"The Reef" is a multifaceted exploration of human nature and the ways in which people contend with life after loss. “Peterson achieved the American Dream without wanting to attain it, and his success felt like a second annihilation. In... Read More

Grisly details and uncommon perspectives make this a psychologically captivating mystery, if not one for the squeamish. Charlie Donlea’s "The Girl Who Was Taken" is a uniquely premised, pulse-pounding, psychological thriller about... Read More

Lock draws from ex-slave narratives for this evocative novel set within American history. Norman Lock’s American Novels series engages creatively with nineteenth-century literary classics. In the fourth novel in the series, "A Fugitive... Read More

At the luminous center of this novel is a family that, however they are dispersed, finds a way to endure. Most Perfect Things About People is a naturalistic novel-in-portraits that explores violence in Southern Ontario. With remarkable... Read More

"A Garden Wall in Provence" is a pleasing romp through the countryside of France, complete with quirky neighbors and croissants. Carrie Jane Knowles’s "A Garden Wall in Provence" is an utterly charming novella about mothers and... Read More

“Challenges are chances in disguise” in this gorgeously woven novel with a message of hope. Honest in its exploration of xenophobia, and timely in its empathetic portrayal of a refugee family, "Evangelina Takes Flight" is a vibrant... Read More

The stories in this collection are funny, often poignant, and not easily forgotten. The thirteen coming-of-age stories in Scott Gould’s terrific collection, "Strangers to Temptation", share a common narrator remembering his teenage... Read More

A funny, touching story is enlivened by literary techniques that will delight word nerds. A quirky but lovable word nerd develops an unusual neurological syndrome, in Man Martin’s "The Lemon Jell-O Syndrome", an intelligent, whimsical... Read More