Standoff (Kidnapped From Ukraine, #2)

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Scholastic
978-1-5461-0454-4
288 pp.
Ages 8–13
October 2025

 

As it had been for me reading Under Attack, the first book in Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's Kidnapped From Ukraine series, delving into Standoff was a challenge. I knew to expect a sensitive but authentic story about the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but I also knew that it would be emotionally demanding of me because of my heritage. It was. But it was also eloquent and inspiring and well worth the read.

 

In the earlier Under Attack, readers are introduced to the Popkov family: dad Ivan who worked at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, mom Yaroslava who worked at a nail salon, and twelve-year-old twin sisters Dariia and Rada. When the first attack occurs in February of 2022, Dariia and her mom are separated from Rada and their dad. The first book covers Dariia's perspective and experiences, while Standoff is told from Rada's point of view from the onset of the first attack. While Dariia and their mom find shelter at a salon and other commercial buildings, Rada and her dad head to the steel plant with its extensive bunkers, and from which he will join up with the Territorial Defense . With the wise words, "Be brave but not stupid" (pg. 42), her dad leaves Rada in the care of the Yanin family: Mr. Yanin, an engineer; his son Viktor, a classmate of Rada's; and his nine-year-old daughter Alina. (Mrs. Yanin was killed in the attack on their apartment building.)

 

Each day is a scramble for food, clothing, water, heat and more. Still, the make-shift family connects with another family when Rada meets Lesia Stepanova. Lesia is sheltering in another bunker at the plant with both her grandmothers (Baba and Babushka), her sister-in-law Maiia, and Lesia's baby nephew Oleh. Lesia's mother is also in the Territorial Defense, while Lesia's older brother is in Moscow on a business trip. After they attempt to evacuate Mariupol during a ceasefire—which the Russians failed to observe—they add nine-year-old Mychailo Voron and a woman named Svetlana Boyko to their little group.

 

Their lives become a series of routines to help them get through each day, whether it is doing lessons, or toileting, or preparing and sharing their meager provisions. Hope comes with the promise of a ceasefire—more than once—though the Russians are quick to apprehend and attempt to transport Ukrainians to Russia. It's only when the Red Cross, the UN, and other international observers and aid are involved that those efforts are stymied.

 

Life is tenuous. On the inside of the plant, Rada and her new family struggle and worry and grieve. Outside, their challenges are both the same and different: worried for their loved ones, grappling with a lack of resources, terrified of being injured or killed, and never knowing whom they could trust. 

 

The attack and war on Ukraine has sadly been part of the news cycle for almost four years, but for many it is a story from "over there." Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's stories, both Under Attack and Standoff, take a distant conflict and make it personal. This isn't happening faraway to people we don't know. It's happening to children, to the elderly, to parents, and to shopkeepers, neighbours, and people we care about. We feel their horror, recognize their anxieties, grasp their grief, and acknowledge their needs to hold on to whatever might offer comfort, whether a cat or a Motanka doll. Whether it's a middle grader reading this book and stunned by the horrific circumstances that Rada and her families, born and made, endure, or an older reader who understands the cruelty of others and the grief of loss, Standoff will hit hard. But Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch knows how to tell a story of immense tragedy by pairing it with resilience, affection, and hope. Even the title of the third book in the series, which releases in April, tells us that there is more to the twins' stories and, even with more hardships and loss, they endure. 

 

For an authentic and very personal perspective on the war in Ukraine, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch offers a story of Ukrainians from Mariupol and what they saw and felt when the Russians attacked. She even offers more background in her "Author's Note" and the Q & A with which she appends Standoff, helping young people gain greater understanding about the events and the history behind the Russian invasion. We can only hope that with awareness comes understanding, and with time there will be a favourable resolution for the people of Ukraine.  

 

 • • • • • • •

 

Under Attack (January, 2025)

Standoff (October, 2025)

Still Alive (April, 2026)
 

Trail of Crumbs

Written by Lisa J. Lawrence

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2121-7

247 pp.

Ages 13+

2019

We all hope a trail of crumbs will lead us to safety and maybe even home, but both are sadly elusive for seventeen-year-old Greta in this young adult novel of trauma and abandonment.
 
After their mom died from breast cancer when Greta and her twin brother Ash were just eight, their dad Roger fell apart. He lost his truck driving job because of a DUI, had to sell the house and sent the kids to live with a relative. Though he remarried and got the kids back, the turmoil of their lives becomes one of emotional abuse with their stepmom Patty always yelling, complaining and blaming Greta and Ash for everything. After another altercation, Patty convinces Roger to abandon the kids and they sneak off in the night.

Seven years he'd made excuses for Patty's anger, tried to make them share the blame in her tornado of drama. They'd been kids–imperfect, noisy, messy. He'd played middle man between a wolf and two sheep, trying to justify why the wolf always tore at them. Trying to please that rabid wolf. (pg. 89-90)

Left alone in their cold basement apartment in Edmonton with limited money of their own, Greta and Ash consider their options. A plan to confront their father falls apart, though it does find them a new ally in a classmate and neighbour, Nate. They look for jobs. They approach their landlord, Elgin Doyle, an older man who lives in the upper part of the house, about deferring the rent but instead he offers to let them stay in a spare room he has in return for chores like shovelling snow.

Though initially uncomfortable with their new living situation, the normally-withdrawn Ash seems to come out of himself, cooking with Elgin and standing up for the older man to his hostile adult daughter Alice. But, while Greta grapples with their abandonment, she is also trying to clarify the traumatizing circumstances involving a sexual encounter with Dylan.

She could never make sense of those shards still rattling loose inside her. They dug in, but no matter how long she looked at them, they never formed a whole picture. A grotesque kaleidoscope. When she tried to sort through it, all the colors mixed together until it turned into swamp brown. (pg. 124)

Trail of Crumbs is a story of finding a way to survive the trauma of parental abandonment and of sexual assault. It's about finding family and friends in unlikely allies and trusting those who would support you no matter what. It's not an easy story to read because the trauma is so raw. Even when Greta and Ash try to logically deal with their abandonment, and Greta tries to sort out the events with Dylan, you know they're just struggling to endure, to get through it, to survive. There is a visceral fear about stopping to give in to the anguish and hopelessness. But Lisa J. Lawrence, who wowed critics with her debut novel, Rodent (Orca, 2016), writes with power and intrepidness, never letting us question whether Greta and Ash are real. They are, as are their problems. They've survived trauma after trauma and keep on going. They don't even know how brave they are. They are their own heroes.

That trail of crumbs may be elusive and often invisible, but I was consoled that Greta and Ash found sufficient to keep them bound as siblings with enough left over to lead them to a new support family.

Con Quest!: Guest review

This review was written by teacher Elizabeth Cook.

Written by Sam Maggs

Imprint

978-1-250307279

256 pp.

Ages 8-12

June 2020

Con Quest! by Sam Maggs is a middle grade novel that centers around eleven-year-old twin siblings, Cat and Alex, who attend a comic convention with their comic-writing parents and extremely unenthusiastic fourteen-year old-sister Fi. Though Fi has been tasked with babysitting the twins while their parents participate in panel sessions, headstrong Cat has other plans, managing to sneak out with her brother Alex to complete a series of insane tasks as part of a scavenger hunt Quest at the comic con.  Winning is paramount for them as the prize is time with the handsome celebrity Corwin Blake and a mentorship for budding comic artists. Winning the challenge will be tough enough for the young twins but it's even more complicated when they have to avoid Fi and the overzealous security at the convention. 

This novel is a bit of a departure from my typical reading choices.  Because I know my students would love the story, I wanted to read it. Still, never being into comics, superheroes, and fandoms, I was a little hesitant to read a book about a comic convention. After all, I have only seen one Star Wars movie (my boyfriend got to pick the movie that night), I can’t tell you which superheroes are DC vs. Marvel, and my only real knowledge of anything sci-fi or fantasy is based in Harry Potter of which I am a big fan. Still I really wanted to see if the twins would be successful in completing their Con Quest and Sam Maggs does an exceptional job of placing the reader at that comic con. As a reader, the energy and exhilaration of the convention was palpable, from the jostling among the crowds, trying to meet favourite comic writers and actors, and even running around in decoupaged shoes (worth 19 points)!

Sam Maggs does an excellent job of ensuring diversity among her Con Quest characters. Cat’s parents are from Slovakia and, when they speak to their kids, it's in Slovakian which was of great interest to me as a reader. Alex has autism and struggles with large crowds which poses a challenge for him at a crowded comic convention. However, his family knows how to help him when he requires it while allowing him the independence to run around the convention all day completing the challenges. (A ketchup and relish portrait for 40 points!) Moreover, this novel is enriched with a number of LGBTQ+ characters and addresses the issue of personal pronouns including how preferred gender and non binary terms are added to convention badges.

Regardless of my typical reading preferences, Con Quest was a perfect read. It is fast-paced, fun, engaging, and a little nail-biting at times.  While I might not be a weird mega fan like Fi would say...I am a little weird in my own way.  As Sam Maggs wrote in the acknowledgement section at the back, “And to you my reader!  Embrace your wacky, your weird, your wonderful!”  So, I will!

 • • • • •

~ Reviewer Elizabeth Cook is a teacher in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature.  
 

Mel and Mo's Marvelous Balancing Act

Written by Nicola Winstanley

Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer

Annick Press

978-1-77321-324-8

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

October 2019 

Mel and Mo are twins and, as much as they love each other, they like different things. One likes the rain, the other sun. One likes getting up early, the other late. And as they grow older, their differences increase until all they do is disagree. When they choose careers, Mel takes over the family umbrella business and Mo performs on a high-wire with multiple poodles as part of the Sunny Sea-Side Circus.

From Mel and Mo's Marvelous Balancing Act by Nicola Winstanley, illus. by Marianne Ferrer

But, with time, things change. They always do. Mel's umbrellas and Mo's act both fall out of fashion, regardless of their efforts to adapt. It isn't until the twins come together to reinvent themselves and their product or act that they find a way to be successful, still different but now in balance.

From Mel and Mo's Marvelous Balancing Act by Nicola Winstanley, illus. by Marianne Ferrer

Nicola Winstanley, whose picture book How to Give Your Cat a Bath (Tundra, 2018) is currently nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award, always takes a light touch to important stories. Here we have non-binary twins who are the same but very different. Their differences define them. But when their choices become limiting, it is only by finding common ground that the two can continue to let their differences shine. Neither Mel nor Mo is expected to give up on themselves to "fit" into what their sibling or society deems appropriate for twins. Nicola Winstanley gives them the space to grow their creativity for creating a product or an entertainment but also the wisdom to recognize when collaboration would be beneficial.

From Mel and Mo's Marvelous Balancing Act by Nicola Winstanley, illus. by Marianne Ferrer

Similarly Marianne Ferrer balances the similarities between the two siblings with their differences. With one creating colourful umbrellas of wild shapes and the other astounding with high-wire acrobatics, Marianne Ferrer places the emphasis on the twins' differences, though still recognizing their similarities in hair styles and by dressing them similarly when young. I have been a big fan of artist Marianne Ferrer since reviewing Racines (Monsieur Ed, 2016). From that, my first French-language book review, I've been enthralled by her pencil and watercolour illustrations that employ a subtlety of colour and balance the whimsy with the sensible.

Mel and Mo's Marvelous Balancing Act may be about twins who want to be individuals whose differences are accepted as relevant, but it's also about knowing when to bring those differences into proximity for collaborative creativity. It's a fine balance that Mel and Mo are able to find and celebrate, as we all should.

Double Trouble (Orca Currents)

Written by Joanne Levy

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2133-0

132 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2019 

While many of us display different personalities depending on the circumstances–reserved, outgoing, chatterbox, leader, etc.–Victoria Adelman takes it to a whole different level when she meets Jazzy, the granddaughter of her neighbours and a potential new best friend. She actually becomes her own twin.

With her best friend Anna having moved away, Victoria fills her time cultivating her organic garden, feeding her family–her Dad and grandmother Bubby–and their neighbours and tending to her compost. But when she meets the Patels' granddaughter Jasvitha (Jazzy) shortly upon returning home from synagogue, Jazzy gets the impression that Victoria likes fashion and dressing up. Later when she spots Victoria wearing her grubby gardening clothes and working with her worm bin, Jazzy apparently does not recognize her and keeps asking for Vicky. Victoria, desperate for a friend, pretends to be Tori, Vicky's twin sister, and launches the charade of switching between the garden-loving Tori and the fashionista Vicky, depending on when she sees Jazzy.

But you know things cannot go smoothly when you attempt to deceive and must alter your personality and dress for one person and keep all the others in the dark.

I suddenly felt guilty. Because not only had I made up a sister, but now I was trash-talking her. To the girl I'd lied to. (pg. 68-69)

From a trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens with Mr. and Mrs. Patel and Jazzy, and a shopping trip with Bubby and Jazzy, Victoria is torn between being herself and the person she thinks will win her a new friend in Jazzy.  And then there's the sleepover which Jazzy expects to have with Tori and Vicky. Will it all blow up for Victoria or will she get the friend she is desperate to have?

While Joanne Levy has brought us stories with extraordinary circumstances (see Small Medium at Large, 2012), she does equally well with middle-grade stories that are typical of most young people. Whether it's friendships or family, bat mitzvahs or first crushes (Crushing It, 2017 and Yael and the Party of the Year, 2018, writing as Tamsin Lane), Joanne Levy brings the humour to everyday ups and downs in a middle-grader's life. Moreover, she gets that eagerness to be accepted by your peers, when you'd try just about anything to be liked. The farce that becomes Victoria's life is so representational that I could imagine a young reader wondering if they could pull off faking being twins too. (My advice based on Victoria's experience: Don't.)

Readers will enjoy the ridiculousness of Victoria's deception, which is never spiteful nor mean-spirited, and the farcical scenes of her attempting to pretend to be both Vicky and Tori in this short, hi-lo novel. Still, fortunately, they'll be left with the honest message that self-acceptance will always triumph over pretending to be someone you're not, though you might get a few laughs, plus some heartache, along the way if you do.

My Deal with the Universe

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-5756-8

240 pp.

Ages 8-12

June 2018

The uplifting cover of My Deal with the Universe hides the anxieties with which twelve-year-old Daisy is overwhelmed but thankfully it does tip us off to a resolution that is lightness and sparkle.

School is ending for the year and, though Daisy enjoys days with her best friend Willow playing at their Junglecamp, scheduled days of activities, too soon Willow would be off to summer camp for seven weeks. Sadly, there are no other friends, as Daisy, often called "Weed" lives in a house overgrown with vines and a yard dense with vegetation–called the Jungle–which is a source of ridicule and even contempt by schoolmates and neighbours. Mr. and Mrs. Pitt, next door, are especially horrid, always filing complaints against Daisy's parents and spraying Daisy with water "accidentally." Though the Jungle may be a source of embarrassment, Daisy loves her home, especially the quiet and darkness that comes with vine-covered walls and windows.

But Daisy's greatest concern is for her twin, Jack, who'd been diagnosed with cancer just before they turned eight. At the time, she'd made a deal with the universe: her life for Jack's. Coincidentally, as Jack went through treatment and started getting better, Daisy stopped growing. Apparently her deal worked. But now her parents are taking Jack, who is in remission, for doctors' appointments and tests, and Daisy comes up with a new plan to save him.

Then the Pitts' great niece and nephew, Violet and Zack, come to stay and befriend Daisy and Jack. This new friendship could change everything but would it help or hurt?

As in her most recent middle-grade novel Feathered (Kids Can Press, 2016), Deborah Kerbel makes us realize that young people, when faced with difficulties, find the means to mitigate those concerns through action. They may do so by unconventional means but making deals with the universe is probably less offbeat for children and those who are desperate than some medical treatments purported to benefit those who are ill. It would seem that Daisy is far more normal than she suspects: she's embarrassed by her parents but loves them; she's angry when she feels ignored by her friend; she doesn't want her twin to die; and she wants to be liked. But Deborah Kerbel makes it clear that normal is different for everyone and it can change with circumstances and these are lessons that Daisy ultimately learns. But she learns more than that. Daisy also accepts that some answers to life's problems can be a lot closer than anticipated and even a child can help make things right.

And how sometimes life's not all that different from a crossword puzzle.  How there's usually a solution lurking behind the blank spaces. You just have to keep trying different things to find that one that fits. (pg. 231)

Liam Takes a Stand

Written by Troy Wilson

Illustrated by Josh Holinaty

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-161-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March 2017

In the aftermath of Family Day here in Ontario, I think little Liam would have a thing to say about family and brothers in particular.  Twin older brothers actually. And brothers so overwhelmingly competitive that nothing else matters.  Fortunately Liam is an insightful child who is determined to “win” his brothers’ attention and, though they are too busy outdoing each other, Liam perseveres, making for a happy family in the end.

From Liam Takes a Stand 

by Troy Wilson 

illus. by Josh Holinaty

Lester and Lister’s competitive spirits take them from sports activities to creative endeavours and finally to entrepreneurship when they each open lemonade stands for the summer.  It’s Lester’s Lemonade Universe vs. Lister’s Lemonade Multiverse, and Liam wants to help but is told he’d just told them back, ostensibly from winning this latest venture.  So Liam, determined to show his brothers how hard he can work, takes on a series of neighbourhood jobs, paid in cash by all but Mrs. Redmond who pays him in apples.

From Liam Takes a Stand 

by Troy Wilson

illus. by Josh Holinaty

While Lister and Lester continue to grow their businesses to outrageous proportions, trying to outdo and to outsell the other, Liam works hard, saves his money and eventually opens Liam’s Apple Avenue.  He takes a soft touch to his business, though, unlike the hard sell and gimmicks of his older brothers, and Liam’s business becomes a resounding success.  Hard-pressed to be outdone by their little brother, Lester and Lister start their own apple drink stands, too busy with hype to work on making the best product possible.

Fortunately, Lester and Lister recognize what they must do to win even a little bit, and Liam is smart enough to hold onto what he has accomplished while getting what he’d always wanted i.e. play time with his brothers.

Troy Wilson’s take on sibling rivalry is over-the-top and yet so realistic.  Two brothers willing to do whatever it takes to succeed over the other—success itself is never the goal—and ignoring their little brother who ends up being their biggest competitor yet.  In starting to believe their own hype, they disregard all else in the pursuit of domination. And it’s little Liam who initially loses out but finally wins in the brother game of life.

From Liam Takes a Stand 

by Troy Wilson 

illus. by Josh Holinaty

While Josh Holinaty has illustrated for non-fiction books and for other media, Liam Takes a Stand is his first picture book project and his artwork is gloriously over-the-top, perfect for the story.  His big-headed stick figures and colourful displays of convoluted businesses ensure the focus is on the boys and their efforts and I can see children rolling on the floor laughing (yes, they do actually do this) with the boys’ uproarious results.  And I can see them all trying to copy Josh Holinaty’s characters, as children tend to do with favourite cartoons.

Beyond the obvious entertainment value of Liam Takes a Stand, as a teacher I could envision using the fun and hyperbolic attention of the boys to their work for lessons in advertising and economics as well as character education. That makes Liam Takes a Stand a nice little package of fun and life lessons for all to enjoy.

Flickers by Arthur Slade: Out today!

The long-awaited, new book from 

Arthur Slade

#youngCanLit author of 

The Hunchback Assignments series

Modo: Ember's End

Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival

Megiddo's Shadow

Tribes

Dust

and many more

is here!

Flickers

by Arthur Slade

HarperCollins Canada

978-1443416658

256 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 26, 2016

 * * * 

Described by the author himself:

The Great Gatsby meets The Twilight Zone in this chilling 1920's Hollywood page-turner...

From http://www.arthurslade.com/books/

A movie scream so chilling and powerful, it will open up another dimension ...

Orphaned twins Isabelle and Beatrice Thorn are living a glamorous 1920s Hollywood life as wards of Mr. Cecil, a mysterious and influential director. Isabelle is a silent film starlet, destined for greatness in the very first "talkie"--a horror flick. Beatrice spends her days hidden away on the Cecil estate with her books and her insect collection, scarves covering her birthmarks and baldness. But Beatrice’s curiosity about the death of her parents and the unsettling fate of a reporter is getting the better of her and she’s starting to realize Mr. Cecil has truly dark designs for this movie. 

From http://www.arthurslade.com/flickers

 * * * 

And reviewed by author/illustrator Debbie Ohi as:

So I was just going to read the first few pages of Arthur Slade's new middle grade novel FLICKERS this morning to get a taste of what the book was like but then I COULDN'T STOP READING AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH. Finished it just now.

Wow. Such a good read.

SoOOoooOOoooOOooo deliciously creepy and dark (I'm a fan of horror MG). Love how the mystery gradually unfolds, and the plot twists along the way. Love the relationship between the sisters. I just loveloveLOVED this book.

If I have nightmares tonight, I am SO going to blame Arthur Slade. :-) I'm also looking forward to rereading the book when it officially comes out this April!

---Debbie Ohi, Author and Illustrator

 * * * 

If you haven't gotten the impression that Flickers is a delightfully scary read, watch the book trailer here.

Flickers by Arthur Slade

Uploaded by HarperCollins Canada to YouTube on April 25, 2016.

Finding Ruby Starling

by Karen Rivers

Alfred A. Levine Books/Scholastic

978-0-545-53479-6

304 pp.

Ages 10-14

August, 2014

Reviewed from advance reading copy

Karen River’s latest book for young readers is a successful take on a Parent Trap-type plot, albeit with the benefits of modern technology and perhaps a friendly spirit. 

While goofing around online with a face-matching app called FaceTrace, 12-year-old Ruth Quayle, adopted daughter of a heart surgeon and a scientist, discovers a British look-alike in trendier clothes named Ruby Starling. Through a series of Tumblr posts, emails with her best, talking to her parents, and contacting Ruby, Ruth determines that she and the other girl are identical twins who somehow became separated.

“I feel like half of me has just been peeled away, like a decal being pulled off its back sticky bit, making me just the waxy papery rubbish left behind.” (pg. 11)

Unconvinced about Ruth’s theory, Ruby reaches out to her friends for advice, though she knows that only her mother – a busy artist distracted by her work – and her deceased grandmother could tell her the truth.  Finding the need to talk to grandmother, Ruby writes letters (obviously never sent) to air her thoughts.  When a painting by Ruby’s mother of her as a baby with a shadow baby in the background falls off the wall, Ruby becomes convinced that her Nan has sent her a message from beyond the grave indicating that Ruby and Ruth are indeed twins.

By using only emails, letters, and Tumblr posts for Ruth and Ruby to communicate their secrets, concerns and questions, Karen Rivers’ ensures that the girls’ youthful voices are always maintained.  And, though the twins have bigger issues with which to deal, including fear, abandonment and grief, Karen Rivers embeds those issues seamlessly within natural interactions with family and friends, adding quirky teachings from a Buddhist calendar, occasional ghostly messages and some boyfriend-girlfriend drama to help keep the heavy issues from detracting from the story’s feelgood nature.

Karen Rivers’ story of long-lost twins could have easily followed a typical, comedic path. But by showing how the lives of Ruth and Ruby are enriched by the discovery of each other, the author has created a more complex narrative that explores themes of family and friendship.

(A version of this review was originally written for and published in Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.)

Kubiw, H. (2014, October). [Review of the book Finding Ruby Starling, by Karen Rivers]. Quill & Quire, 80 (8): 38.