When I came online today, the first thing I saw were posts about the Ottawa Catholic School Board’s decision to limit access to the graphic novel Drama to kids in middle and high school only because a few parents were concerned that there is a same sex kiss depicted – and all the ahem drama the decision has caused. Naturally, I weighed in and several friends asked me for recommendations for books about LGBTQ+ families for kids of varying ages. So I’ve compiled a list – it’s not exhaustive or comprehensive and I’ve tried to include Canadian content where I could find it available, but it’s a starting point.
Word Wednesday – Break Time
I’ve been neglecting the blog a little recently, partly because I haven’t had a word that I wanted to write about and a couple of the other pieces percolating in my brain haven’t worked out and partly because I’ve been busy writing for other people and reading for myself. My little word book has been getting quite the work out as I work my way through the almost complete collection of Phryne Fisher Mysteries I managed to score at the thrift store I volunteer at. They were sitting on the shelf as a set and they were signing their siren song. In the face of that temptation, I was helpless to resist (especially with the deal we had going on paperback books that day) and they came home with me. I loved watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on Netflix / PBS and was delighted to find that the books are just as amazing as the show.
Book Review – No Relation by Terry Fallis
“What’s in a name?” Juliet famously queried. “That which we call a rose, would smell as sweet” were it called something else, she noted as she contemplated the trouble that was caused by her true love having the last name of her family’s sworn rival. In his latest novel, Terry Fallis has taken that question to the next level and the result is the hilariously funny No Relation
Book Review – Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
I’m a historian, and as such, I’m generally leery of reading historical fiction set in the time period I studied – World War One. Small inaccuracies can drive me crazy. Especially ones that I consider to be lazy – when the author didn’t do his or her research and messed up dates or places. Or when they have a character write a letter from France and their loved one in England gets it within days. That rarely happens now, it sure as heck didn’t happen with a war going on and mail being censored. [Read more…]
Book review – Juliet’s Nurse by Lois Leveen
The Roman Philosopher Marcus Aurelius said that: “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth”. This is true even of the greatest works of fiction. The stories we know and love come to us from one perspective – that which the author has chosen to give us. Major characters are (usually) well developed and minor characters are often not given a second thought by the reader. [Read more…]