Gabrielle Rougeby Maureen UlrichPublished by Flatlands PressReview by Sally Meadows$21.99 ISBN 9781778296505 Full confession: alternate historical fantasy novels for young adults is not a genre I typically reach for. But when the opportunity came up to review Maureen Ulrich’s Gabrielle Rouge (Book 2 in the Winds of Change series), I jumped at it after reviewing and enjoying her middle years’ book Kimeto’s Journey, about an 11-year-old African boy who has an extraordinary adventure. The fact that Ulrich has published in multiple genres, for different age groups, attests to her skills as a writer, and I, as a reader, am all in on her writing journey. At the beginning of Gabrielle Rouge, 16-year-old, flame-haired Gabrielle is returning home from the riots in Andwarf. Accompanied by Thomas, the young blacksmith who has pledged to serve her as the prospective incoming leader of the town of Lille after the untimely death of her war-hero father, and with her brother out of the picture, Gabrielle will need all the support she can get. It doesn’t take long for our female protagonist to declare her intentions to the townspeople; and just as quickly, she is met with both quiet and outright opposition. The remainder of…

Fireboyby Edward WillettPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$22.99 ISBN 9781998273423 There are several things I can count on each time I open a book for young readers by Regina author Edward Willett: the story will be technically well-written; the characters credible and clever; and whatever weird, fantastical situations the young cast finds themselves in, there’s bound to be laughs along the way. In short, I know I’ll be impressed. Fireboy is the Aurora Award-winning author and publisher’s latest title, and with this blaze-paced novel it’s clear that Willett’s lost none of his … fire. The story’s told by thirteen-year-old Samantha “Sam” MacReady, who missed out on her Grade 7 overnight field trip (“a camping-trip-and-astronomy-adventure”) in May and thus was spared when her fellow “Limberpine,” Alberta classmates were involved in a tragic school bus accident. The bus was driven by Grade 7 science teacher Dr. Ballard, and he and a single student—loner Meg, from the wrong side of the tracks—were the sole survivors. The remaining nineteen students mysteriously vanished, and no one can say for sure what even caused the bus to flip on its side. After the news crews left the small town folks alone and “The rest…

Soulworm by Edward WillettPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$22.99 ISBN 9781989398807 I missed it the first time, but what’s old is new again—Aurora Award-winning author Edward Willett’s YA fantasy novel, Soulworm, has been auspiciously re-released. What a treat to read the book that launched the prolific Regina writer’s impressive career in 1997, especially as I’ve so enjoyed his subsequent books. And prolific is an understatement: the heralded author, publisher, podcaster, actor and singer has written more than sixty books, including science fiction and nonfiction titles. The opening scene of Willett’s new and revised edition immediately pulled this reader in: it’s 1984, near Weyburn, SK, and seven paragraphs into the story, three teens are in a horrific car accident. After the “car rolled six times in a welter of mud and water, tortured metal, and breaking glass,” it landed upright, and, hauntingly, Van Halen was still “blasting, the thump of the bass like a club pounding the ground.” Exceptional writing. And that’s what one can expect from this seasoned writer, all the way through this adrenaline-charged tale. The story’s simultaneously old-school otherworldly—complete with torches, a tower and drawbridge—and rooted in Earthly details. Sixteen-year-old Liothel is an “Acolyte” in…

Over the Dragon’s Wallby Alanna VanePublished by Cold Blue PressReview by Kelli Worton$15.99 ISBN 9781738023325 Book One in the Children of Koshluk series, Over the Dragon’s Wall is a tremendous surprise of a book. In it, we are introduced to 13-year-old Sage, who lives in the woods outside a small village in Koshluk with her mother, father, and two younger siblings, Violet and Wren. Here, they live a simple life. Sage’s mother is a musician, and often sings and plays the violin for the family; Sage’s father makes furniture, and while they don’t have a lot, they have a home filled with love and warmth. This ends when Sage’s mother dies. Overwhelmed by grief, Sage’s father is unable to take care of even the children’s most basic needs. He finally abandons them, leaving Sage responsible for her siblings, and thrusting them into a tenuous, uncertain future. Then one day, Sage finds a picture of a dragon named Nytari, who is said to be the Guardian of Fate. Searching for a way to keep her siblings together and hoping to appeal to Nytari to change her fate, Sage undertakes a journey to find him. A gate to a mysterious world where…

Gabrielle and the Rebelsby Maureen UlrichPublished by Flatlands PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $21.99 ISBN 9781778296536 Lampman-based Maureen Ulrich, author of the much-loved Jessie Mac Hockey Series, has crafted a new series, Winds of Change. It is a fantastical coming of age story. What a wild ride readers are in for! I love the premise of Gabrielle and the Rebels, the first book in the Winds of Change series. Travel back to a time a few centuries ago, throw technology in the mix, and see what happens. From page one, this was a fun read. I found it categorized in many ways – fiction, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, and alternate history, among others – but for me the only important category is “must read.”   With such a unique storyline, I was intrigued as to how Ulrich came up with the idea for Gabrielle and the Rebels. This is what she had to say: “The concept of the book actually came from a popular Lloyd Alexander series called Westmark, which utilized alternative history/historical fantasy, colourful characters, and NO magic. Real life problems aren’t solved with a magical wand or ring, but through human interactions and technology. That’s my goal. This series has been on my desktop in various forms…

The Stones Will Singby Alanna VanePublished by Cold Blue PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $12.72 ISBN 9781738023301 The premise of The Stones Will Sing seems to be the question of whether music can be a life-changing force. It is a quirky yet fascinating topic to delve into, wrapped inside a fantastical tale of adventure.  The novel opens as the king of the country of Koshluk goes rampant on a quest to quash all the arts. Included in his declarations is that musical instruments are illegal and anyone caught singing will have their larynx removed. You can imagine the chaos that ensues when these rules (among others involving books, theater, etc.) are made known.  On one hand, you have Prince Ash, the second son of King Marcus of Koshluk, who is on a mission to protect the people of his country and their freedoms. Then there is Cedar, a woman who’s drawn to music with an inexplicable force. The duo embark on a journey, both carrying their provisions but also the weight of their secrets. For example, Cedar has no clue that Ash is a prince. Ash’s brother, James, is weaved through the tale as well as many other characters that keep things interesting…

The Legend of Sarahby Leslie GadallahPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $24.95 ISBN 9781989398494 The Legend of Sarah was first published in 1988 under the title Lore Master. It has now been republished in this third edition by Shadowpaw Press Reprise based out of Regina. Myself and anyone else smart enough to grab a copy of The Legend of Sarah will be grateful that it was chosen for republication. A few minor references were changed to make them more up to date but the novel is otherwise unchanged. The Legend of Sarah is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. The title character is a 14-year-old who lives a rough life. Sarah survives on the streets of the fictional town of Monn, rigorously trying to avoid trouble. A storyteller she regularly encounters weaves formidable tales, unknowingly providing inspiration for Sarah to aim for a better life. But of course things are never simple. She gets caught up in the crossfire of numerous evil and negative forces that aim to muscle their way into her world, trying to pull Sarah to a darker side. Boiled down, she is trapped between two cultures.  Sarah is an interesting character. She is a tenacious young thing, working hard every day…

The Amnesia Projectby Payton ToddPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.99 ISBN 9781990863264 Keeping journals and writing poetry are common practices among teens, and I commend them for documenting their lives, even if no one else ever sees the writing. Some of our most exciting and/or trying experiences may occur during adolescence, and writing’s good therapy. What’s highly uncommon, however, is for a teenaged writer to have a book published, and for that book to be a 302-paged, young adult sci-fi novel with a large cast of well-developed characters, a complex and dynamic plot, and a satisfying conclusion. Enter Payton Todd and The Amnesia Project. At age fifteen, the avid writer and student from Wood Mountain, SK won the Wood Dragon Books’ Young Author Competition. After working with publisher Jeanne Martinson on successive edits, the attractive, action-filled novel was released. In an interview with moosejawtoday.com, Martinson said “Wood Dragon worked around Payton’s school schedule, and she lives on a [cattle] ranch, too, so she has a lot of chores and obligations. We’re really proud of this book …” The futuristic novel centres around seventeen-year-old Kole Danvers, who finds himself assigned a new name and position—Beta 9X—at the Pacific…

Daughter of Earth: Book Four of the Leather Book Talesby Regine HaenselPublished by Serimuse BooksReview by Toby A. Welch$14.95 ISBN 9780993903236 Fantasy books are so hit and miss for me. I either love or hate the world that the author created and I am thrust into. In the case of Daughter of Earth, I love where author Haensel’s creativity took her. The world that revolves around Alizarine and Samel kept me sucked in, eager to keep flipping the pages. As the title points out, this is book four in The Leather Book Tales set. The author best explains this book collection: “The Leather Book Tales is a fantasy set in western North America. Four powers – fire, water, air, and earth – reveal themselves in four young people, triggered and enhanced by a pair of silver bracelets. The young people’s abilities increase as they overcome challenges and collaborate against forces that oppose and threaten them. The Leather Book holds old and tangled tales that connect with what is happening to them, but the stories don’t reveal all that is behind the events. The young people face risks, not only for themselves but also for the world and its people.” A huge bonus…

The Ghosts of Spiritwoodby Martine Noël-MawPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$17.99 ISBN 9781989398623 I’ve always loved a good ghost story, and Saskatchewan writer Martine Noël-Maw gives us ghost stories inside a ghost story in her YA novel The Ghosts of Spiritwood. First published in 2010 in French, the book’s now available in English thanks to Shadowpaw Press Reprise, and I’m so pleased. The novel was inspired by Grade 8 French Immersion students at Elsie Mironuck School in Regina, where Noël-Maw conducted six writing workshops. The author’s work’s been recognized with two Saskatchewan Book Awards, and she clearly knows how to write well, beginning with this novel’s opening paragraph: “I still have nightmares about the events that took place in that abandoned country school near Spiritwood. I’d seen disembodied spirits before but never like those.” That’s a grabber. We immediately learn that our First Person narrator is seventeen-year-old Ethan, the son of a Regina psychologist. Ethan and his classmates were to go camping in Spiritwood where they’d “watch the northern lights,” but rather than taking the bus with the others, Ethan and twins John and Reggie, plus Ethan’s crush Alex(andra) and whiny Britney had to leave the city…