Book Review
The Weather Woman
by Aleena Ortiz
In Sally Gardner’s fantastical novel "The Weather Woman", gender, societal recognition, and family inheritance lead to precarious circumstances in Victorian London. Neva, whose parents neglect her, can read the weather with perfect...
Book Review
Savage Bred
by Aleena Ortiz
In Victoria McCombs’s high seas adventure novel "Savage Bred", betrayal and family sail hand-in-hand. As the third book of the Royal Rose Chronicles starts, Ontario, the pirate ship’s former first mate, has become captain; the...
Book Review
Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals
by Aleena Ortiz
In the inspiring picture book "Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals", a veterinarian’s daughter dreams about treating animals in need herself. Jennifer Welborn’s picture book "Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals" encourages awareness of animal...
Book Review
Overrepresented
by Aleena Ortiz
The sobering social science book "Overrepresented" shares potent information about Canada’s legal and cultural oppression of Indigenous people. Social worker Annette L. Vermette’s social science book "Overrepresented" discusses the...
Book Review
Saving Ellipsis
by Aleena Ortiz
Laure Dargelos’s novel "Saving Ellipsis" is a playful jaunt through the topsy-turvy world of grammar and literature. In Ellipsis, Prosperina fails to follow unspoken rules, opening a flower shop instead of a bookstore and breaking...
Book Review
Black Hair in a White World
by Aleena Ortiz
The essays of "Black Hair in a White World" concern the struggles of Black women who sport natural hair in a colonized world. A commodity, a means of discrimination, a point of economic exploitation: Black women’s hair developed in...
Book Review
Brain On!
by Aleena Ortiz
"Brain On!" is an encouraging self-help text filled with methods for cultivating emotional intelligence in the office. Deb Smolensky’s "Brain On!" is a self-help guide that emphasizes personal growth and individual mental wellness in...
Book Review
Facets of the Kingdom
by Aleena Ortiz
"Facets of the Kingdom" gathers reflections on the nature of racial and religious categories in contemporary society to argue for goodwill between all people. Loris O. Gillin explores the foundations of a Christian society in her...