The Mesdames of Mystery & Mayhem: Book event (Burlington, ON)

Authors

Sylvia McNicoll

children's author of the Great Mistakes Mysteries series

and

Melodie Campbell

author of adult fiction Gina Gallo Mystery series

are launching new books in their mystery series!

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Join them for this event to celebrate their newest books

The Diamond Mistake Mystery

(The Great Mistake Mystery, #4)

 

Written by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

224 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2019

and

The Goddaughter Does Vegas

(A Gina Gallo Mystery, #6)

Written by Melodie Campbell

Orca Book Publishers

144 pp.

Adult

January 2019

on

Sunday, May 19, 2019

2-5 p.m.

at

A Different Drummer Books

Burlington, ON

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖ 

Body Swap

Written by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-45974-090-7
248 pp.
Ages 12-15
September 2018

Why do we all think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? Is it because we can see over the fence but don't know what it feels like till we're over there? Or is it that we assume it must be better elsewhere because our sides of the fence seem less than perfect? In Sylvia McNicoll's latest middle-grade/YA Body Swap, the proverb of that greener grass is found to be accurate i.e., the grass is not always greener.

Fifteen-year-old Hallie Prince can't seem to get her nose out of her cell phone and, while rushing into the mall to catch her crush Chael Caruso, she is hit by a Hurricane SUV driven by 82-year-old Susan MacMillan. Both die, temporarily, and are transported to a carnival-like world where Eli a.k.a. God gives them five days to accomplish something positive that might give their lives different endings. But Eli, who reappears throughout the story only identified by his tattoo of Carpe diem, switches their souls so that the independent Susan, once plagued with the ailments of the elderly like arthritis, heart problems and digestion complications, is now in the robust, dark-skinned body of a teen who is mobile, eats everything, and is waiting for her first kiss. Meanwhile Hallie is expected to drive, though she doesn't have a license, suffer the tedium of Susan's son Ron and his wife Sheryl who are convinced she needs to go into a seniors' facility, endure physical limitations, wear boring clothes and more.

By convincing all that Hallie is Susan's adopted granddaughter arranged through an empathy project at school, the two interact regularly, including via their new cell phones. In a comedy of errors, Susan and Hallie learn to adjust to their new bodies and circumstances and take on some sleuthing to investigate mechanical problem with vehicles like Susan's Saji Motors' Hurricane, hopeful of ensuring no lives are lost as theirs (almost?) were.

What a ride! From accident to a visit to the other side and back again, Body Swap takes readers to places they will probably never know. Just like Susan and Hallie who get to see the lives of others by swapping bodies, readers get perspectives on youth and the elderly, making good choices for themselves and others, and being open and compassionate to all. Susan and Hallie may believe at first that Eli has cost them their own lives but their new bodies and perspectives gain them so much in the way of learning.

I know when I pick up a Sylvia McNicoll YA novel like her Crush. Candy. Corpse (Lorimer, 2012), Dying to Go Viral (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013), and Best Friends Through Eternity (Tundra, 2015) that I'm going to get real teens. Their stories may have unique elements like returning from death or being charged with manslaughter but never, never are they outrageous or unbelievable. Sylvia McNicoll knows how to weave a story around characters who could be our best friends or neighbours or classmates and never have us rolling our eyes at plot lines or voice. She gets it right every single time. Body Swap continues that tradition, giving true voice to a teen as well as an elderly woman, allowing readers to share in their lives as Susan and Hallie share in each other's. It's a compassionate look at walking in another's shoes and at the gains of having relationships with those different than ourselves.

Body Swap: Book launch (Burlington, ON)

Sylvia McNicoll

middle grade and YA author extraordinaire

is 

launching her newest book

Body Swap

Written by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-45974-090-7

248 pp.

Ages 12-15

September 2018 

on

Sunday, September 30, 2018

from

 2-4 p.m.

at

A Different Drummer Books

513 Locust Street

Burlington, ON

If that glorious cover doesn't get you interested, then this blurb about the book, from Dundurn's website, will be sure to entice:

A fatal collision — who’s to blame? Two bodies, two souls switch in search of justice.

When fifteen-year-old Hallie gets knocked flying by a Hurricane SUV, her life ends without her ever having kissed a boy. At an otherworldly carnival, she meets and argues with the eighty-two-year-old driver, Susan. Both return to life, only with one catch — they’ve swapped bodies.

Now Hallie has wrinkled skin and achy joints while Susan deals with a forehead zit and a crush on a guy who’s a player. Hallie faces a life in a long-term care residence. Susan gets picked up for shoplifting.

As they struggle with technology, medications, and each other’s fashion foibles, they start to understand and maybe even like each other. But can they work together to prove that a defect in the Hurricane caused the deadly crash? Or will their time run out?

Retrieved on September 21, 2018 from https://www.dundurn.com/books/Body-Swap

The Snake Mistake Mystery: The Great Mistake Mysteries, Book 3

Written by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn Press

978-1-45973-973-4

224 pp.

Ages 9-12

January 2018

But my mind tries to sort through all the details that float through my thoughts: a missing snake, an empty ring box, spray-painted cars, a stolen phone and laptop, a stolen Mr. Universe medal.  What do they have in common? Not Noble Dog Walking. Can't just be Noble Dog Walking. (pg. 89)

As in The Best Mistake Mystery, the first book in Sylvia McNicoll's Great Mistakes Mysteries, there are plenty of mistakes to be made and a new collection of mysteries to be revealed and solved.  And Stephen Noble and best friend Renée Kobai who walk dogs for his father's dog walking company are on it.  If they could just keep Noble Dog Walking from being blamed for all the mishaps, some criminal, happening in their Brant Hills neighbourhood, then Dad wouldn't lose all his clients and he wouldn't have to give up and take on telemarketing from home.  That's a lot of what ifs but Stephen and Renée are an astute pair of twelve-year-olds who take note of much in their neighbourhood: suspicious vehicles, coincidences, human and animal behaviour. If anyone can solve all the mysteries within The Snake Mistake Mystery, they can.

When a powerful storm hits, Stephen is instructed by his flight attendant mom to check on King, the pet of a new neighbour.  But with a power outage, Stephen and Renée are delayed and by the time they access the house via a hidden key, they find the ball python gone. When the kids return to Stephen's, they learn Mrs. Irwin, the owner of five Yorkies, has accused Noble Dog Walking of leaving her door unlocked and allowing the theft of a Mr. Universe gold medal while Mr. Mason, a former client, claims his cell phone and laptop disappeared because they still had a key to his house. Knowing none of these crimes have anything to do with them, Stephen is determined to find the culprit, hoping to solve the mystery, plus a few more, while he and Renée determine how to locate and capture a missing snake.

At every turn around the neighbourhood, there is something else either going amiss or being revealed.  With a motley band of neighbours–their techie friend Reuven; Renée's brother Attila and his girlfriend Star, both taggers; artists Mr. Kowalski and Mrs. Irwin; Principal Watier and her love interest Mr. Sawyer; skateboarders Serge Watier and Red; Mr. Mason; the Bennetts; Mr. Ron and his mother; the wacky Janet Lacey of the Burlington Animal Shelter; neighbourhood patrol Mr. Rupert–there are plenty of suspects for the crimes and just as many red herrings.  Add to that an assortment of canine friends, including leads Ping, a Jack Russell, and Pong, a greyhound, and The Snake Mistake Mystery is a whodunit with a colourful cast and entertaining riddles. Fortunately, like the multiple leads of a professional dog walker, the plot lines may get twisted but there is much satisfaction when all are straightened out.

While Sylvia McNicoll writes superb young adult fiction (e.g., Crush. Candy. Corpse., 2012; Dying to Go Viral, 2013; Best Friends Through Eternity, 2015), with strong characters and intriguing plots, her middle-grade fiction is outstanding, giving readers fun adventures, compelling mysteries and real characters.  She knows what will get readers interested and she delivers.  And did I mention the bounty of animals that round out the cast of The Snake Mistake Mystery?  Of course there are the dogs of the Noble Dog Walking, both current and former clients, but there are lots of cats up for adoption, mice as bait and pets, and a ball python.  In fact, while Sylvia McNicoll makes reference to snakes in the news, it is her attribution of Stephen and Renée having read Snake in My Toilet that is wonderful and deeply personal. I can't think of a nicer way to honour her dear friend and author Gisela Tobien Sherman who passed away unexpectedly last year.  She'd probably be chuffed to know her snake found a place with that of Sylvia McNicoll's in an adventure in which middle-graders succeed where adults mess up.

The Great Mistake Mysteries

🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕

There's a short video that was uploaded just days ago to celebrate the release of The Snake Mistake Mystery.  It features a reading by author Sylvia McNicoll and her own Mortie, the model for the book's Ping. Do check it out (as well as Sylvia McNicoll's cool Jack Russell pin)!

Uploaded on January 14, 2018 by Sylvia McNicoll to YouTube.

The Best Mistake Mystery: Blog tour

Last month, author Sylvia McNicoll's 

newest middle-grade novel,

The Best Mistake Mystery, 

part of her new The Great Mistake Mysteries series, 

launched.

I kind of jumped the gun with my review and interview 

with Sylvia McNicoll 

hoping to entice readers to pick up a copy at the earlier launches.

So,

let me now encourage you to read my review of 

The Best Mistake Mystery

by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-4597-3625-2

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2017

reviewed here

and

my interview 

with the ever-entertaining and thoughtful 

Sylvia McNicoll

as well as 

promote Dundurn's blog tour for her book 

with stops at

Feb. 6: kdrewkthebookworm

Feb. 8: My Interdimensional Chaos

Feb. 9: Middle Grade Mafia

The Best Mistake Mystery: Q & A with author Sylvia McNicoll

The Best Mistake Mystery

The Great Mistake Mysteries, Book 1

by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-45973-625-2

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2017

Yesterday I reviewed Sylvia McNicoll's newest middle-grade book, The Best Mistake Mystery, the first in her new series The Great Mistake Mysteries. Today, let me share this interview with the book's author, Sylvia McNicoll, about her new book so that you can get a feel for your next great middle-grade mystery read. 

HK:  I think mysteries are great reads for hooking readers but the characters of The Best Mistake Mystery will grab readers just as easily.  Stephen could be any middle-grade reader who loves dogs, deals with humiliation, feels like he’s always making mistakes, overthinking everything he does.  Though he is no one special, he actually is someone very special in that he represents the majority of preteens on the cusp of puberty. How did you manage to create a character so real and likeable without making him so complex that readers couldn’t relate to him?

SM: Thank you, Helen. My life is full of quirky characters and I love observing, interacting and writing about them. Stephen is probably every writer I’ve ever met, over-analytical, and self-deprecating. Renée, too, asks too many questions and bubbles over with the information she discovers through her hyper-curiosity, very writer-like. I think the key is always to live and breathe through your characters as you write and if you like them, readers will too.



HK:  Stephen suggests that one of the biggest mistakes he might have made may have been misunderstanding Renée and almost closing himself off from a friendship with her.  But I think Stephen’s a fairly “open” character: receptive to new experiences and easily talking to strangers.  Is he modelled after someone or several kids you know, like your grandchildren whom you mention in your dedication?

SM:  My 15 year-old grandson Hunter and I used to walk to school together and we were always making up stories, usually involving the dog, on the way. At our house he chatted up the dishwasher repair guy or the neighbor planting his garden, everyone and anyone, always curious and interested. He was (I think he’s grown out of it) afraid of flying too, just like Stephen Noble which leads to Stephen’s greatest anxiety that feeds all the other tiny ones. Stephen fears for his own mother’s safety. The fearful mistake maker Stephen, however, is based more on the students to whom I teach writing in various workshops. They are always asking “Is this okay? Am I doing this right?” Or saying “Mine isn’t any good. I didn’t do it that way. I did it wrong.” You can’t try new things without making mistakes. Mistakes need to be applauded because they demonstrate effort, sometimes in a new direction.



HK:  You describe Ping and Pong, modelled after your own dog Mortie and your daughter’s dog Worf, as mismatched twins, because they are very  different in temperament and physical nature.  But mismatched as they are, they obviously miss each other when Pong goes missing.  Is the relationship between the two fictional dogs similar to that of Mortie and Worf?

SM:  Definitely Mortie and Worf’s relationship is bizarre and complex with  the same Ping/Pong rivalry i.e nudging each other out for pats, racing to be the first through the door, marking and remarking posts along their walks. Worf (aka Pong) is a usually a strong silent dog but Mortie (aka Ping) is a hyperactive barker who seems to goad Worf into a constant duet. Because of his height Worf, left on his own, will steal food off counters but we joke that Mortie eggs him on and certainly shares the gains. Usually Worf is food and toy possessive but I have watched the two dogs swim together, carrying either end of a stick in their mouths, perhaps only grudgingly sharing. At the leash free dog park, larger dogs may start a fight with Worf but tiny Mortie will yell at them and defend Worf. 



HK:  I loved the anecdotes Stephen’s mom likes to tell him that are related to animals and the people with whom she works at the airlines.  And I’m glad that the ones you let her tell Stephen always have happy endings.  Are these stories true?

SM:  All of the stories Mrs. Noble tells Stephen, from the dog escaping an airplane’s cargo and swimming away in a nearby harbor to the kitten who closes the New York subway for hours are true stories researched from news clippings posted on the Internet.



HK:  A great mystery, especially the cozies, use red herrings to throw the snoops and readers off the scent of the real culprit.  You peppered your story with red herrings in the form of potential suspects.  Without giving away the actual culprit, did you know from the onset of the story who would be guilty of the bomb threat and the Beetle crash or did the story evolve as you wrote it?

SM:  When I begin any Great Mistake Mystery, I have a definite idea about the “whodunit” part of the ending. But I still regard the rest of characters with suspicion and throw as much plausible motivation their way to create red herring suspects. Sometimes those characters persuade me that they are the best criminals and I end up changing the ending.



HK:  Your message that mistakes can be fortuitous is inspirational without being preachy.  How do you manage to be positive when meeting with challenges like mistakes?

SM:  It may surprise readers that I write story to explain the world to myself. As such, I am very much dealing with my own anxieties about mistake making when I write this series, many of the crazier mistakes are mine transferred to Stephen. Not surprising then is that writing The Great Mistake Mysteries is really helping me to just roll with my errors and look for their silver linings. Writing is very much adventuring onto the wrong paths and trying to navigate to the better ones.  



HK:  Could you please share some insider scoops about upcoming The Great Mistake Mysteries like the next titles, when they are set for release and whether the same characters will be featured?

SM:   Coming in September of 2017, is The Artsy Mistake Mystery, in which a whole city learns how important art can be. Besides Stephen, Renée, Ping, Pong and Attila most of the original cast makes an appearance.  However a new crossing guard Madam X (nicknamed such for the reflective tape X on her back) will make an appearance, also William Kowalski, the elderly jogger/painter. In January of 2018, The Snake Mistake Mystery will show Ping and Pong playing an important role in finding a missing slithery pet with which Noble Dog Walking is entrusted.  Janet Lacey, a rug hooking artist from The Artsy Mistake Mystery, will play a more leading role in her job as animal control officer. All of the stories will feature guest anecdotes from flight attendant mom, loveable dog antics from Ping, Pong and other canine clients, lots of mistakes, close to thirty, on the character’s part and a great meeting of all suspects where Stephen and Renée identify the criminals and solve the crime.

Thank you, Sylvia McNicoll, for helping readers to appreciate their mistakes as serendipitous circumstances, for bringing The Great Mistake Mysteries to print, and for answering my questions here. Thanks also to Dundurn publicist Jaclyn Hodsdon for arranging for this Q & A with Sylvia McNicoll and sharing a review copy of The Best Mistake Mystery with CanLit for LittleCanadians.

The Best Mistake Mystery (The Great Mistake Mysteries, Book 1)

by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-4597-3625-2

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2017

"I know that if you relax enough to stretch, reach, and risk, the twists along your path will lead to something amazing." - Sylvia McNicoll

Student Stephen Nobel sees mistakes in every turn of his path, past and present, anticipating more in his future.  His days as a Grade 7 student are logged as a compendium of mistakes, though Sylvia McNicoll only shares three consecutive days, of ten mistakes each, in The Best Mistake Mystery, demonstrating that a whole lot can happen in three days, both gaffes and opportunities, depending on how you look at them.

His dad’s new business, Noble Dog Walking, has given Stephen the opportunity to regularly walk the Bennetts’ two dogs: Ping, a small Jack Russell, and Pong, a tall greyhound.

“And we’re off–like a wagon pulled by a mismatched team, a horse and a pony.” (pg. 18)

Just like for the dogs, for whom every step is a new adventure of sounds and smells and textures, Stephen becomes witness to a myriad of happenings which will all become part of a bigger mystery or two.  He finds a bag of poop lodged in a tree.  He meets up with an annoying and relentlessly questioning classmate, Renée, with whom he learns that an earlier school drill was actually a response to a bomb threat.  Ping tackles a skateboarder.  Pong urinates on some bricks being worked by a contractor, Mr. Mason.  Then the teen sees the principal, Mrs. Watier, in the orange VW Beetle he’d seen their former custodian Mr. Sawyer driving earlier.  Later Stephen observes that same VW driving around the school’s parking lot late at night.

The mysteries begin to mount when school is cancelled the next day because that orange car had crashed into the school overnight and, because of a brick on the accelerator, filled the school with fumes.  Worse, the car belongs to Renée’s older brother, Attila, who is questioned, though he denies any role, since his car was at the high school auto shop.  The twists and turns of who did what, who was where and why something happened become a full-blown pot boiler with threatening texts, an impending wedding, a dognapping and ransom demand, and a whole lot of snooping, with and without dogs in tow. 

I love a good mystery and The Best Mistake Mystery is a great one.  Sylvia McNicoll throws in so many red herrings and suspects that readers will be changing their hunches as to who did it and why repeatedly.  Just like the winding neighbourhood through which Stephen walks Ping and Pong, a lovable but unlikely duo of canine champions, The Best Mistake Mystery is bursting with characters, storylines, life lessons and dogs. And readers will love all of that.  

But personally, I adore Sylvia McNicoll’s message, and the premise for this new series, The Great Mistake Mysteries, that mistakes are opportunities that enrich our lives.  They may certainly feel like challenges, even curses, but ultimately most mistakes should be considered serendipitous, providing chances to learn and grow and tweak our lives for the better.  And, if you solve a mystery or two in the process, all the better.

Check back tomorrow for my interview with author Sylvia McNicoll about The Best Mistake Mystery and her new series, The Great Mistake Mysteries (cute logo posted below).

Also, get in on one of the book launches for The Best Mistake Mystery this week for a chance to get a signed copy of the book, and maybe share a doggie treat with your own canine best friend. Details here. 

The Best Mistake Mystery: Book launches (Burlington, ON)

Attention young readers who are lovers of dogs and mysteries: 

Join

Sylvia McNicoll

author of over 30 books for children and young adults

for the launch of her new middle grade series

The Great Mistake Mysteries

with Book 1

The Best Mistake Mystery

by Sylvia McNicoll

Dundurn

978-1-45973-625-2

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2017

on

Family Literacy Day

Friday, January 27, 2017

1:30 p.m.

Brant Hills Branch, Burlington Public Library

2255 Brant St.

Burlington, ON

and

Sunday, January 29, 2017

2 p.m.

along with author Deb Loughead
launching her recent young adult book
The Secrets We Keep

 Reviewed here

A Different Drummer Books

513 Locust St.

Burlington, ON

Look for my review of The Best Mistake Mystery next week here on CanLit for LittleCanadians, along with my interview with author Sylvia McNicoll.  But, just to see how much you'll want to read this book and attend one or both of these launches, here is the blurb from publisher Dundurn's website:

Some people count their blessings, but dogwalker Stephen Nobel counts mistakes. 

Dogwalker extraordinaire Stephen Nobel can get a little anxious, but his habit of counting the mistakes he and everyone else makes calms him. His need to analyze gets kicked into hyperdrive after two crazy events happen in one day at school: the bomb squad blows up a backpack and someone smashes a car into the building. 

To make things worse, that someone thinks Stephen can identify them. Stephen receives a threatening text. If he goes to the police, his favourite dogs, Ping and Pong, will get hurt. The pressure mounts when his new best friend, Renée, begs for Stephen’s help. Her brother has been charged with the crimes and she wants to clear his name. 

Is it a mistake to give in to dognappers? How can he possibly save everybody? To find out, Stephen will have to count on all of his new friends.

Best Friends Through Eternity

by Sylvia McNicoll

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-710-8 

192 pp.

Ages 12+

For release February 10, 2015

Most of us dream of the opportunity for a do-over after we've messed up something big.  The regret and/or guilt can be overwhelming.  But what if a do-over was possible but you'd have to be careful not to make matters worse.  Would you do it?  What if you thought you had nothing to lose because you were already dead?

Fourteen-year-old Paige Barta is willing to take that chance after she is killed by a train walking home from school, believing she should have been trying to help her best friend Jasmine (Jazz).  Jazz had been off with her new boyfriend, Cameron, unaware that Cameron's ex, the vicious Vanessa, was plotting an attack. Angrily taking off when she should have been waiting for Jazz,  Paige finds herself laying in a hospital bed, unconscious and dying.  But meeting up on an after-life beach with a childhood friend, Kim, who'd been adopted from China as was Paige, gives the teen the chance for a retake of the past week.

So now Paige has to rethink everything she has said and done, knowing this is her chance to make things right, without letting on that she's going to die or that she knows about the future attack on Jazz.  However, Paige is also rethinking her attitudes about her adoption, about her parents, about Kim's death of which she'd been unaware, about the friendly Max Liu, and even about her food choices.  Being given the chance to make different choices, however, doesn't mean those choices are necessarily better, and Paige learns that sometimes, no matter what, you can't control everything.

Though life-and-death do-overs (is there an actual term for this?) have been popularized in movies and in TV shows, it's a tough one to do well in text, especially for young people for whom the idea of death is often completely unimaginable.  Sylvia McNicoll has shown that she has a knack for writing great teen voices and a strong record for bringing the issue of death into the realm of youth, having made it a focus in books such as crush.candy.corpse (Lorimer, 2012), Dying to Go Viral (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013) and Revenge on the Fly (Pajama Press, 2014). But the focus is not on the morbid but the life lead and the choices made for purposeful lives. Although Paige is shocked to learn she is dying and that Kim has died and that others may die as a result of her actions, her focus remains on choices made with compassion rather than anger and bitterness.  It's a lesson we could all learn.  Too bad Paige–and probably everyone who has ever lived–doesn't learn this lesson until it's too late.  Fortunately, in Best Friends Through Eternity, Sylvia McNicoll gives Paige another chance to show us how it's done.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you get the chance, check out the book launch for Best Friends Through Eternity, this weekend in Burlington, Ontario. Sylvia McNicoll puts on a great book launch!

Best Friends Through Eternity: Book Launch (Burlington, ON)

Join 

Sylvia McNicoll

author of numerous middle-grade and young adult novels

including

crush. candy. corpse

Lorimer 

978-1-4594-00627 

219 pp. 

Ages 12+ 

2012

Dying to Go Viral

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1554552719

232 pp.

Ages 12+

2013

Revenge on the Fly

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-56-9

224 pp.

Ages 8+

2014 

for the release of her newest young adult book

Best Friends Through Eternity

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-710-8 

192 pp.

Ages 12+

Sunday, February 15, 2015

 2:00 p.m. 

at

 A Different Drummer Books 

513 Locust Street

Burlington, Ontario

Call or email to reserve an autographed copy

905.639.0925

diffdrum@mac.com

Sylvia McNicoll promises Indian food, a demonstration on sari dressing, a reading and autograph session.

Revenge on the Fly

by Sylvia McNicoll
Pajama Press
978-1-927485-56-9
224 pp.
Ages 8+
April, 2014
Reviewed from advance reading copy

Never ever underestimate the efforts of a child who seeks revenge, especially if that revenge is in response to grief and heartache. Twelve-year-old Will Alton has lost his baby sister Colleen and his Mum to illness and that grief pervades his new beginnings with his father in 1912 Hamilton, Ontario.  So when Dr. Roberts, Hamilton’s health officer, visits Will’s new school to speak about the role of flies in the transmission of disease and to announce an essay contest and a fly-killing contest, Will is all in and Revenge on the Fly is on.

“You can be a hero to your city, vanquish disease, and win great prizes too.” (pg. 40)

As determined as Will is to kill “the miserable creatures that had caused my family so much grief” (pg. 50) and win $50 to help his father find them their own home (and away from the rooming house of vile Madame Depieu), hostile classmate Fred Leckie is just as relentless. Worse still, Fred has the advantage of wealth to bribe others to do the work for him and a father with a factory of workers compelled to help as well. Fortunately Will is tireless, clever and good-hearted, attributes that are always valuable when facing challenges.

Award-winning author Sylvia McNicoll who has penned numerous early chapter books, middle grade fiction and YA fiction, never submits to the predictable, in her storylines or characters. In Revenge on the Fly, Will, Fred, Ginny, Rebecca, Bea, Ian and Da have the true voices of individuals, never cardboard cut-outs. Even Finnigan has the yips and yaps of a true character, albeit a canine one. And while the ending is gratifying, it isn’t the all-tied-up-in-bows happy ending, because life isn’t like that and in 1912 it definitely wasn’t like that for poor Irish immigrants. Effortlessly Sylvia McNicoll finds the words to illustrate a tragic, but seemingly peculiar, episode in Canadian history and make it personal and unforgettable.

This review was originally written for and published in Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.

Kubiw, H. (2014, May). [Review of the book Revenge on the Fly, by Sylvia McNicoll]. Quill & Quire, 80 (4): 36.

Revenge on the Fly: Book Launch (Burlington)

Join

Sylvia McNicoll

youngCanLit author 

of numerous middle-grade and young adult fiction

for the launch of her newest book

 Revenge on the Fly

by Sylvia McNicoll

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-56-9

224 pp.

Ages 8+

April, 2014 

In 1912 Hamilton, Ontario, twelve-year-old Will Alton must deal with a new life without his mother and baby sister Colleen but vows to contest to rid his world of as many disease-transmitting flies as possible.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

at

 A Different Drummer Books 

513 Locust Street

Burlington, Ontario

Sylvia McNicoll promises refreshments, including Shoo Fly Pie!

Dying to Go Viral

by Sylvia McNicoll

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-271-9

251 pp.

Ages 12+

June, 2013

When fourteen-year-old Jade dies as a result of a skateboarding accident, dying becomes the least of her worries.  Nothing will undo that, no matter how much she chastizes herself about her carelessness and stupidity.  Let's face it: skateboarding without a helmet while hanging onto a car just so your eighteen-year-old crush can film it is pretty stupid.  And, like most stupid choices, there are unwanted consequences.  Jade's is her death.  But a lovely welcome from her mother on "the other side" has Jade wishing she hadn't caused so much more grief for her brother Devon and her dad and asking if she could return to the land of the living, just temporarily, to mitigate their guilt in her death.  Jade is given the opportunity to go back one week before her accident, and although she cannot change anything (it's that whole one-small-change-could-affect-all-history scenario), she can set things up so that her dad and brother accept no blame for her death.

But, when she returns just at the moment her best friend Scratch is about to attempt a grind on his skateboard which she knows will result in a broken wrist, Jade cannot help but try to step in.  Of course he still injures himself in a similar manoeuver but shortly after that and with more serious consequences, teaching Jade to heed her mother's advice that she shouldn't make any changes to the larger destiny.

"We can't know whether some change you make will drive destiny down a worse or a better path.  That's what makes reliving this week so dangerous." (pg.37)

So, Jade draws up a list of intentions, mostly centred on getting her dad a girlfriend and backing off on insisting Devon go to university (something he isn't at all interested in but willing to do but then quit), and allowing the three of them to spend more quality time together as a family.  But two things continue to thwart her plans:  Dad's workaholism with respect to his graphics company, and Devon's reluctance to interact with his father, knowing Dad just refuses to see Devon's perspective.  Luckily, her seven-day deadline puts enough impetus behind Jade to propel her into action.

By making casual suggestions, Jade is able to manipulate a few more family dinners, more discussions and appreciation of sunsets and such, even getting Dad to agree to attending the high school orientation BBQ with her and taking a day off work to spend a special day together with Devon and some friends.  Surprisingly, it's the changes in Jade's general outlook that have the greatest impact.  It's as if she can see the big picture while experiencing all the intimate details. Seeing Scratch's injuries as a parent might, watching their elderly cat Oreo as he deals with ravages of aging, appreciating her favourite dish, finally learning how to make fudge - Jade recognizes them for more than just what they appear to be.  Similarly, her one personal wish, to be kissed by Aiden, finally has her recognizing him as someone who looks to her, and everyone else, simply as sources of footage for his film-making.  Sadly, one realization has her proclaiming, even if only to herself,

"Mom, I can't die now.  I just fell in love." (pg. 219)

With that heart-breaking line, Jade seamlessly transforms from the instigator of change to the subject of destiny, good and bad, no longer making things happen, just reacting without deliberating.

I may have been astonished that Sylvia McNicoll would begin Dying to Go Viral with the main character's death but I should have trusted her expertise, the same skills that have made her an award-winning writer.  While I was apprehensive that the storyline would follow that of the play/movie Heaven Can Wait or TV shows like Twice in a Lifetime, I should have trusted Sylvia McNicoll to never write the easy plot, ending with a happily-ever-after.  Her plot has Jade trying to make things right and not always succeeding (hmm, sounds like real life) and learning a lot about herself and others when she takes the time to experience her life.  Her death and her return to her corporeal body allow her to make lemonade out of lemons for herself and others. Her story proves that lemonade can be sour but there is sweetness to be had if you make it right.  Jade did, courtesy of Sylvia McNicoll.

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If you'd like to attend the book's launch and you're around Burlington, Ontario at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, 2013, check out her mother-daughter book launch.  Or you could watch Sylvia McNicoll's virtual book launch below or at http://youtu.be/ZNfM6FpkqPU in which she speaks about her new book, including the originating idea of Dying to Go Viral.


Dying to Go Viral Online Book Launch

Published by Sylvia McNicoll on June 6, 2013 on YouTube.

Mother and Daughter Book Launch (Burlington, Ontario)

 

A wonderful new twist for a book launch!

Mother and Daughter authors

Sylvia McNicoll and J. M. Filipowicz

invite you to the launch of their new books

Dying to Go Viral
by Sylvia McNicoll
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
978-1554552719
232 pp.

Wardroids
by J. M. Filipowicz
Double Dragon eBooks
978-1771150941
165 pp.

 

on 

June 9, 2013

 2 p.m.

at

A Different Drummer Bookstore

513 Locust Street

Burlington, Ontario 

(905) 639-0925

What you can expect to do:

• Listen to two unique perspectives on YA vs Sci Fi

• Enjoy Mars bars squares and refreshments

• Pick up autographed first editions of 

Sylvia McNicoll's Dying to go Viral 

and 

J. M. Filipowicz's Wardroids