking novel that dives into the complexities of power dynamics, race, gender, and privilege in contemporary America. Following her successful debut, Such a Fun Age, Reid once again explores social tensions with biting wit and keen observations. This time, she takes […]
by Rachel Khong Rachel Khong’s sophomore novel, Real Americans, is an intriguing story of the lives of three generations of an Asian-American family dealing with identity, choice, and the American obsession with money and wealth. The author offers a bold and thoughtful look at race and socioeconomic class, asking the fundamental question: Can we change […]
by Meg Shaffer At the library, I am fortunate to spend a lot of time in our children’s section, getting to experience the excitement of our youngest readers sharing the books they love. A steady theme, particularly with those getting into their first novels, is a love of magic, of stories that are easy to […]
by Rebecca K Reilly Greta and Valdin are 20-something siblings who share a New Zealand flat. They are each other’s support system as they figure out life in their late 20s while exploring their Māori heritage, queerness, and love lives. Their family is a quirky concoction of Māori, Russian, and Catalonian and is so unexpectedly […]
by Kate Molleson Ask anyone to name a classical composer, and the answer is usually the same: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach. Their music is wonderful, but what about composers who aren’t household names – who work outside the mainstream, who write challenging and difficult music? In Sound Within Sound, Kate Molleson beautifully tells the stories of […]