(2) 4-6 Julia on the Go! series. Illustrated by Julie Kim. Picking up right where Swimming into Trouble (rev. 3/24) left off, the story finds Julia Nam, having recovered from her ear infection, back in the water, preparing for a regional swim meet. When Coach Marissa takes a leave of absence because of a family health emergency, a new coach steps in. Julia is sure that Coach Nathan "was the angriest, shoutiest swimming coach that the Vancouver Vipers had ever had." His harsh and commanding coaching style, bitter tone of voice, and sour facial expressions cause several swimmers to leave the team, including Julia's best friend. She becomes closer to Olivia, who she previously thought was unfriendly but now realizes is a lot of fun. Julia suspects that she needs to look differently at things she doesn't like and ultimately realizes that she jumped to negative conclusions about Coach Nathan. Black-and-white illustrations help bring the swim team, coach drama, and friend dynamics to life. A lighthearted story that challenges readers to look deeper and see what's beneath the surface.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(1) YA Brief but dire opening vignettes warn readers they're headed into trouble before the narrative begins at the launch of the Titan, a spaceship (with echoes of the Titanic) on its maiden voyage to Mars. Celeste and her best friend, Ren, are junior engineers, having worked their way out of poverty in the Rupt, a large area of Canada decimated by a violent earthquake. Dominic is also from the Rupt but was adopted as a young child by wealthy parents, now first-class passengers aboard the Titan who, it transpires, are overseeing the cases containing Titan's secret cargo: the bodies of squid-like purple aliens recently discovered in melting tundra. After the initial terror at their reveal, the narrative settles down to a Jack-and-Rose romance between Celeste and Dominic—until a late-night alarm signals the beginning of a nightmare. The aliens aren't dead, and they've escaped from their cases. The extensive buildup leads to compelling character and societal dynamics in the crisis: Celeste and Ren are ride-or-die, but Celeste realizes Ren has already sacrificed a lot to be with her; as a child of privilege, Dominic struggles with feeling weak and useless against the threat; wealthy passengers monopolize the escape pods and leave the others trapped. Gruesome deaths and the paranoia of Walking Dead–style body-snatching form fairly standard horror tropes, but Johnston has established such authenticity that readers will never question the urgency as the pages just seem to turn themselves.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Shelley Hampe. Canadian American artist Agnes Martin (1912-2004) loved the natural world, feeling complete when a part of it: "Today I feel happiness. Today I feel gratitude. Today I love the whole world." In her early years, she experimented with found objects, including beads, wood, and other discarded materials. Her perceived failures frustrated her, and she "put many into a bonfire." Martin's travels led her to draw more and more lines, weaving them together in patterns until they tightened into grids. Pink, blue, and shimmering gold, her gridded canvases did not receive from the outside world the same love she had put into them, and she pulled back into herself, away from the criticism and into solitude. After some time, a game of hopscotch outside her window opened her perspective about line and order, sending her into a newfound love for her own voice as an artist and the world that she painted. The page layout is spacious, its spareness making this picture book less a detailed account of Martin's life and more a reflection of a restrained approach to creative work. Back matter sheds a bit more light on the artist, her influence, and her legacy.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(2) YA Inspired by the author's own immigrant experience, this contemporary-set graphic novel centers Lia, a middle schooler whose family relocates from Romania to Canada. Enrolled in a "welcome class" to learn French with other non-native speakers, Lia struggles to adjust to her new life in Montreal. She grapples with homesickness, difficulties in connecting with classmates, and excruciating menstrual cramps. Her love for art offers a reprieve, and as Lia perseveres, she finds joy through reading her favorite fantasy series, listening to a beloved musical artist, and joining the school's magazine committee as an illustrator. Lia finds a supportive friend group as she turns thirteen and winter break approaches. She faces stressors -- including school, a crush, and a misunderstanding-fueled fight with a friend -- with growing self-confidence. Creative panel work adds depth to the eye-catching visual narrative, which features trendy fashions and uses tropes reminiscent of manga. Exaggerated, humorous forms depict Lia's big feelings. Vibrantly colored emanata enhance characters' reactions, and technological elements (text messages, video calls, and memes) are seamlessly integrated into the slice-of-life story. The art also clearly indicates languages spoken, as well as dialogue the protagonist does not comprehend. The middle-school friendship drama rings true, with flawed, endearing characters; some unresolved plot points hint at a sequel.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Summer is excited for her annual visit to her maternal grandparents and extended family on a Cree reservation in Canada. After crossing the border, Summer falls asleep in the car and dreams that she is a young Cree girl trying to escape a residential school. Shortly after she wakes up, she and her mother pass the residential school the government once forced her mosom (grandfather) to attend. The strange dreams continue while she's on the rez; Summer learns that the young Cree girl's name is Buffalo Dreamer, but the school calls her Mary. When Summer tells her cousin Autumn about her dreams, the two decide to investigate what became of Buffalo Dreamer. Along with providing a glimpse into life on a Cree reservation today, Duncan's middle grade friendly narrative introduces readers to the devastating impact of residential schools. For example, readers learn that Mosom had to learn Cree customs from his wife because the school prohibited him from engaging in them. The chapters that follow Buffalo Dreamer reveal the dangers of trying to escape from the school. An author's note adds personal context; a glossary (unseen) is appended.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(2) YA When Noah returns from summer camp to learn that her two best friends have each had their first kiss with a boy, she worries about being left behind in this new phase of development. Luckily, Jessa, her best friend from camp and a recent transplant to her town, fits right in with Noah's tight-knit friend trio, but even Jessa doesn't seem as lost as Noah when the conversation fixes on endless boy analysis. Noah develops a scientific plan to step up her boy game: choosing a target, telling her friends, spending time with said boy, flirting, "group hangs," and finally kissing. The selection of the target isn't difficult: Archie volunteers with Noah at the animal shelter; his family adopted her favorite pit bull rescue; and he seems nice, although nothing special. But is Jessa onto Noah's scheming? And is she...hurt by it? This enjoyable first-love tale features a charming small Canadian town under assault from a tasteless designer, the star of reality TV's Rural Refresh (who turns out to be Jessa's mom). Noah's big sister, Brighton, whose model relationship with her boyfriend shows Noah what a real partnership should feel like, offers her discretion "if there was ever anything you wanted to tell me." Readers, too, will be more clued in than the protagonist, who figures out her feelings for Jessa later than just about everyone else, but the ending is extra sweet for all that, allowing middle schoolers gay, straight, and questioning to enjoy this age-appropriate story without any of the heavy baggage that coming-out narratives can sometimes entail.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(4) YA In their small Ontario farming town, five best friends are known as “good girls,” the rule followers and peacekeepers. But when a classmate has an abortion and the parents of the boy who got her pregnant erect a pro-life billboard on their property, the friends are incensed. As their senior year unfolds, each girl makes a birthday wish to undertake a subversive action taking aim at the patriarchy, and the group vows to help pull it off. While the premise is intriguing, the acts themselves are mostly low stakes and don’t feel as consequential as the characters make them out to be. The girls’ voices are indistinguishable in each first-person chapter; family histories and town gossip slow the plot. What is palpable is the rage these girls feel at being underestimated, undervalued, and written off.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Nahid Kazemi. et during the rise of the Taliban in 1990s Kabul, Afghanistan, this story begins when young Zia's father is taken away by the police. A sequence of violent acts ensues: the homes of his friends across the street are flattened in an explosion; the Taliban establish draconian measures that limit freedom, such as closing schools for girls and forbidding women from working. Compact prose captures a child's experience while conveying a deeper, more haunting truth: "Dark nights without lights, cold rooms without heat, and endless gunshots. Blood on the street didn't shock us anymore." After furtively selling their belongings to raise money, Zia and his mother flee to Pakistan and find refuge when a religious school offers to not only teach Zia for free but also pay his mother a stipend. He eventually realizes that at this Islamic madrassa, students are being trained to carry out suicide missions. Mother and son finally immigrate to Canada, leaving behind a father whose fate is still unknown. Charcoal illustrations start each chapter, further setting the mood, often counterbalancing the beauty of the landscape and the safety of family against an increasingly hostile political environment. This haunting, sparely narrated novella packs a powerful punch. A historical note is appended, adding further context.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2024

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Alina Pete. Colored by Jillian Dolan. In 1944, thirteen-year-old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while on a dogsled trip in northern Canada with her fur-trapping family. For nine days, Ilse endures freezing temperatures alone, without food or supplies, assisted by her traditional Indigenous knowledge of the land and its creatures. While this graphic novel’s text is stilted and the illustrations are static, they effectively convey Ilse’s survival skills and determination. An author’s note gives more details about the real Ilse, the author’s grandmother.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sabrina Gendron. Lamondin (Métis) shares a nostalgic snapshot of her childhood on the Magnetawan River, focusing on the winter day when her town finally received electricity. As young Patsy and her household move through their daily routine, she reflects on the comforting, down-home rituals of their half-Métis, half-French extended kin and wonders if electricity will change anything. Luminous digital illustrations exude warmth and capture the homespun details of life in 1950s rural Canada. A closing author's note provides context for this portrait of times of change.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(2) YA Fifteen-year-old Ezra Cloud wishes he were on the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation with Grandpa Liam. Instead, he is stuck in northeast Minneapolis, being bullied by Matt Schroeder. When Matt's house burns down just hours after they have a fight, Ezra's father worries about suspicion falling on his son and decides that Ezra should go to the rez to be with his grandparents in Canada while the police investigate. As Ezra learns more about Ojibwe culture and activities (including hunting and trapping), he begins to heal from the loss of his mother a year earlier and let go of his long-held anger toward his father. He also learns family secrets that change how he understands himself and those around him. In his introspective and compelling debut YA novel, Treuer weaves Ojibwe history and traditions with contemporary concerns for Ojibwe teens. Readers also bear witness, via the grandfather character's memories, to the violent impact of the residential schools on families and children. Back matter includes an Ojibwe glossary and an author's note that acknowledges changes made to real-life stories and customs for narrative effect.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 Kevin Lee, a 1990s Chinese Canadian boy, struggles with being invisible among his peers, but somehow lands in the spotlight at the most embarrassing moments. When he brings preserved eggs to middle school for lunch, he becomes a laughingstock and gains the nickname "Egg Boy." Then in gym class he throws a basketball and accidentally hits the substitute teacher, knocking out a tooth. His parents' divorce doesn't make his life any easier: his older sister resents taking on extra responsibilities as she prepares for college, while his mother barely makes ends meet running an alterations shop. When Popo, his maternal grandmother, arrives from China, she reminds him that "today's pain is tomorrow's strength." Xu's coming-of-age graphic novel follows Kevin's ups and downs as he strives to fit in at school, get along with his sister, and help his mom. He takes refuge in a fantasy world of comics depicted by lively, action-packed panels -- a world that later comes to life at an amusement park. Amusing facial expressions and gestures capture the distinctive persona of each character and their interactions. Themes of sacrifice, survival, and love abound in a multidimensional story of navigating the bumpy terrain of family tensions and resilience across generations.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA Illustrated by Karen De la Vega & Marcus Williams. Former NHL player Aliu made headlines in 2020 when he shared stories of the racism and hazing he faced as a person of color in professional hockey. The son of a Nigerian father and Ukrainian mother, Aliu was born in Nigeria and spent his early years in Russia before his family immigrated to Canada and he discovered his love for hockey. His adoration of the sport was tested by persistent and devastating racism throughout his adolescence and beyond. This graphic memoir follows him from childhood through his exit from the NHL and to the formation of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which makes hockey accessible to "children from diverse communities ­underrepresented in the sport." The narrative is notable for its emotional clarity and the strength with which the concise text carries both Aliu's pain and his resolve. Dynamic comic-panel art serves the story with expressiveness of motion and feeling. Grabbing readers at the intersection of sports and social justice, this is a welcome addition to the graphic-memoir genre.

Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Karlene Harvey. Maggie Lou, full of "pee and vinegar" according to her grandfather, always gets into scrapes (some of which require stitches). The book comprises three episodic stories, broken up into chapters, about Maggie Lou's adventures in boxing, house construction, and hunting; per the appended author's note, Bowes (Métis) used her own experiences "growing up as a young girl in a colorful Métis family in Saskatchewan" as inspiration. Each tale focuses on her tenacity in learning new skills (even boring ones like boxing drills and gym cleaning) before the fun stuff happens. The stories are all action and humor, and if there is little character development, it's because Maggie Lou already has a confidence that's reinforced by her family members, who tell her, "If my mind believes it can happen, my body will believe it, too." This book will appeal to middle-grade readers who like fast-paced, lighthearted stories. Maggie Lou's connection to her immediate and extended family, her awareness of her Native roots and the Northern Michif language (glossary included), and her interests, which are not constrained by gender norms, give these tales a distinctive and refreshing flavor.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) 4-6 The setting is Prince Edward Island, sometime close to the turn of the twentieth century. "The dirt road was reddish, like all the earth on the island, as if it were flushed with pride at its own prettiness." A spirited, impulsive orphan--romantic about nature, self-dramatizing, and fond of poetry--is taken in by a grumpy old woman. What the child passionately longs for are connection, friendship, and kindness. So far, so Green Gables--Grace is certainly a literary second cousin to Anne. The twist is that she is also a witch, and so is the grumpy old woman. The plot involves a series of tests, a year's worth of spellcasting as Grace apprentices to her craft. The stakes are high. If she cannot master all one hundred (and a half) spells, she will lose her magic powers, and thus her identity. A supporting cast includes a crow familiar, a bullying mean girl, a wish-granting fairy (and nascent romantic interest), and a sensible, supportive best friend. This alternative-universe romp is perfect for those who like their fantasy light and sentimental and enjoy a bit of L. M. Montgomery pastiche (yes, the raspberry cordial disaster resurfaces, and there's even a hint of Matthew).

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) YA Kiki, who is Black and Cree, has been gone for five months when the book begins, and the police have stopped looking for her. Her friend and fellow First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Student Association member Berlin, a high achiever living with depression, and Cam, Berlin's longtime childhood rival, feel Kiki's loss profoundly. When Berlin thinks she sees Kiki outside Pink Mountain Pizza, where she and Cam work--and where much of the story is set--the two put aside their dfferences to search for her. They're assisted by new coworker Jessie, whose abusive father, a developer, is trying to buy Pink Mountain Pizza out from under Joe, one of the few Black business owners in town. Their social media campaign to raise awareness and save the store garners much support but also provides a platform for people to attack Joe, bringing to light issues of capitalism and anti-Black racism. Kiki's page-turning story and her mother's earlier disappearance provide multiple angles on the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. Through a well-characterized ensemble cast, Ferguson (The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, rev. 5/22), who is Michif/Métis and white, addresses the myriad difficult topics facing her characters with sensitivity and care.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) 4-6 Now happily settled after the drama of 7Pine Island Home (rev. 9/20), orphaned sisters Fiona, Marlin, Natasha, and Charlie face new challenges when their former guardian, Mrs. Weatherspoon, announces that she is arriving from Australia for a prolonged visit--and unexpectedly shows up with a companion. Fiona, now fifteen, is furious that the nasty, intrusive, and demanding Jo seems to be ruining her family; she finds some solace in her journal, which becomes a friend, along with the teacher who responds to her entries. Meanwhile, Marlin is struggling with her outcast status at school and the lack of publisher interest in her cookbook, Thirty Meals a Twelve-Year-Old Could Make and [cf4]Did[cf3]!; Natasha turns out to be a prodigy on the violin but just wants to commune with the natural world; and youngest sibling Charlie desperately wants a dog. True to form, Horvath packs this sequel (which takes readers from the beginning of the school year through Christmas) with relatable incident, vivid dialogue, humor, and moments of profound reflection on the human condition.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) YA Based on family history, Leavitt's coming-of-age story is set in an 1890s Mormon settler community in Southern Alberta, Canada, at the eastern edges of the Rockies, and focuses on seventeen-year-old Rebecca. In an opening both startling and humorous, Leavitt begins: "Rebecca had heard her father and others call this land God's country often enough that she wasn't as surprised as she might have been to come upon him... He was dressed in his work clothes, but you knew God when you saw him." It's fitting that many of Rebecca's consequent ups-and-downs are driven by the desire to own the very piece of "God's country" that she finds so beautiful--an ­outlandish ambition for a woman. With her mother's support, she determines to earn the exorbitant $480 it will cost to buy the quarter section; in the meantime, her close-knit family and community offer rich, unpredictable ground for her efforts to learn and live with integrity--and without complaining. Ventures into midwifery and nursing with her mother; ­calamities of weather, domestic violence, and a devastating flu; ­competition for romance and talk of women's suffrage: all are fodder for Rebecca's articulate, funny ­self-examination and deepening growth. Always sensitive to the ­beauties of earth and sky, Rebecca longs for a return of the elk and buffalo, part of the author's tacit acknowledgment of local Indigenous peoples and the damage wrought by white ­expansion. Leavitt's writing is suffused with the beauty of the earth and sky.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Todd Stewart. "Listen! / Lake Superior / sings a winter song." Getting all bundled up, two children set off early on a cold morning to go ice skating. Fog rises from mysterious Superior, and along the way they find wolf tracks, but the older sibling can tell that the tracks are old, a "story" written in the snow. Canadian author Pendziwol writes evocatively about the immense and imposing lake and the sounds the ice makes vibrating under the children's feet as they skate: "mysterious magical music / as old as the earth... / We join the song, / skating / on the wild ice / of a vast / inland sea." (She also makes sure to mention that the ice on the lake is very thick.) Illustrator Stewart uses a range of blues and greens, from the intense turquoise of the frozen lake to a chilly blue against the snowy whites. His technique of drawing digitally, editing in Photoshop, and adding textures with scanned screens gives the book a vibrant and often majestic feel, ending with a wolf looking straight at the reader.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maya McKibbin. On an ordinary summer day, Lauren and her younger brother, James, go to the lake with Moshom, their grandfather. After the long journey, Moshom lies down for a nap. Hungry and impatient, the children decide to take their canoe out to fish. Suddenly, the boat tips over and James is taken away by the Memekwesewak ("little people"). Lauren pursues them, swimming through "a watery pathway" to another world. Finally, she meets up with James and they dance with the Memekwesewak "for hours that turned into days," forgetting everything else until they hear their grandfather's distant cry: "Way-oh, hey, hey / ...Come back! Hear my welcome song! / My beating drum will guide you home!" According to the appended author's note, "Indigenous communities across Turtle Island have stories of the Memekwesewak...[who] live between the rocks, the rapids, amid the trees of the land that provides us with life." McKibbin's ("a Two-Spirited Ojibwe, and Irish settler artist") illustrations depict them as white, wraithlike beings and use dark purples and blues to signal when the children have entered the underwater world. Norway House Cree Nation member Robertson here provides readers with a satisfying story about the strength of family bonds, persistence, and determination.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023