National Network for Equitable Library Service

Carl knows more than most how hard it can be to find one’s place in an imperfect world. Abandoned by his mother, scorned by his father, cuckolded by his wife, too tall, too naive, too unlucky, even the dogs are laughing behind his back.

Carl has one good thing going for him and that’s his friends. They’re generous with advice and lessons. Cyril is teaching him how to pass for a Newfoundlander. Edith’s got a woman’s eye on him. Norah is teaching him how to swim, row and to love again, and Henry’s got a plan sure to solve all Carl’s problems.

Nearing death, an old man laments his poor choice of a wife, and has orchestrated a situation where he will see his childhood love one last time. From these circumstances emerges Stella, a woman who grapples with her family ghosts as they reach across the generations. "The Seary Line" is a collage of interactions that explores the strength of a bloodline, and the often minute, but significant energies that propel a life forward.

Wrecked Upon This Shore is a bold new novel from Kate Story that follows and will build upon the success of her critically-acclaimed debut Blasted. At the novel's centre is Pearl Lewis: abused by her father at a young age, she is wild, charismatic, and damaged.The story moves back and forth in time. We follow Pearl through the eyes of her adult son Stephen, but also from the viewpoint of Mouse, the girl she befriends and falls in love with as a teenager. Mandy, christened Mouse by the seductive, aggressive Pearl, had a relatively sheltered upbringing in Newfoundland.

Levi Conley has spent his life making a hard living off the water. Fishing defines who he is. But after being betrayed by his business partners, who are also his brothers, he flees out west for the “big bucks” promised by work as an apprentice welder. The work is well-paid, as promised, but it is also hazardous. And there is the unexpected collaboration with Jon Smith, a young native and contemporary artist; Levi respects his craftsmanship but balks at his politics.

Following the curves of history in the first half of the twentieth century, Fall On Your Knees takes us from haunted Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, through the battle fields of World War One, to the emerging jazz scene of New York city and into the lives of four unforgettable sisters.

A novel about what happens when we view our neighbours as " The Other" and the transformative power of unlikely friendships, Our Daily Bread is inspired by the true story of the Goler Clan of Nova Scotia. The Erskine Clan, long shunned by the people of Gideon, live in secrecy and isolation on North Mountain. For generations, the clan's children have suffered unspeakable acts of abuse, incest and psychological torture. The intolerant, self-righteous Gideonites decline to intervene, believing their neighbours to be beyond salvation.

'How did it end up like this? Twenty-seven, unemployed, mistaken for a drug addict, in a treatment centre in the back arse of nowhere with an empty Valium bottle in my knickers . . .' Meet Rachel Walsh. She's been living it up in New York City, spending her nights talking her way into glamorous parties before heading home in the early hours to her hot boyfriend Luke. But her sensible older sister showing up and sending her off to actual rehab wasn't quite part of her plan.

Sophie Kinsella's debut is a rollicking romp through the perils of shopping and spending, spending, spending! Becky can't resist a sale, and she's only a little overdrawn on her VISA. Besides, that new scarf is just too cute to pass up. Readers will laugh aloud at Becky's retail adventures as she finds new and creative ways to relieve her increasingly burdensome credit card debt. Emily Gray's narration bounces along with Becky and her buying whims, while delivering a humorous account of what happens when credit goes bad.

An original short story featuring Jemima, the main character from Green's beloved novel Jemima J, and Cat, the main character from her novel Summer Secrets. Fans of these popular characters will be delighted to see them sharing the pages of Green's engrossing short story.

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living? Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can't help but feel she's right back where she started. Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life.