Angel Square by Brian Doyle

Title: Angel Square

Author: Brian Doyle

Publish Date: September 2004

Publisher: Groundwood Books

Pages: 144pp

ISBN: 0888996098

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Historical Fiction/Realistic Fiction

Annotation: It’s 1945 in Ottawa. Tommy, AKA the Shadow, and a couple of his friends, Killer Bodnoff and CoCo Laframboise, are trying to figure out who attacked their friend, Sammy’s father who is Jewish.

Plot Summary: The year is 1945 and in Ottawa’s Lowertown, religion matters. Tommy, “the Shadow,” is best friends with Sammy, a Jewish boy. When Sammy’s father is assaulted, he is sent to Toronto to be hospitalized, taking Sammy with him till he recovers. This sets Tommy into detective mode to find out who assaulted Sammy’s father. To help the investigation, Tommy relies on two friends Killer Bodnoff and CoCo Laframboise. Tommy feels that if he finds the assailant, Sammy’s father will heal, thus bringing Sammy back to Ottawa. This also give’s Tommy a chance to impress Margot Lane, the girl of his dreams.

Personal Response: A heartbreaking story told with humor and intrigue. I felt the violence of the religious warfare (set back in the 1940s) to be somewhat realistic and the message of tolerance to be apparent. Tommy is the books hero and is very likable, and to some extent relatable. Overall, I felt the story to be a sweet tale.

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Tolerance

Age Range: 9 through 13

Subjects: Mystery, Jewish, Bigotry, Friendship, Christmas, Prejudice, Detective, Mentally Handicap, Humorous, Relationships, Family Relationships, Hate Crime, Love, Victims, Religion, Catholic, Protestant, Tolerance, Historical

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Odd Man Out by Sarah Ellis

Title: Odd Man Out

Author: Sarah Ellis

Publish Date: February 2008

Publisher: Groundwood Books

Pages: 162pp

ISBN: 0888997035

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: When Kip’s mother remarries, he is sent to stay with his grandmother for the summer, along with five of his girl cousins. During his stay, Kip finds a notebook made by his late father when he was a teenager, things begin to change as Kip becomes entranced by the story as it leads him to self discovery.

Plot Summary: While Kip’s mother vacations on her honeymoon, he is sent away for the summer to stay with his Grandma and five girl cousins. At first, Kip finds himself struggling to find his place as he is not used to being around a spirited group of girls, and so he spends a lot of time in his attic bedroom where he discovers a notebook his late father had kept as a teen. As he begins to read the notebook, he becomes engrossed by the story, in which leads Kip to learning about his past, present, and what the future might hold.

Personal Response: An insightful story about the growing pains of an almost teenage boy, Kip. As the protagonist, Kip is easy to identify with, along with the additional characters consisting of the five girl cousins –although we don’t get too much depth of their views as we stay with Kip throughout the entire novel. The illustrations within the novel are detailed pertinent to the story.

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Growing up and accepting change.

Age Range: 9 through 13

Subjects: Deceased Father, Identity, Family, Coming of Age, Mental Illness, Grandmother, Mystery, Death, Remarriage, Acceptance, Change, Fitting In, Mental Illness

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On Wings of Evil by Cora Taylor

Title: On Wings of Evil

Author: Cora Taylor

Publish Date: June 2005

Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Limited

Pages: 250pp

ISBN: 1550419293

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Annotation: This sequel to On Wings of a Dragon continues the story of heroin Kour'el, the bird girl, and Api'Naga, her great dragon, who have returned to their homeland.

Plot Summary: In this sequel to On Wings of a Dragon, Kour’el is back at her homeland with her trusty dragon, Api’Naga. With them, they have brought back the new Queen Galea. As the Queen takes her throne, she faces a new evil in her land, thus requiring the help of Kour’el and Api’Naga. The evil Queen Mariah has come back in a new form with assassination attempts on Queen Galea. On top of that there seems to be a strange black and white bird that is the focal point for evil against the throne.

Personal Response: In order to fully understand this novel, the reader must read the first installment to the series, On Wings of a Dragon (2001). Taylor writes vivid descriptions and creates interesting events with adequate twists, although sometimes too predictable. With parallel plots, the reader must stay closely in-tune to not only follow the storyline but to fully appreciate what Taylor has created. This fairly tale/fantasy follows the traditional guidelines of good verses evil. Kour’el is an interesting character (and great inspiration) for girls as she went from maiden-in-distress to heroin!

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Good verses Evil.

Age Range: 9 and up

Subjects: Fantasy, Fantasy Heroin, Dragons, Good vs. Evil, Medievil, Historical, Adventure, Mystery, Magic

Series:

On Wings of Evil (2005)

On Wings of a Dragon (2001)

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