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)

Upcoming releases for summer and fall of 2018

The late summer and fall of 2018 are going to be banner times of year for the publication of new youngCanLit.  There are over 200 books listed below (!!) and you know that I've probably missed a few dozen and will be amending this list for a few weeks as new titles are brought to my attention.  FYI: I'm happy to correct my omissions.

Some of the titles I'm most looking forward to reading include:

• The Eleventh Hour by Jacques Goldstyn (Owlkids), a picture book to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice
• Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond (Kids Can Press)>>>from the art genius who brought us My Think-A-Ma-Jink and Oddrey
• The Almost Epic Squad: Mucus Mayhem,  a new series from Kevin Sylvester (yeah!) 
• Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids, the English translation of the wildly popular French graphic novels by Alain M. Bergeron and illustrated by Sampar (from Orca)
• Birdman, a picture book by Troon Harrison and illustrated by François Thisdale, about abolitionist and ornithologist Alexander Milton Ross (Red Deer Press);
• North to Benjamin by Alan Cumyn, because it always seems to be too long between books; and, I almost forgot,
• Julia Unbound by Catherine Egan, the conclusion to her amazing Witch's Child trilogy.

I hope you find at least a few great books here to which you can look forward to reading this fall.

Fiction
Bone Beds of the Badlands by Shane Peacock (Nimbus)>>>Dylan Maples Mystery series re-release
Heartwood Hotel #4: Home Again by Kallie George, illus. by Stephanie Graegin (Disney Hyperion)
The Land of Yesterday by K. A. Reynolds (HarperCollins)
The Secret of the Silver Mines by Shane Peacock (Nimbus)>>>Dylan Maples Mystery series re-release

Non-Fiction
Meet Chris Hadfield by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas (Scholastic)
Meet Viola Desmond by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas (Scholastic)

Picture Book and Board Books
At the Pond by Werner Zimmerman (North Winds Press) 
Brady Brady and the Great Rink by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada) 
Brady Brady and the Runaway Goalie by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada) 
Buddy and Earl Meet the Neighbors by Maureen Fergus, illus. by Carey Sookocheff (Groundwood)>>>newest story Buddy and Earl series
The Bunny Band by Bill Richardson, illus. by Roxanna Bikadoroff (Groundwood)
Counting in Mi'kmaw / Mawkiljemk Mi'kmawiktut by Loretta Gould (Nimbus)
Deep Underwater by Irene Luxbacher (Groundwood)
Diwali Lights by Rina Singh (Orca) 
Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi (North Winds Press) >>> another wonderful Fox and Squirrel book
I'm Glad You're Happy by Nahid Kazemi (Groundwood)
Moving Day! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko (Scholastic Canada)
Mustafa by Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood)
Out of the Blue by Wallace Edwards (North Winds Press)
Pinny in Fall by Joanne Schwartx, illus. by Isabelle Malenfant (Groundwood)>>>follow up to Pinny in Summer
Poppy and Sam and the Leaf Thief by Cathon (Owlkids)  
Sloth at the Zoom by Helaine Becker, illus. by Orbia (Owlkids)  
Splish, Splash, Foxes Dash! by Geraldo Valerio (Owlkids)

Fiction
Almost Invisible by Maureen Garvie (Groundwood)
Called Up by Steven Sandor (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories
Elephant Secret by Eric Walters (Puffin Canada)
Empty Net by David Starr (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories 
Food Fight by Deborah Sherman (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)  
Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, illus. by Sydney Smith (HarperCollins)
In the Buff by Vicki Grant (Orca)>>>Orca Currents 
Lucky Break by Brooke Carter (Orca)>>>Orca Sports 
The Mask by Eric Howling (Orca)>>>Orca Sports
Megabat by Anna Humphrey, illus. by Kass Reich (Tundra)
Night of the Living Dolls by Joel A. Sutherland (Scholastic Canada)>>>newest horror in the Haunted series
Princess Pistachio Treasury by Marie-Louise Gay (Pajama Press)>>>collection of the three Princess Pistachio early readers
Offbeat by Megan Clendenan (Orca)>>>Orca Limelights
Raw Talent by Jocelyn Shipley (Orca)>>>Orca Limelights 
Running Behind by Sylvia Taekema (Orca)>>>Orca Currents
Tough Call by Kelsey Blair (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories  
Unity Club by Karen Spafford-Fitz (Orca)>>>Orca Currents 
Wildfire by Deb Loughead (Orca)>>>Orca Currents

Young Adult
Blood Will Out by Jo Treggiari (Penguin Teen)
Bonjour Girl by Isabelle Laflèche (Dundurn)
Charming by Mette Bach (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Real Love
Cinders by Mette Bach (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Real Love
Cold Grab by Steven Barwin (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sidestreets  
Hide and Shriek by Alison Hughes (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings 
Julia Unbound by Catherine Egan (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers) >>>  the conclusion to the Witch's Child trilogy that began with Julia Vanishes and was followed by Julia Defiant
Mayan Murder by Martha Brack Martin (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings 
Push Back by Karen Spafford-Fitz (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sidestreets
Stowaway by Pam Withers (Dundurn)
The Thing You're Good At by Lesley Choyce (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings 

Non-Fiction
Breaking Through: Heroes in Canadian Women's Sport by Sue Irwin (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Recordbooks 
Hayler Wickenheiser by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illus. by D.A. Bishop (Scholastic Canada) >>>Amazing Athletes collection
My River: Cleaning Up the LaHave River by Stella Bowles with Anne Laurel Carter (Lorimer)
Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, illus. by Julie Sarda (Tundra)
A Whale's World by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read (Orca)

Picture Books and Board Books
Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell (Groundwood)
Angus All Aglow by Heather Smith, illus. by Alice Carter (Orca)
The Animals of Chinese New Year by Jen Sookfong Lee, trans. by Kileasa Wong (Orca) 
Anna at the Museum by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert, illus. by Lil Crump (Annick) 
Brady Brady and the Great Exchange by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada) 
Brady Brady and the Puck on the Pond by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada) 
Canada Animals by Paul Covello (HarperCollins)>>>board book  
Classic Munsch ABC by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko (Annick) 
The Cold Little Voice by Alison Hughes, illus. by Jan Dolby (Clockwise Press) 
Florence & Leon by Simon Boulerice, illus. by Delphie Côté-Lacroix (Orca) 
A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon (Pajama Press) 
Goodnight, Anne by Kallie George, illus. by Genevieve Godbout (Tundra)>>>inspired by Anne of Green Gables 
Grandmother's Visit by Betty Quan, illus. by Carmen Mok (Groundwood) 
The Imperfect Garden by Melissa Assaly, illus. by April dela Noche Milne (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) 
Island in the Salish Sea by Sheryl McFarlane, illus. by Leslie Redhead (Orca) 
It's Time for Bed by Ceporah Mearns and Jeremy Debicki, illus. by Tim Mack (Inhabit Media) 
Kiss by Kiss/ Ocêtôwina by Richard Van Camp, trans. by Mary Collins (Orca)>>> a counting book in Plains Cree and English 
The Log Driver's Waltz by Wade Hemsworth, illus. by Jennifer Phelan (Simon & Schuster) 
Lucy Tries Hockey by Lisa Bowes, illus. by James Hearne (Orca)>>>part of Lucy Tries Sports series 
Mamaqtuq! by The Jerry Cans, illus. by Eric Kim (Inhabit Media)>>>based on a song by The Jerry Cans 
One House by Sarah MacNeill (Orca) 
On My Swim by Kari-Lynn Winters, illus. by Christina Leist (Tradewind)>>>newest title in series that includes On My Walk and On My Skis 
The Reptile Club by Maureen Fergus, illus. by Elina Ellis (Kids Can Press) 
Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond (Kids Can Press) 
Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo by David Myles, illus. by Murray Bain (Nimbus) 
Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson (Tundra) 
Team Steve by Kelly Collier (Kids Can Press)>>>A Horse Named Steve is back 
Threads by Torill Kove (Firefly)>>>based on the NFB short 
A West Coast Summer by Caroline Woodward, illus. by Carol Evans (Harbour Publishing) 
Whose Bum? by Chris Tougas (Orca) 
The Wild Beast by Eric Walters, illus. by Sue Todd (Orca)>>>African creation story of the wildebeest 
The Zombie Prince by Matt Beam, illus. by Luc Melanson (Groundwood)

Fiction
The Almost Epic Squad: Mucus Mayhem by Kevin Sylvester, illus. by Britt Wilson (Scholastic Canada) >>>new series!!!
Anne Arrives by Kallie George, illus. by Abigail Halpin (Tundra)
Anyone's Game by Sylv Chiang (Annick)>>>Cross Ups, Book 2
Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids by Alain M. Bergeron, illus. by Sampar (Orca)>>>first of the English language translations of the award-winning French graphic novels
Blackwells and the Briny Deep by Philippa Dowding (Dundurn)>>> newest book in Weird Stories Gone Wrong series
Bright Shining Moment by Deb Loughead (Second Story Press)
Bus to the Badlands by Margriet Ruurs, illus. by Claudia Davila (Orca)>>>Orca Echoes
A Cage Without Bars by Anne Dublin (Second Story Press)
Call of the Wraith by Kevin Sands (Aladdin)>>> fourth book in the Blackthorn Key series
Clara Humble and the Kitten Caboodle by Anna Humphrey, illus. by Lisa Cinar (Owlkids) >>>sequel to Clara Humble and the Not-So-Super Powers and Clara Humble Quiz Whiz
The Divided Earth by Faith Erin Hicks (First Second)>>>conclusion to The Nameless City graphic novel trilogy
Dodger Boy by Sarah Ellis (Groundwood)
A Grain of Rice by Nhung Tran-Davies (Tradewind)
The Ghost Road by Charis Cotter (Tundra)
Ice Chips and the Haunted Hurricane by Roy MacGregor and Kerry MacGregor (HarperCollins)>>>Book 2
The Lotterys More or Less by Emma Donoghue (HarperCollins)
Miles to Go by Beryl Young (Heritage House)
The Missing Donut by Judith Henderson, illus. by T.L. McBeth (Kids Can Press)>>> new series Big Words Small Stories
My Life as a Diamond by Jenny Manzer (Orca) 
The Mystery of Croaker's Island by Linda DeMeulemeester (Heritage House)
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen (Tundra)
Planet Grief by Monique Polak (Orca)
Red River Resistance by Katherena Vermette, illus. by Scott Henderson (HighWater Press)>>>A Girl Called Echo Vol. 2, sequel to Pemmican Wars
Sabotage Stage Left by Casey Lyall (Sterling Children's Books)>>>Book 3 in Howard Wallace P.I. series 
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (Puffin Canada)
Tree Musketeers by Norma Charles (Ronsdale)
TV Six by Jeff Zentner (Tundra)
Very Rich by Polly Horvath (Puffin Canada) 
Weather or Not by Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle (Scholastic)>>>Upside Down Magic #5

Young Adult
The Band of Merry Kids by David Skuy (DCB) 
Body Swap by Sylvia McNicoll (Dundurn)
Children of the Bloodlands by S. M. Beiko (ECW Press)>>>Book 2 in The Realms of Ancient series, sequel to Scion of the Fox
Confessions of a Teenage Leper by Ashley Little (Penguin Teen Canada)
Deep Girls by Lori Weber (DCB)
Finding Grace by Daphne Greer (Nimbus)
The Garden by Meghan Ferrari (Red Deer Press)
The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker (Annick)
How Far We Go and How Fast by Nora Decter (Orca)
Infinite Blue by Darren Groth and Simon Groth (Orca)
Kate's Ring by Donna Grassby (Red Deer Press)
Kens by Raziel Reid (Penguin Teen Canada)
Sadie by Courtney Summers (Wednesday Books)
The Story of My Face by Leanne Baugh (Second Story Press)
Strangers by Meaghan McIsaac (Andersen Press) >>>follow up to Movers
The Third Act by John Wilson (Orca)

Non-Fiction
50 Things to See with a Telescope by John A. Read (Lorimer)
Africville: An African Nova Scotian community is demolished — and fights back by Gloria Ann Wesley (Lorimer)>>>Righting Canada's Wrongs series
After Life: Ways We Think About Death by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox (Orca) 
All About Anne Created by Anne Frank House, illus. by Huck Scarry (Second Story Press)
Black Women Who Dared by Naomi M. Moyer (Second Story Press)
Can Your Conversations Change the World? by Erinne Paisley (Orca) 
City Bugs by Antonia Banyard (Annick)>>>board book in new series Critters 
City Critters by Antonia Banyard (Annick)>>> Book 2 in new board book series Critters
Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate?: How Animals Keep Warm by Etta Kaner, illus. by John Martz (Owlkids) 
Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes by Wab Knew, illus. by Joe Morse (Tundra)
Hungry for Science: Poems to Crunch On by Kari-Lynn Winters and Lori Sherritt-Fleming, illus. by Peggy Collins (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) >>> from same collaborators who brought us Hungry for Math: Poems to Munch On
My First Book of Canadian Birds by Andrea Miller, illus. by Angela Doak (Nimbus)
On the News: Our First Talk about Tragedy by Dr. Jillian Roberts, illus. by Jane Heinrichs (Orca)>>>part of The World Around Us series
Out of the Ice: How Climatic Change is Revealing the Past by Claire Eamer, illus. by Drew Shannon (Kids Can Press)
That's Not Hockey! by Andrée Poulin, illus. by Félix Girard (Annick)>>>picture book about legendary goalie Jacques Plante
The True Tale of a Giantess: The Story of Anna Swan by Anne Renaud, illus. by Marie Lafrance (Kids Can Press) 

Picture Books and Board Books
Ara the Star Engineer by Komal Singh, illus. by Ipek Konak (Page Two) 
Auntie Luce's Talking Painting by Francie Latour, illus. by Ken Daley (Groundwood) 
Birdman by Troon Harrison, illus. by François Thisdale (Red Deer Press) 
Bitter and Sweet by Sandra V. Feder, illus. by Kyrsten Brooker (Groundwood) 
The Eleventh Hour by Jacques Goldstyn (Owlkids) 
The Gathering by Theresa Meuse, illus. by Arthur Stevens (Nimbus) 
A Giant Man from a Tiny Town: A Story of Angus MacAskill by Tom Ryan, illus. by Christopher Hoyt (Nimbus) 
Giraffe and Bird Together Again by Rebecca Bender (Pajama Press)>>>yeah! another Giraffe and Bird book 
Hotel Fantastic by Thomas Gibault (Kids Can Press)
How to Catch a Bear Who Loves to Read by Andrew Katz and Juliana Léveillé-Trudel, illus. by Joseph Sherman (Crackboom Books)
I am Small by Qin Leng (Kids Can Press) 
Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Josh Holinaty (Owlkids) 
The Moon Watched It All by Shelley Leedahl, illus. by Aino Anto (Red Deer Press) 
The Night the Forest Came to Town illus. by Annie Wilkinson (Orca) 
The Sinking of Captain Otter by Troy Wilson, illus. by Maira Chiodi (Owlkids) 
Sleep, Sheep! by Kerry Sparrow, illus. by Guillaume Perreault (Kids Can Press) 
Small Things Make Me Happy by Doretta Groenendyk (Acorn Press) 
Una Huna: What is This? by Susan Aglukark, illus. by Danny Christopher and Amanda Sandland (Inhabit Media) 
Will Ladybug Hug? by Hilary Leung (Cartwheel Books) 
A World of Kindness from the Editors and Illustrators of Pajama Press (Pajama Press)>>> art from Rebecca Bender, Suzanne Del Rizzo, Brian Deines, Wallace Edwards Kin La Fave, Dean Griffiths, Manon Gauthier, François Thisdale and Tara Anderson

Fiction
The Case of the Berry Burglars by Liam O'Donnell, illus. byAurelie Grant (Owlkids)>>>West End Detectives Book 3 
Connect the Scott by Evan Munday (ECW Press)>>>fourth book in The Dead Kid Detective Agency series
Follow the Goose Butt to Nova Scotia by Odette Barr, Colleen Landry and Beth Weatherbee, illus. by Odette Barr (Nimbus) >>> sequel to Follow the Goose Butt
The Fox Wife by Beatrice Deer, illus. by DJ Herron (Inhabit Media)>>>graphic novel based on author's song Fox
The Great Googlini by Sara Cassidy, illus. by Charlene Chua (Orca)>>>Orca Echoes 
Isobel's Stanley Cup by Kristin Butcher (Crwth Press)  
Lark Takes a Bow by Natasha Deen, illus. by Marcus Cutler (Orca)>>>Orca Echoes  
Rescue in the Rockies by Rita Feutl (Coteau) 
The Ruined City: The Golden Mask by John Wilson (Orca)   
Seeing Red by Sarah Mlynowski (Scholastic)>>>Whatever After series, Book 12 
Swallow's Dance by Wendy Orr (Pajama Press) 
Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley  (HarperCollins)

Young Adult
Lost Boy by Shelley Hrdlitschka (Orca)>>>companion book to Sister Wife
Monsters by David A. Robertson (HighWater Press)>>>second book in The Reckoner series that began with Strangers
Murder at the St. Alice by Becky Citra (Coteau)
Rank 6: Firestorm by Barry McDivitt (Thistledown)
Under the Floorboard by Wendy Ranby (Nimbus)  
Worthy of Love by Andre Fenton (Lorimer)
You Are the Every Thing by Karen Rivers (Algonquin)

Non-Fiction
Animals Illustrated: Arctic Fox by William Flaherty, illus. by Sean Bigham (Inhabit Media)
The Birdman: A Journey with the Underground Railroad's Most Daring Abolitionist by Troon Harrison (Red Deer Press)
Birds from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick, illus. by Kwanchai Mariya (Kids Can Press)
Christmas: From Solstice to Santa by Nikki Tate and Dani Tate-Stratton (Orca>>>Orca Origins
Destination: Space by Dave Williams (Annick)>>>Dr. Dave - Astronaut series
Dive In!: Exploring Our Connection with The Ocean by Ann Eriksson (Orca)>>>Orca Footprints 
Do You Know Owls? by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar, illus. by Sampar (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)>>>newest titles in Do You Know...? graphic non-fiction series
Do You Know Piranhas? by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar, illus. by Sampar (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)>>>newest titles in Do You Know...? graphic non-fiction series
Dr. Jo: How Sarah Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America's Children by Monica Kulling, illus. by Julianna Swaney (Tundra)
Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That Changed the World by James Gladstone, illus. by Christy Lundy (Owlkids)
Flow, Spin, Grow: Looking for Patterns in Nature by Patchen Barss, illus. by Todd Stewart (Owlkids)
Growing Up in Wild Horse Canyon by Karen Autio, illus. by Loraine Kemp (Crwth Press)
Hubots: Real-World Robots Inspired by Humans by Helaine Becker, illus. by Alex Ries (Kids Can Press)
Too Young to Escape by Van Ho and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Pajama Press)
Wild Buildings and Bridges: Architecture Inspired by Nature by Etta Kaner, illus. by Carl Wiens (Kids Can Press) 

Picture Books and Board Books
Kiviuq and the Bee Woman by Noel McDermott, illus. by Toma Feizo Gas (Inhabit Media)
Our New Kittens by Theo Heras, illus. by Alice Carter (Pajama Press)
Owls are Good at Keeping Secrets by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Jacob Grant (Tundra)
Simonie and the Dance Contest by Gail Matthews, illus. by Ali Hinch (Inhabit Media)

Fiction
Flooded Earth by Mardi McConnochie (Pajama Press)
North to Benjamin by Alan Cumyn (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)
Penguin Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender (Pajama Press)>>>sequel to Slug Days
Putuguq and Kublu and the Qalupalik by Roselynn Akulukjuk and Danny Christopher, illus. by Astrid Arijanto (Inhabit Media)>>> sequel to easy graphic novel Putuguq and Kublu

Young Adult
Going Viral by Amy Alward (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)>>>final book in the Potion Diaries series
Legacy of Light by Sarah Raughley (Simon Pulse)>>>final book in the Effigies trilogy

Of course there will be hundreds more books coming out in 2019 but here's a handful to start anticipating:

The Afterward by E. K. Johnston (Dutton Books for Young Readers)

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena (Penguin Random House Canada)

A Box of Bones by Marina Cohen (Roaring Brook Press)

Moon Wishes by Patricia Storms and Guy Storms, illus. by Milan Pavlovic (Groundwood)

Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray by Jess Keating (Scholastic)>>>first book in a new middle-grade series called Genius Academy

Princess Puffybottom ... and Darryl by Susin Nielsen, illus. by Olivia Chin Mueller (Tundra)

What are You Doing, Benny? by Cary Fagan, illus. by Kady MacDonald Denton (Tundra)

Who is Tanksy? by Bev Katz (Orca)

The Ruinous Sweep: Q & A with author Tim Wynne-Jones, plus giveaway

The Ruinous Sweep

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones

Candlewick Press

978-0-7637-9745-7

400 pp.

Ages 14+

June 2018

Reviewed yesterday

Yesterday, I reviewed Tim Wynne-Jones's latest young adult thriller, The Ruinous Sweep.  Today, as part of a blog tour, I have the pleasure of posting a Q & A with the author about his book.

(Be sure to read to the end for details about a special giveaway.)

 

HK:  Much of The Ruinous Sweep reflects Dante’s Divine Comedy, from the title to Bee who mirrors Beatrice, keeper of divine knowledge, to the deadly sins including lust, anger and treachery, and the Inferno beasts of a lion and a leopard.  Was the initial premise for The Ruinous Sweep always based on Divine Comedy or was it secondary to the scary incident you mention in your Acknowledgements? 

TWJ: Wow! Somebody knows their Dante. The answer to your question is the latter of the two proposed. I didn’t think about Dante at all until I was a couple of chapters in. Suddenly, it occurred to me that the mysterious, moon-wet landscape Donovan found himself lost within, dazed and confused, was reminiscent of a very famous 14th Century epic poem. So, I started reading that classic again to see what my protagonist was likely to run into. For a brief moment I thought he’d follow Dante’s entire journey, but pretty soon it became obvious that twenty-first century Donovan had his own demons to vanquish and the two wanderers parted company. But it sure gave me a lift in the early going to fall back on that amazing story. Fiction, even when it seems unique and entirely new, usually builds, in one way or another, on what has gone before. There’s nothing new under the sun. Or under the moon, for that matter.


HK:  Do you believe readers need to have a background understanding of Divine Comedy to appreciate the fullness of the story of The Ruinous Sweep or do you hope The Ruinous Sweep will lead them to check out Dante’s epic work?

TWJ: Not at all. I think everybody knows a little something about that random, transitional world between worlds, where nothing quite makes sense but there is this pervasive, suspenseful feeling that at any moment anything might happen and everything will change for the better or worse! We’ve all experienced it, if only in our dreams.


HK:  For much of the book, the story is told in two voices: that of Donovan who is confused about what has happened and what is happening, and his girlfriend Bee as she deals with the aftermath of a horrifying night.  Usually when told in the voices of boyfriend and girlfriend, their perspectives come together in the end but not in The Ruinous Sweep.  Instead their perspectives become untangled when the mystery is solved.  Why did you keep the two separate for much of the book rather than blend them into a strong couple working together, even if separated by circumstances? (I don’t want to spoil the ending by giving away too much.)

TWJ: In the first draft, I wrote all of Donovan’s story first. It’s weird, because while I was locked into his story I couldn’t really see or imagine Bee. I only knew he was desperate to reach her and that, one way or another, she would be there for him. Then one of my sons sent me a video of the composer Ludovico Einaudi playing I Giorni (The Days) with the violinist Daniel Hope in a club in Stockholm. And there she was, Beatrice, all in shadows, just over the pianist’s shoulder.  (See the video here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54LgLNpW3KE) She looks kind of distracted as if she’s only half there or the sad and beautiful music is reminding her of something or someone. A journey all her own.


HK:  While many assume that the adage of actions having consequences usually refers to negative actions, like getting angry or dealing in criminal activity, some positive actions, like trying to not hurt someone’s feelings or to protect someone from potential harm, can also have dire consequences.  Is this something you believe needs to be recognized or was it merely an unintentional message in The Ruinous Sweep?

TWJ: This is such a great question. What I love about writing is that, for me, it’s always a learning experience. I never set out to write a book I know the ending of; I never write a book with an agenda; I set out to discover what effect will result from this or that cause. For example, Hamlet’s father’s ghost tells his son who murdered him. Go. It worked pretty well for Shakespeare. Once I start that ball rolling, all sorts of issues come up but I can only understand them in the context of my characters and what they are going through. Their motivation rules. I don’t want to put words in their mouths. Of course I do, but I try really, really hard not to make them mules for some message I might have to pass along. I set them loose in trying times and watch and learn. Sometimes I just have to shake my head at what they get up to, but then I turn the jets up higher, increase the stakes, and put them in even worse jeopardy. That’s how I come to learn what the story is really about. I often don’t know the theme of one of my novels until I read the reviews. Which might explain why I got such lousy marks in high school English.


HK:  There is a character in The Ruinous Sweep who has a unique ability to communicate with those at death’s door.  Do you believe in mediums and have you ever had a reading from one?

TWJ: I’m not sure what I think. I guess I’d have to waffle and say I definitely don’t not believe in mediums. Dante was led on his journey through Hell by the ancient Roman poet, Virgil. Donovan Turner gets himself a crusty farmer lady with a heart of gold named Jilly. There are just some trips you can’t make alone.


HK:  One thing I appreciate in your writing, whether middle grade or young adult, is that you give young readers much credibility.  You “talk up” to them, recognizing that their stories do not need to be simple for them to be understand.  How do you find the right balance of writing for youth without writing down to them?

TWJ: When I was a teenager I read adult books; there really wasn’t a genre that was labelled “young adult.” But in any case, I’ve always thought that if you’re reading a book that pulls you in, featuring characters you really care about, caught up in truly intriguing situations, you’ll figure out whatever you need to figure out in order to go along for the ride. I remember smiling when the Harry Potter books came out. There were all these experts who said adolescents couldn’t possibly read books that were that long. Hah! Rowling proved the “experts” wrong.  Kids who were so young they could barely even pick up The Order of the Phoenix read it in a weekend and remembered every significant detail. Honestly, I think young readers are often way better readers than adults, if they’re sufficiently engaged by the story. For one thing, their brains aren’t full of mortgages and back problems. I always tell my writing students not to ever underestimate a young reader. No spoon-feeding. No needless explaining. No sugar coating. Don’t dumb down the language. Feed a kid a delicious new word and let them figure out what it means from the context in which it’s used. All of us, adults and kids alike, skip over what we don’t quite grasp but if the journey is exciting enough, it doesn’t slow us down.


HK:  If there was one message which you’d like readers to take away from The Ruinous Sweep, what would it be?

TWJ: It may already be apparent that I don’t write messages into my books. But I know I learn things from writing them and I hope my reader learns stuff, too, although it might not be exactly what I learned. This journey began for me with a traumatic experience I needed to come to terms with. A violent experience that left me stunned and confused. As Sting says, “Nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could.” And I guess that song says at least one of the things I’d like my readers to understand: we must never forget how fragile we are. 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Many thanks
to author Tim Wynne-Jones
for responding to some probing questions with his honest answers
and
to book publicist Winston Stilwell
for arranging this Q & A.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •


BUT WAIT!


 WANT TO WIN AN AUDIO BOOK of THE RUINOUS SWEEP?

As part of the The Ruinous Sweep blog tour,  

Tim Wynne-Jones and his publicity team 

are offering an audio book of The Ruinous Sweep,
 read by the author himself.


Residents of Canada and the U.S. 

who would like to enter to win the audio book

just need to leave a comment below
(before noon (EST) on July 3, 2018) 

explaining why you'd like to listen to the audio book
of The Ruinous Sweep.
We'll do a random draw (using a random number generator)

and notify the winner via reply to their comment.

We look forward to reading your comments below.

The Ruinous Sweep

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones

Candlewick Press

978-0-7637-9745-7

400 pp.

Ages 14+

June 2018

You're a traveler in a land that is part memory, part dream, and with all vestiges of the kind of pain that only the living can feel.  (pg. 127)

Donovan Turner, 17, is a reluctant traveler but one just the same. He is everywhere and nowhere.  He is running away from his sleazy dad Allen, with whom he's supposed to stay while mom Trish and boyfriend Scott are off camping in Algonquin Park. He is hitchhiking in the rain. He's hallucinating, he is disoriented and nothing seems real.  But it's far too real.

As the reader accompanies Donovan from one precarious situation to another, the teen's confusion is palpable. He worries that he has caused an accident that kills a man with a briefcase full of money, which Donovan takes. He finds his way to a farm where he hides the money and discovers his bruised and bloodied father drinking and playing cards with two rough-looking men. How could that be? Donovan can't figure out what he did, if he's guilty of anything for which he is accused and all he wants to do is find a way to connect with his girlfriend Beatrice.

Bee too is trying to figure out the story but she's starting at it from the side of Donovan's hospital bed. The story she hears from the police is that Donovan was a victim of a hit and run just outside his home, but they're also investigating the death of Donovan's dad. Bee doesn't believe that Donovan killed his dad but the few murmurings from Donovan, which she records in her journal, have her determined to protect him and learn the truth herself.

While Donovan is navigating new worlds, trying to understand his circumstances, wondering if he is dead or can make things right, Bee is looking for the answers the police will not pursue. Allen was a reprehensible person whose actions "had landed him in a country tattered around the edges and peopled by all manner of fallen comrades: addicts and losers and barstool prophets; the let-down, it-wasn't-my fault crowd" (pg. 93) and Donovan intended to stop seeing him. But would Donovan take his own baseball bat to his father?

Tim Wynne-Jones knows how to tell a great story.  He has won two Governor General's Awards for English-language Children's Literature (Some of the Kinder Planets, 1993, and The Maestro, 1995) and his last three novels have been short-listed for that same notable award. Though his middle-grade fiction is unsurpassed for its empathetic characters and depth of plotting, I believe his young adult suspense novels (check out my review of Blink & Caution), to which we can add The Ruinous Sweep, are unparallelled in the complexity of their mysteries and magnitude of their stories.  The Ruinous Sweep is a layered and woven story of so many dimensions that the reader can be forgiven the need to pause. While Bee's story line is essentially one of progression from learning of Donovan's accident and solving the mystery, with the occasional memory of their dating, Donovan's is complicated. His story is a tragic one that goes backwards and forwards and sideways. It's one of anger, shock, violence, running from and to, and connecting.  He's in limbo and looking for salvation. 

Readers may recognize references to Dante's Divine Comedy throughout The Ruinous Sweep from characters including Beatrice, the Pagans, and the Virgil-like Jilly, and other attributes such as the deadly sins of wrath and greed.  While these references to Dante's epic work provide additional scope to Tim Wynne-Jones's story, they are not everything. The Ruinous Sweep is, in its lyrical telling and intricate mystery, as daring as YA just as Dante's work is as epic poem.

✜✜✜✜✜✜✜✜✜✜

Check back tomorrow for my interview with author Tim Wynne-Jones and an opportunity to win a free audio book edition of The Ruinous Sweep, read by Tim Wynne-Jones. This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents.

The Ruinous Sweep: Multiple Ontario book launches

Governor General Award winning author

Tim Wynne-Jones

is launching his newest young adult novel

The Ruinous Sweep

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones

Candlewick Press

978-0-7637-9745-7

400 pp.

Ages 14+

June 2018

at multiple launches in Ontario over the next few weeks.

Do take in at least one
and get your own copy signed by the author himself.


When and where are the launches?
⤋

June 26, 2018

7-9 p.m.

25One Community
251 Bank St. 2nd floor

Ottawa, ON

Details

••••••••••••••••••••••••

July 4, 2018

6-8 p.m.

Ben McNally Books

366 Bay St.

Toronto, ON

Details

••••••••••••••••••••••••

July 7, 2018

1- 3 p.m.

The Book Nook & Other Treasures
60 Gore Street East

Perth, ON

Details

••••••••••••••••••••••••

July 18, 2018

7 - 9 p.m.

Novel Idea

156 Princess Street

Kingston, ON

Details

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
We'll be doing lots here at CanLit for LittleCanadians to promote The Ruinous Sweep including:

• My review on Tuesday, June 26, 2018

• A Q & A with Tim Wynne-Jones on Wednesday, June 27, 2018

AND (here's the best part)

• a giveaway for a free audio book of The Ruinous Sweep, read by Tim Wynne-Jones. Just leave a comment on the Q & A post between June 27 and July 3 (noon EST) and we'll do a random draw and notify the winner via the comment reply. (Sorry, the giveaway is limited to residents of Canada and the US only.)

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Gordon: Bark to the Future!

A P.U.R.S.T. Adventure

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-409-4

72 pp.

Ages 7-10

May 2018

Gordon, the dog who first appeared in Ashley Spires's Binky Takes Charge (Kids Can Press, 2012) as a new recruit to P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), is now at the heart of his own adventure, and it's up to him to save the day.

From Gordon: Bark to the Future! by Ashley Spires

When the aliens (insects) attack in full force, the easily-distracted but tech-savvy canine is the only one of his team to escape to the lab behind the couch.  His only choice is to use his prototype device to send himself back five days earlier to stop the alien invasion before it begins.

But he must be careful not to change anything else.

If he changes the past too much, he could jeopardize the future, which is, technically, his present because he's in the past.

Holy Hair Balls, that's confusing. (pg. 17)

But Gordon soon realizes that he's gone back 5 years and Binky is but a kitten without space accreditation, Gracie (Binky's sidekick) doesn't live next door and Gordon hasn't even been born! Worse yet, his device is out of allofuzzium fuel. Contacting P.U.R.S.T., which is still the felines-only F.U.R.S.T., has the cats freaking out and abandoning headquarters.  It really is up to Gordon alone.

The past needs a poop scoop because this place stinks. (pg. 31)

Gordon makes it back but then realizes he has made a serious revision in the time continuum and must return to truly make things right.

From Gordon: Bark to the Future! by Ashley Spires

I've loved Binky since he appeared in his first adventure, Binky the Space Cat (Kids Can Press, 2009), and cherish every new adventure in his family of books.  Even with Binky only being a secondary character to Gordon's adventure in Gordon: Bark to the Future! (as also happened in Fluffy Strikes Back, Kids Can Press, 2016), the hilarity of pets striking out to save their humans charms even a steadfast cat-lover such as myself.  Gordon has spunk and brains, and even though his attention is sometimes lost to the need for play and food, he comes through with fun and invention. Ashley Spires always, always delights with her illustrations and stories. Look at Gordon in the illustration above trying to swing his way to the top of the roof, only to slide down the wall past the oblivious kitten that is Binky. The art is direct, effective and effusive with story and sensation.

The space pets of P.U.R.S.T. are still fighting those dastardly aliens and keeping their humans safe in Gordon: Bark to the Future! but, with time travel in their arsenal, it's a whole new world of fighting back. Good boy, Gordon!

Mallard, Mallard, Moose

Written and illustrated by Lori Doody

Running the Goat Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917-16-9

44 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2018

The title sounds like the game Duck-Duck-Goose but, although there are ducks and a goose, the hero of the story is a moose and this is no game. It's about finding a home.

From Mallard, Mallard, Moose by Lori Doody

A moose is wandering the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland. It happens. But, he's accompanied by two mallards who follow him everywhere. He's perplexed by their attentions and "It was beginning to put him in a foul mood." His wanderings are not aimless: he's looking for a new home for his ducks. But, like Goldilocks, somethings just don't fit. A park has swans that make the mallards nervous. The downtown has pigeons. The harbourside has seagulls and even a menacing chicken. Location after location don't seem to work for the ducks. Even the restaurant Mallard Cottage looks to have potential until they check out the menu which apparently highlights wild game. (Oh dear!) It's not until a goose, which Lori Doody identifies as a Graylag Goose, a Eurasian species that is only rarely found in North America, agrees "to take the mallards under his wing" that the moose know his quest is complete.

From Mallard, Mallard, Moose by Lori Doody

Like her previous picture books Capelin Weather and The Puffin Problem (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides,  2017), Lori Doody embeds the reader in a Newfoundland setting of hilly streets, buildings of colourful clapboard siding, shorelines, animals and whimsically-named businesses. Her art is the centrepiece of Mallard, Mallard, Moose though the story itself is charming and feasible. That's the thing with Mallard, Mallard, Moose.  You know the story could be true. Moose in Newfoundland? Yep. Mallards too? Yes. One species imprinting on another? It's happened. And the Graylag Goose, which extraordinarily was a resident of St. John's for ten years, probably encountered more than a few mallards. This could be their story, and Lori Doody makes it all the more authentic with her folksy fine art. The mixed media on paper allows her to emphasize the depth of colour and the simple lines of a St. John's landscape and transport readers to a storefront window or park bench to observe the goings-on. It's bold and humble and concrete and pragmatic, and it works so well.  I love the drama and the earthiness of the story and art in Mallard, Mallard, Moose and I expect and hope that we'll continue to see Newfoundland in Lori Doody's picture books in the future.