pickJennie‘s Boy, by Wayne Johnston (2023 🇨🇦)
Premise: A memoir of the author‘s childhood living with chronic illness in an impoverished Newfoundland community.
Review: This is close to being a perfect memoir: full of humour, insight, and vulnerability. It does a fantastic job of showing the reader the insecurity of growing up in illness, poverty, and as the child of an alcoholic, but also the power of familial love.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickWhat a beautiful and immersive follow-up this novel is. I love the portrayal of the landscape and that Rice leaves dialogue in Anishinaabemowin untranslated, with context clues to meaning. While reading this novel, I have found myself observing the world around me differently and requesting from myself more attention in the moment. I find myself contemplating what's most important and how to center those elements in my life. It's a gift of a book.
Current read. A book you dive into despite the author‘s restraints. Mary Lawson tells good stories without embellishment. She relies on great characters and a compelling plot leaving the reading to infer bits here and there. IOW she assumes her readers are smart which is always a joy. #canadianwriter 🇨🇦 #canadianlitsy
After the 6th graders put me through my paces in class tonight, I feel like having something stronger, but I'm trying to convince myself that salad, nonalcoholic kombucha, and post-apocalyptic fiction will nourish me better in the long run---and disturb my sleep less---than a martini.
I went to the library to pick up one hold, and three more books jumped into my arms. At least I wasn't visiting the animal shelter.
so-soNot nearly as wonderful as Johnston‘s fiction. This was a bit of a slog honestly, and I don‘t have high hopes for it on #CanadaReads. I think it‘ll be voted off first or second.
pickI felt fascinated but confused the 1st time I read this. I had sympathy for narrator, but some serious doubts. I reread it to try to get some clarity, but found it equally opaque. Now i see a path of evil intent by our narrator. But i couldn‘t pin her down. She‘s hiding herself. In interviews the author says she wants readers to finish the book with questions, not answers. I have more questions upon rereading. The book is brilliant, by the way.
pick#Wardens2025 #Read2025 #SeriesLove2025 #Roll100
Another new to me series started. Although I wasn‘t really surprised by anything, I still enjoyed it. There are more secrets to be found in Promise Falls & I look forward to reading all about them🤓🤭
pickMegan wants to leave her home in Canada, where she is responsible for taking care of her many siblings and her parents. She‘s young and London is calling.
This books follows her in her new life, as well as her brother and father. Nothing much happens but it all feels very true and Mary Lawson is a gifted writer.
