Adult Book Recommendation

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Still Life is a sweeping story with a large and eclectic cast of characters, including a parrot who always has just the right thing to say. It travels from Italy at the end of World War II, to a dreary street in England, back to Italy and explores the many ways love manifests itself. It was a bit of a slow start for me, until the story returned to Florence, from which point I was hooked. The story is full of wonderful coincidences and plot twists that literally made me gasp with delight.

Children’s Book Recommendation

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

This is the first book in a series of novels about an elite middle school track team. Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, an African American pre-teen, discovers the team by chance and is chosen for his raw talent. But his anger issues might get in the way of his success. Ghost makes a lot of really bad choices, and at one point I put the book down because of the choice he made (although it wasn’t quite as bad as the time I threw Gone With the Wind across my room in frustration). But it is a children’s book so I knew it would end with hope and it didn’t disappoint. Ghost has reason for his anger issues—some awful things happened to him in his past. As a result I would recommend this book for older middle-grade readers.

Behind the Scenes

What’s Your Favourite Part of Being An Author?

I’m continuing with my theme of answering FAQs. This is a two-part answer. My favourite part of the writing process is revision—specifically, when I read something I’ve already written and it makes me laugh or makes my heart rate go up because of the tension. My favourite part of being an author is connecting with my readers. This month a dad from Ontario sent me a lovely set of videos of his daughter’s book report on Duck Days. It was amazing to see her thoughtful responses to the book (and made up for the fact that the students in the Chocolate Lily Book Club I run at my school overwhelmingly voted for one of the other books, not for Slug Days. Hahahaha.)