Fight for Justice by Lori Saigeon Published by Coteau Books Review by Shanna Mann $7.95 ISBN 978-1-55050-405-7 Fight for Justice, a middle years novel by Regina author and inner-city elementary teacher Lori Saigeon, is unique in giving authentic voice to bullying in urban schools and vividly portraying bullying behavior as a precursor for gang involvement. It was easy to sympathize with Justice’s motivations; his machismo, his responsibility as man of the house and his need to protect his twin sister Charity. Students and adults will identify with his slippery slope of bad decisions that leads to his isolation from the protection of adults and further vulnerability to the bullies. But Justice isn’t stupid. He asks for advice, he studies the adults around them and assesses their behavior. How will they react if he tells them about being bullied? Will they do something dumb (from his perspective) like simply tell Trey to stop it? With maturity and clarity, Justice assesses the people in his life and puts them into categories. Are they his allies, does he protect himself from them, or is he their protector? Lori Saigeon is deadly accurate in her portrayal of not only the instigation and escalation, but…

Eat Away Illness, Second Edition by Paulette Millis Published by Soul Food Publishing Review by Karen Lawson $47.50 ISBN 978-0-9683647-3-4 Here is a book that takes a common sense approach to nutrition. In today’s fast paced, fast food society, it is often difficult to maintain healthy eating habits. It is even harder to sort through the vast amount of information about nutrition that is available. Paulette Millis is a Registered Nutritional Consultant who has written a book that will appeal to everyone who wants to change the way that they eat. Eat Away Illness is a must have reference book that looks at ways to eat well and improve one’s health. It is chock full of valuable information and suggestions for anyone who wants to learn more about nutrition. The author has faced a variety of her own health issues, which was the impetus behind writing her book. The focus of Eat Away Illness is to make people aware of the importance of proper nutrition and how healthy foods can not only maintain and improve health, but also help to heal the body and mind. Eat Away Illness is much more than just a cookbook. All the recipes use healthy,…

“Family Christmas” by Fawn Nielsen Published by Hear My Heart Books Inc. Review by Andréa Ledding $14.99 978-0-9811367-0-7 This durable coil-bound book, described by the author as a “living journal”, provides a place for families to record family traditions, hopes, dreams, wishes, and even New Year’s Resolutions. Some pages are left blank with only a heading, while others contain lines for family members to write together what the holiday means to them, treasured moments, or memorable gifts. There are pages for planning, recipes, memories, and reflections on the past year. There are spaces to record highlights for both adult and children, and space to reflect on growth, regrets, and accomplishments. Some pages are set aside for family pictures, unique traditions, and even a page for small children to colour. It’s hard to write a review on a book which has yet to be written – each journal will be unique to the family which creates it, beginning with the first page in which they are invited to create an acrostic representing their family name. But it’s easy to imagine families filling out this book together over the holiday season, and being delighted to come across it every subsequent year, tucked…

About Jim and Me: a love story by Sally Crooks Published by Benchmark Press Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $14.95 ISBN 978-0-9813243-1-9 Are you interested in recording your personal history and preserving stories about the people and places that have enriched your life? Then perhaps, like Regina writer Sally Crooks, you should write a memoir. Life writing, as it’s sometimes called, has become increasingly popular, and workshops on the genre are frequently led by many of Saskatchewan’s veteran writers. Crooks’ 164-page memoir, About Jim and Me: a love story, traces the author’s experiences as a Scot who immigrated to Regina in 1965 with her beloved husband, Jim, a physiotherapist 16 years her senior – an age difference her family wasn’t pleased about. The book project, Crooks explains, began in 1997, six months after Jim’s death, and was 12 years in the making. The author’s no literary apprentice: she studied the craft at the Sage Hill Writing Experience; participated in writers’ colonies; and has been publishing poetry for years. As her book progressed, various segments appeared in journals, were heard on CBC Radio, and were recognized with Saskatchewan Writers Guild awards. In 2007, Crooks earned a John V. Hicks Manuscript Award….