fiction

Gold Stars from CM Magazine

A re-issue of the junior fiction novel Shabash! received 4 out of 4 stars from CM Magazine! And both Kickstart: How Successful Canadians Got Started and Reading the Bones received 3 out of 4 stars. Reviewer Christine Torchia highly recommended Shabash!, which is about 11-year-old Rana, a Canadian born Sikh, who wants to join a minor league hockey team despite being discouraged by his parents. Here’s a brief portion of her review:

“Many boys Rana’s age would have shared the same feelings dealing with discrimination and could easily relate to Rana. Shabash! would make a great addition to a classroom, sparking many interesting discussions. The story not only deals with prejudice but also with how feelings and actions can cause reactions and how we can make a difference just by accepting others as they are.” To read more from this review click here.

Librarian and reviewer Val Ken Lem wrote the following about Kickstart: “In Kickstart, Herman, Matthews, and Feindel, three young members of the ‘Twixter Generation’ have produced an interesting biographical work that has the potential to encourage and inspire anyone who reads it.” For the full review click here.
Daphne Hamilton-Nagorsen had great things to say about Reading the Bones by Gina McMurchy-Barber. Here’s a portion of her review.  

“Gina McMurchy-Barber has written a very engaging story … The occasional change in narration draws the reader further into the story and brings the past to life. The pace of the story is excellent. The plot and characters are always moving and unfolding, but there are slower moments as well. The slower moments set the mood and the tone for the next segment of the story. The characters are very engaging and higly realistic. They are described in few words, but the description is very deft, giving a good impression of the character.

Gina McMurchy-Barber has written a story that is very educational as well as entertaining, and she has succeeded in blending these two elements into a wonderful combination. The educational aspects don’t bog down the story, and the morals and lessons of the story don’t feel heavy-handed. At the same time, the educational aspects aren’t sacrificed to the entertainment.

Reading the Bones is an excellent story that shows the importance of the past ot the present, but also the importance of learnng who you are. Recommended.” 

Tags: Kickstart, Reading the Bones, reviews, spring 2008, YA

About the author

Erin is a publicist for Dundurn Press. She reads a wide variety of books (maybe even too many!) and wields a vast amount of positively optimistic power over what should and shouldn't be done in the universe.