National Network for Equitable Library Service

Cheap Thrills takes place over the course of a single weekend, beginning with the incessantly stoned Ethan and his roommate Phil discovering the body of their weed dealer in a Vancouver alley alongside a box of porno magazines and crime noir paperbacks. Tasked by his eccentric boss with locating the money the dealer had been carrying, gang member Wynne Duncan is led to the two roommates. But things don't add up-for anybody. Cheap Thrills is about Vancouver, weed, lust, crime stories, a missing bag of money, an American conspiracy to invade Canada, and the death of a drug smuggler.

Even though she only left Mumbai a few months ago, Shivani isn't feeling like such an outsider anymore. She likes her new school. She finally has a best friend. But when her mother volunteers for the school's annual fundraiser, Shivani is sure she will completely embarrass her. Especially if she cooks one of the "stinky" dishes that Shivani loves but is too ashamed to eat in front of her friends. On the day of the fair, the moment Shivani walks into the gym she knows her worst fears have come true: the unmistakable scent of Indian spices is in the air.

In the gay community, a young, husky man is known as a "cub" Seventeen-year-old Theo fits the definition perfectly, but he is very self-conscious about his body. So when his best friend signs him up for a cooking competition at Heat, the city's newest trendy restaurant, Theo is nervous. He's confident in his baking ability, and dreams of opening his own bakery one day, but he's not a chef, and he hates being in the spotlight.

There Are Victories is a proto-feminist, anti-Bildungsroman that explores the intersections of misogyny, class, religion, and prejudice within upper class Anglo-Montreal and New York City society before, during, and after WWI. Originally published in 1933, There Are Victories takes up the catastrophe of the home front and the ways in which the life-and happiness-of the novel's protagonist, Ruth Courtney, is continually undermined by the bad behaviour of men. This new edition will feature an introduction by Johanna Skibsrud.

It is 1945, and thirteen-year-old Gwen has been a prisoner at the Weihsien Internment Camp in northern China for nearly two and a half years. Gwen is one of 140 children who were enrolled at a boarding school in Chefoo when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded China. Life in the camp is difficult. There is not enough food or water, and even the children are forced to do hard labor. But Miss E., one of their teachers from Chefoo, has come up with an unusual scheme: she will follow the Girl Guide Code, treating Gwen and her friends as if they are part of a Girl Guide troop.

Toronto restauranteur and bookshop owner Henry Royce devotes most of his time and energy to running his quirky store and perfecting its collection of rare and used books. But when a body turns up in Crime Fiction and a semi-rare book titled Stylus of Death mysteriously disappears from the stacks near the victim, Royce is suddenly catapulted into the action-packed world of police and private investigators.

Fourteen-year-old Iggy comes from a famous family. Well, sort of. His dad directs a cheesy sci-fi Web series, his mom writes for it, and his sister has a successful YouTube channel. Iggy doesn't have the acting bug, so he feels like an outsider. Wanting to prove himself, Iggy starts his own podcast about what interests him: insects. But it's not until Iggy embarrasses his famous sister on air that his podcast really takes off. He's thrilled with his own success, until she fires back. Now it's all-out war.

Kate, a somewhat clumsy widow of thirty-two, flees her stifling hometown on Vancouver Island to live alone on an even smaller island in the Salish Sea. In so doing, she has vague expectations of solace and sanctuary, despite past experience. Instead she meets Ivy, a woman who through their conversations transports her to the intoxicating world of 1926 Cuba.

Life as an ethical vampire isn't easy for Amber Fang. First, she has to track down and eat a murderer every month. Second, her mother is imprisoned in a bunker controlled by ZARC, a multinational arms dealer. Third, her fellow vampires are hot on her trail, bent on ridding the world of scrupulous bloodsuckers. And then there's Dermot, the handsome secret agent who hired her as an assassin in the first place and who has promised to help her rescue her mother. Amber can't decide if she should kiss him or kill him.

Zack Bernard has a thing for crime shows, especially the forensic-investigation kind. So when his friend Ella goes missing, Zack can't help piecing together what he thinks is concrete evidence that could lead to her whereabouts. The problem is, it's all pointing toward his dad. He knows his dad is lying about not having seen Ella because Zack saw them together at the mall the day she disappeared. What he doesn't know is why.