We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib (Winner of Canada Reads)

A Ghost in the House by Sara O’ Leary



Songs for the End of the World by Saleema Nawaz

It’s available as an eBook for now. It comes out as a paper book in August.

According to Twitter, Saleema Nawaz is a Napper. Tapper. Singer. Pickle enthusiast.

In this book, Saleema Nawz writes about a Corona Virus and its impacts on many individuals. Did you like the way she used different stories and different perspectives? Which was your favourite?

Were you surprised by how much Saleema Nawz seemed to know about Corona Virus, considering she wrote the novel between 2013-2019?

Was the real experience of living through a pandemic reflected in your reading experience? Did you enjoy reading about this alternate but close history?

How does hope play into this book? How did you find Saleema Nawaz used music to express this?

Local Book

Corvus by Harold Johnson

Corvus welcomes readers to a dystopian future not unlike our own where the illusions of an ideal society have been destroyed and rebuilt using technology and class warfare. By joining classical elements of speculative fiction including surveillance, forbidden relationships, and political dissent, to the traditions of aboriginal storytelling and the legends of the Trickster, Harold Johnson invites readers to consider the consequences of our current way of life.

Readers!

 
Questions to think about for Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown:
 
1. Alice and Nellie both have very different marriages, yet there are similarities, too. What do you notice about the way the two stories echo each other? Why do you think the author chose to use these two narratives?



2. The book has a lot of information about gardening and homemaking. How does that make you feel about the novel? What role did those elements play in the larger plot?



3. Alice leaves Manhattan to escape her problems. Is it possible to run away from your problems? Is it possible for Alice to?



4: The recipes in the book made me think of my own favourite recipes. Do you have a favourite recipe or a family recipe?



5. Which of the two stories did you prefer—Nellie’s or Alice’s? Did you prefer one of the characters and was this why you preferred their story? Or was it the plot that spoke to you more personally?
 
6. The house and the garden felt almost like characters themselves to me. What did you feel about the setting and the importance of it to the novel?
 
Interesting Fact about the Author: According to her Instagram posts, she can’t sew at all. But she loves baking, rhubarbs desserts and raisins in buttertarts.

Karma Brown @karmakbrown
 
 

Writing Prompt, from Canadian author Paul Coccia @pauljcoccia

For you or for any kids in your life to try:
Hi everyone! I was thinking about my Nonna’s recipes. She usually cooked by instinct but we asked her to start writing things down. She’d write things like “two fingers” of flour, which meant fill a cup with flour up to two of her fingers. But my fingers were bigger. And what cup did she use?

One of things I still love about looking at those recipes though is when she would write UN PO DI MAGIC, which meant to add a little bit of magic. I understood what she meant. Add a little bit of baking powder so your cake would rise and my Nonna only ever bought Magic brand baking powder. It made me think that magic can come from all sorts of places, not just spells and wands.
 
So the prompt:
Like all things magical, it started with something normal.
Something ordinary. It started with a teaspoon.

If you don’t like a teaspoon, add in your own item (no problem!) Tell your readers about something magic that seems ordinary. It can involve real magic or magical creatures if you want. It can involve everyday magic things like baking powder rising a cake. What is magic to you?

For those who like a challenge:
Think about who is telling the story? Is it in third person, first person, or the elusive second person? Who are your cast of characters? What makes each of them unique or surprising?
 
Tell the story the way you like it best. And since this is magic, add as much sparkle and fun as you like.
 
 

Local Author

Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Métis and nêhiyaw writer from Saskatchewan. Her short stories, Just Pretending, give a glimpse of her incredible talent and ability with words. It was a One Book, One Province pick and it’s outstanding.
 
Her novel, Probably Ruby, will be out in 2021 and I can’t wait!