National Network for Equitable Library Service

Short-listed for the 1998 Sheila A. Egoff Award for Children’s Literature and Geoffrey Bilson Award In his third young adult title, John Wilson takes on the rich territory of the 1845 Franklin expedition. Cabin boy David Young travels aboard the ill-fated vessel the HMS Erebus from London, England, en route to Canada’s frozen and uncharted north, and his adventures comes to a modern-day Dave Young in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in a series of dreams.

2009 Word Guild Award — Winner, Young Adult Fiction In the aftermath of the 1838 rebellion in Lower Canada, Sophie Mallory’s father is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in Australia. But there is no question about what Sophie should do: with her guardian, Lady Theodosia Thornleigh, and Luc Moriset, she sets sail for Sydney. She finds Australia an outside-down country. The water goes down the drain the opposite way, half the population are (or have been) convicts. In one notorious incident, her father, Benjamin, and the Canadian convicts arrest police.

Annie Berkley, a schoolmate of Shelby's who has appeared in previous books, lives in a foster home and has become depressed. Shelby is concerned and eventually wins over Annie's trust in order to find out what's bothering her. Annie's mother disappeared several years ago, leaving with her boyfriend when Annie was 8. she was never in touch with her daughter again. But now, the boyfriend has returned, saying that he lost touch with the mother and doesn't know what happened to her.

After a shipwreck in 1809, Peter finds himself the victim of amnesia. The sea captain who finds the teenager gives him the only name he knows, while others derisively dub him Peter No-Name. Eventually, Peter finds employment in a Montreal tavern where he meets a French voyageur called Boulard who changes his life irrevocably. Boulard works for fur trader David Thompson, soon to become one of the world's most famous explorers and mapmakers.

Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens When Logan Kemp hurls himself into a rugby scrum one morning, he has no idea that by afternoon he’ll be fighting for his life. Worse, the only other patient on his ward is a troubled girl named Cleo who may not be hospitalized just for a broken wrist. When all he wants is his regular life back, the thought of Cleo throwing away her own leaves Logan determined to change her mind. Cleopatra Jones wants to design the perfect life; a teenage boy and a few well-meaning health professionals are not going to stand in her way.

Short-listed for the 2006 Red Maple Award Tom Blake is a likeable but shy high school student, who fantasizes about adventure, romance, and discovering "portholes" to the past. Little does he know that all are about to come his way. Tom discovers that a local computer company is conditioning his fellow students for what he suspects is some evil purpose. He soon finds himself up against a corrupt organization with an agenda of genetic experimentation.

Fifteen-year-old Mackenzie Hill knows something is up when she arrives home to find her father making a home-cooked dinner, instead of his standard delivery pizza. But nothing prepares her for the bombshell announcement: Mackenzie and her dad, alone since the death of her mother a year ago, are moving to Jerusalem, where her father has taken a position as a visiting professor at a university.The adjustment from life in Canada to life in Israel is dramatic - though it’s eased somewhat when Mackenzie is befriended by an American girl in her new school.

2005 White Pine Award — Shortlisted 2004 IODE Violet Downey National Book Award — Shortlisted 2004 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice Selection There’s one other thing I should mention right off, which is that I’m fourteen years old and dying. (I guess that was two things, but the significance of one is sort of tied to the other, don’t you think?) Kate Benchworth is far from typical. Having been diagnosed with a brain tumour that could end her life at any time, she views the world with refreshing honesty and rare insight.

When Shelby Belgarden's peaceful hometown of Little River is shaken by a series of robberies, suspicion falls on Amber Chapman, a new girl in town who has alienated others with her standoffish attitude. Shelby's own dislike of the newcomer is fed by jealousy as she begins to suspect a relationship growing between Amber and Greg Taylor. But as evidence against Amber mounts, leading to her eventual arrest, new clues cause Shelby to question her own judgement.

Short-listed for the 2004 Rocky Mountain Book Award and for the 2003 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award and long-listed for the 2002 CBC Canada Reads People’s Choice Book Kataryna Baliuk, a gifted fine arts student, is hoping to have a fresh start at Cawthra School for the Arts after a less-than-successful year at the neighbouring Catholic high school. But her hopes for a peaceful Grade 10 are shattered when she comes home from her first day at Cawthra and finds the RCMP interrogating her grandfather, Danylo Feschuk.