New Nonfiction

Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby

“Israel. The small strip of arid land remains a hot button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. Offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her straight-shooting, engaging, and slightly irreverent voice to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance.” -WorldCat

Putin and the Return of History: How the Kremlin Rekindled the Cold War by Martin Sixsmith

An original history of Russia's thousand-year past, tracing the forces and the myths that have shaped Putin's politics and rekindled the Cold War. - Summary

Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre by Mark Bourrie

“Pierre Poilievre has enjoyed most of the advantages that a middle-class life in Canada offers. Yet he's long been the angriest man on the political stage. In Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre, bestselling author Mark Bourrie, winner of the Charles Taylor Prize, charts Poilievre's rise through the political system, from precocious teenage volunteer to outspoken Opposition critic known for savage soundbites and theatrics. Bourrie outlines the historical roots of this divisive moment in our history, one in which rippers are poised to capitalize on our division, and illuminates how Poilievre and this new style of politics have gained so much ground--and what it could cost us if they succeed." -Publisher

The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party by Dana Milbank

"A scathing history of twenty-five years of Republican attempts to hold on to political power by any means necessary, by a hugely popular Washington Post political columnist." -Publisher

Values: Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney

“A bold and urgent argument by economist and former bank governor Mark Carney on the radical, foundational change that is required if we are to build an economy and society based not on market values but on human values.” -Publisher

New Graphic Novels

Huda F Wants to Know by Huda Fahmy

Huda; Book Three

“Huda Fahmy is ready for junior year. She’s got a plan to join all the clubs, volunteer everywhere, ace the ACTs, write the most awe-inspiring essay for her scholarship applications. Easy. But then Mama and Baba announce the most unthinkable news: they’re getting a divorce.

Huda is devastated. She worries about what this will mean for her family, their place in the Muslim community, and her future. Her grades start tanking, she has a big fight with her best friend, and everything feels out of control. Will her life ever feel normal again? Huda F wants to know.” -Amazon

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity Vol. 6 by Saka Mikami

"Rintaro has begun to acknowledge his growing feelings for Kaoruko, but keeps them close to his chest. Until, one summer day when the two of them are alone, he's overwhelmed by affection and the words, ‘I like you,’ spill from his lips without warning. With things still left unspoken between them, Rintaro knows he owes Kaoruko an explanation and vows to tell her his real feelings...but how will Kaoruko react?" -Publisher

unOrdinary Vol 1 by uru-chan

"Nobody pays much attention to John--just a normal teenager at a high school where the social elite happen to possess unthinkable powers and abilities. John prefers it that way. The more he stays under the radar, and stays close to the Royal's most powerful Ace, Seraphina, the safer he is in the halls of Wellston High. But John has a secret past that threatens to bring down the school's whole social order--and much more. And when the other students start to suspect John has something to hide, he becomes their latest target. Suddenly, John is pulled into a world of turf wars, betrayals, and deadly conspiracies."--Back cover

unOrdinary Vol 2 by uru-chan

“Ever since Wellston High’s Ace, Seraphina, was suspended, the hierarchy of the school has been unstable. Not only are the high-tiers on edge, but the carefully crafted persona John has built to survive his bullying is crumbling, and Arlo is beginning to suspect that John may be a real threat to the social order.

But when a new danger from the outside world hits too close to home, everyone has to put their differences aside to save one of their own and uncover a conspiracy that threatens them all.” -Amazon

unOrdinary Vol. 3 by uru-chan

“When Seraphina finds herself powerless in a world that prizes powers, she becomes an unexpected target. As Arlo grapples with the task of keeping Seraphina's predicament a secret, a rogue group called Ember begins attacking students without remorse.

Tensions come to a head in this struggle of power dynamics, loss, and the weight of secrets in a world where abilities reign supreme. -Amazon

New Fiction

Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews

"Two teen boys attempt to stop terrifying creatures that seem to be coming to life from macabre drawings." -WorldCat

Hopeless in Hope by Wanda John-Kehewin

“Fourteen-year-old Eva Brown is coping with difficulties at home and at school, most significantly her mother's alcoholism. When Eva's nohkum (grandmother) is hospitalized, her mother struggles to care for Eva and her younger brother. After Eva's brother wanders away, he is sent to live with a foster family and Eva finds herself in a group home. Furious at her mother's weakness, Eva struggles to adjust to the group home--and reuniting with her family seems less and less likely. During a visit to the hospital, Nohkum gives Eva Shirley's diary. Can Eva find forgiveness for her mother in its pages?” -WorldCat

The Floating World by Axie Oh

"An amnesiac sword-for-hire and a village girl with a strange magical power become entangled in worlds-altering events, and each other's destinies."- WorldCat

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

"Ivy Benton must enter into a marriage contest with a fae prince in order to free her sister from a bargain previously made with the vicious fae queen of England.” -Publisher

Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

"It's been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can't help being intrigued by Winter's stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court's seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away. That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands. But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods.” -Publisher

Infinity Cycle series by Adam Silvera

The Infinity Son

“Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers, a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day. Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.” -WorldCat

The Infinity Reaper

"Emil and Brighton defied the odds. They beat the Blood Casters and escaped with their lives -- or so they thought. When Brighton drank the Reaper's Blood, he believed it would make him invincible, but instead the potion is killing him. In Emil's race to find an antidote that will not only save his brother but also rid him of his own unwanted phoenix powers, he will have to dig deep into the very past lives he's trying to outrun. Though he needs the help of the Spell Walkers now more than ever, their ranks are fracturing, with Maribelle's thirst for revenge sending her down a dangerous path. Meanwhile, Ness is being abused by Senator Iron for political gain, his rare shifting ability making him a dangerous weapon. As much as Ness longs to send Emil a signal, he knows the best way to keep Emil safe from his corrupt father is to keep him at a distance. The battle for peace is playing out like an intricate game of chess, and as the pieces on the board move into place, Emil starts to realize that he may have been competing against the wrong enemy all along." -Publisher

The Infinity Kings

“This electrifying conclusion to the Infinity Cycle finds Emil, the Infinity Son, and Brighton, the Infinity Reaper, facing off in an epic battle that threatens to destroy them both and everyone they love.” -WorldCat

New Fiction

A Language of Dragons: An Epic Tale of Forbidden Romance, Dragon Languages, and Civil War in an Alternate 1920's London by S. F. Williamson

“In an alternate London in 1932, a girl breaks a truce between dragons and humans, and to save her family she must work at Bletchley Park as a codebreaker, in a story about language, loyalty, love and redemption.” -WorldCat

Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

“Meet River Langston-Lee. In the past 24 hours, he’s dumped his girlfriend, walked out of his SATs, and quit his job at his parents’ cafe in spectacularly disastrous fashion—even for him.

Somehow, he manages to talk his way into a gig at a failing Korean cafe, Bingsu for Two, which is his lucky break until he meets short, grumpy, and goth: Now he and Sarang must fake a relationship online to save Sarang's Korean family café from going under.” -Amazon

Everything Is Poison by Joy McCullough

“For as long as she can remember, Carmela Tofana has desperately wanted one thing: to be allowed behind the counter of her mother’s apothecary in Campo Marzio, Rome. When she turns sixteen, she’s finally allowed into the inner sanctum: the workroom where her mother, Giulia Tofana, and two assistants craft renowned remedies for their customers. But for every sweet-smelling flower extract in the workroom, there’s another potion requiring darker ingredients. And then there’s Aqua Tofana, the apothecary’s remedy of last resort for husbands who are just as deadly as any disease. In all Carmela’s years of wishing to follow in her mother’s footsteps, she never realized one tiny vial could be the death of them all.” -Amazon

His Face is the Sun by Michelle Jabès Corpora

Throne of Khetara; Book One

“Four strangers connected by a forgotten oracle must work together to save their divided kingdom from destruction amidst the brewing conflict and struggle for the pharaoh's throne.” -WorldCat

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

"Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria, Pennsylvania, and Cambodia. Members of parliament hurry back to Paris to vote; a medical student suspects a girl may be dying; a secretary tries to convince her boss of the potential of moving pictures; two of the train's crew build a life away from their wives; a young anarchist makes a terrifying plan, and much more"-- Back cover.

TRCA Winners

The results are in! 301 student votes were cast and the winner is The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson. Described as a “meticulously crafted thriller,” Jackson's novel received 67 votes.

Thirty-two staff also cast a vote for their favourite, with The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters emerging as the winner. The Berry Pickers, described as a novel that “beautifully explores loss, grief, hope, and the invisible tether that keeps families intact even when they are ripped apart,” is a debut novel written by a Nova Scotian author.

Full details of the results can be found here. 

Read! Vote! Win!

Attention all CEC students! It’s time to participate in the annual CCRCE Teen Reader's Choice Award. This year's top ten incredible titles represent many genres, voices, and worlds. 

Participants are encouraged to read one or more of these books. You can share your thoughts on our TRCA blog. Remember to like, share, and comment. In addition to in-person discussions, and the TRCA blog, CCRCE is introducing the hashtag #ROAR2025. Students are encouraged to use the hashtag when voicing their thoughts and opinions of these books online.

Vote for your favourite between May 20th and May 30th. A winner will be announced on June 6th. Students will be able to vote electronically online or in the library by paper ballot. 

   

The Color Purple Series by Alice Walker

The Color Purple: A Novel by Alice Walker

Book 1 of 3: The Color Purple

“A powerful cultural touchstone of modern literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence.

Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience.” -Amazon

The Temple of My Familiar: A Novel by Alice Walker

Book 2 of 3: The Color Purple

“Celie and Shug from The Color Purple subtly shadow the lives of the dozens of astonishing characters in The Temple of My Familiar, all of whom are dealing in some way with the legacy of the African experience in America. From recent African immigrants to a woman who grew up in the mixed-race rainforest communities of South America to Celie’s own granddaughter living in modern-day San Francisco, they must come to terms with the brutal stories of their ancestors in order to confront their own troubled lives.” -Amazon

Possessing the Secret of Joy: A Novel by Alice Walker 

Book 3 of 3: The Color Purple

“This is the searing story of Tashi, a tribal African woman first glimpsed in The Color Purple, whose fateful decision to submit to the Itsunga’sI knife and be genitally mutilated leads to a trauma that informs her life and fatefully alters her existence.” -Amazon

New Nonfiction

 Israel Alone by Bernard-Henri Lévy

“On October 8, 2024, Bernard-Henri Lévy flew to Israel to bear witness to the unprecedented invasion and massacre committed by Hamas. Israel Alone begins here and weaves in Lévy's fifty years on the ground in Israel, from his first trip in 1967, his experiences writing on all the conflicts since, and his participation in various peace plans and contacts with all the Israeli leaders from Menachem Begin to Shimon Peres and from Ariel Sharon to Yitzak Shamir and Yitzak Rabin.” -Publisher

Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal

“Tracing the path to the 19th century to the pivotal decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women's rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and its repercussions that have rippled through generations of American women.” -Amazon

The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands by Amir Tibon

“On the morning of October 7, Amir Tibon and his wife were awakened by mortar rounds exploding near their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, a progressive Israeli community less than a mile from Gaza City. Soon, they were holding their two young daughters in the family’s reinforced safe room, urging them not to cry as gunfire echoed just outside the door.

 

In The Gates of Gaza, Amir Tibon tells this harrowing story in full for the first time. He describes his family's ordeal—and the bravery that ultimately led to their rescue—alongside the histories of the place they call home and the systems of power that have kept them and their neighbors in Gaza in harm’s way for decades.” -Amazon

Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party by Jonathan Karl

“Tired of Winning explores how Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his own image--and the wreckage he's left in his wake. Packed with new reporting, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party tracks Trump's improbable journey from disgraced and defeated former president to the dominant force, yet again, in the Republican Party. From his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His meddling damaged the GOP's electoral prospects for third consecutive election in 2022. His legal troubles are mounting. Yet he's re-emerged as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Jonathan Karl has known Donald Trump since his days as a New York Post reporter in the 1990s, and he covered every day of Trump's administration as ABC News's chief White House correspondent. No one is in a better position to detail the former president's quest for retribution and provide a glimpse at what the GOP would be signing up for if it once again chooses him as its standard -bearer.” -WorldCat

New Nonfiction

Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America by Maggie Haberman

“Few journalists working today have covered Donald Trump more extensively than Maggie Haberman. And few understand him and his motivations better. Now, demonstrating her majestic command of this story, Haberman reveals in full the depth of her understanding of the 45th president himself, and of what the Trump phenomenon means.” -Publisher

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance

“Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.” -Amazon

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

“Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems throughout history have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.” -Amazon

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama

"Mrs. Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles--the earned wisdom that helps her continue to 'become.' She details her most valuable practices, like 'starting kind,' 'going high,' and assembling a 'kitchen table' of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness." -Publisher