"Who owns my life?" Sue Rodriguez was dying of a form of ALS (or Lou Gehrig's disease) when she asked this question of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993. She was fighting for the right to a physician-assisted death before she became fully paralyzed. At the time, assisted suicide could result in jail time for the participating physician. In a narr …

Clara Hughes has won multiple medals in both summer and winter Olympic Games. As a cyclist and speed skater, Clara pushed through pain to get to the finish line, trying to have her best race every day. Few knew that the same determination and focus were also needed to fight her own personal battles. Abusing drugs and alcohol from her early teens, C …

After a girl she knows from school goes missing and is found dead in the Red River, Feather is shocked when the police write it off as a suicide. Then, it's Feather's best friend, Mia, who vanishes but Mia's mom and abusive stepfather paint Mia as a frequent runaway, so the authorities won't investigate her disappearance either. Everyone knows that …

Olivia is living a double life -- high-school student by day, drummer by night. Olivia doesn't know when hanging out in clubs and drinking to appear older and enjoy the music scene became a habit, but she finds herself hungover at school and sneaking alcohol at home. Her bandmates Eddie and Lucas think she is older, and Olivia keeps up the pretence …

In 1991, nineteen-year-old Tammy Marquardt gave birth to a baby boy, Kenneth. Two years later he was dead. Tammy was convicted of his murder and sent to prison for life. Her conviction hinged largely on the evidence given by Dr. Charles Smith, the pediatric forensic pathologist at Toronto's famed Hospital for Sick Children. At the time, Dr. Smith w …

Most Canadians know that Stephen Harper has had a tremendous impact on the country since becoming prime minister in 2006. But few have the in-depth knowledge of how far his transformation has gone -- what has already been done, and what the consequences will be in the future.

This book brings together Canadian experts in a wide variety of areas. The …

After more than seven decades, the United Nations embodies humanity's hopes for peace, security, social justice, human rights, equality for women, and a voice for all. At the same time, it's where the conflicts and tensions amongst the governments and peoples of the world are often expressed.

Douglas Roche -- who has spent his lifetime in the cause …

A Piece of Forever begins where Catching Forever ended, with the story of Rose and her experiences being of Mennonite faith in a public school. In A Piece of Forever, Rose is forced to address the issue of warfare, and to examine her own feelings about violence and peace for the upcoming Remembrance Day assembly. While doing research for a school p …

It's awkward enough for any kid going to a new school, but Rose, whose family belongs to a Mennonite community, feels even more out of place. Then, one day, she picks up a baseball.

Inspired by her own childhood memories, Laurel Dee Gugler paints a touching portrait of a young girl throwing herself into a new game and fresh possibilities.

Family violence is hard for most people to understand. The fact that we are more likely to be killed or assaulted by family members than anyone else seems incredible. Yet for many Canadians the family is a dangerous place, far from the haven of love and security that we would like to believe.

In this book, sociologists Julianne Momirov and Ann Duffy …

A world without war: this is the vision that Douglas Roche has pursued for decades. A long-time Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament, Canadian ambassador for disarmament, and later a senator, Roche has been in the thick of international affairs for more than forty years.

Though few of us realize it, today the world is more peaceful than in …

For the first time, here's a no-holds-barred inside account of life for criminal gang members in cities and towns across Canada.

Mark Totten has slowly gained the confidence of gang members in many Canadian cities and small towns, and he knows enough to get the real goods from these men and women. In this book he tells the life stories -- so far -- …

More than 250,000 courageous men and women were enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. These Canadians fought valiantly in every major air operation from the Battle of Britain to the bombing of Germany. Thousands lost their lives. Those who survived to tell their stories were forever changed. Here are some of their incredible …

This is a lively, readable, and informative account of life in Moscow by the wife of a Canadian military attach� who witnessed the last days of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War

Janice Cowan was trained by the Canadian government for her role in Moscow. She and her husband went to spy school in Canada to learn how to gather intelligenc …

Gina is the kind of girl who works hard to keep up her appearance -- not just her hair and makeup, but going so far as breast-enhancement surgery and regular diet pills. When tall, athletic, good-looking Colter wants to be her boyfriend, Gina jumps at the chance. She thinks they'll be the perfect couple and ignores the warning signs that things are …

Canadian women have been conquering mountains for more than 100 years. The early pioneers set the standard for the women who followed. This group of extraordinary women include the founder of the Alpine Club of Canada and the first North American woman to summit Everest. These women were all strong and determined, and shared a love of adventure.

Mel's best friend Dustin is her dream guy, but she lost her chance with him last year and now he's seeing someone else. Enter Colter, the handsome new guy in school who is definitely interested in her. It's just the thing Mel needs to get her mind off Dustin. Before Mel realizes it, she's spending almost every waking moment with Colter, even skippi …

Tara's life in Halifax is about as good as it gets--she gets top marks in her class, her parents are cool, she has a good part-time job, her boyfriend Ron edits an alternative paper.

Her life is especially good compared to her friend Janet's. Janet fights with her parents whenever she sees them, which isn't often. She spends more time begging for ch …

Between showing the award-winning jumper Mirror Glider, working at South Hills Stables, and washing dishes in her dad's South Asian family restaurant, thirteen-year-old Dev Rani doesn't always have a lot of time left for homework or a social life. But when Mirror Glider has an accident and is forced to retire, Dev is suddenly faced with a new probl …

This book offers a short, comprehensive history of post-war Canada. All the major events and developments in Canadian history are discussed: the evolution of the welfare state; the growth of economic domination by the United States; the halcyon days as a Middle Power; the Quiet Revolution; the First Nations' quest for autonomy; the flowering of Eng …

Abby and Sarah are as different as two sisters can be, but they get along well -- that is, until they join the same school basketball team. Older sister Abby is bound and determined that their team will win this season. But outgoing and carefree Sarah seems to treat practices as a chance to goof off with friends, when she bothers to show up at all. …

Caitlin Myers's greatest ambition is to be a star, and she can outshine anyone at her school. But then Lianne comes to town and starts to give Caitlin a run for her money, even getting top billing in the school play. So when Caitlin's offered a bit role as the bikini girl in a low-budget slasher flick, she ignores the warning bells (and her parents …

Skin Deep is a sincere and heart-felt look at a teenager's struggle to come to terms with her mother's mortality while struggling with her own ideas of beauty.
When her mother suddenly announces that she has breast cancer, Cori's world seems to end. Things that once seemed so important to her no longer matter -- it's hard to care if your hair is f …

"The feeling in space flight is like hanging by your heels...with all the blood rushing to your head. ...You feel as though you are at the top of a roller coaster when your stomach feels like it is going to lift off." - Dr. Roberta Bondar. This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: biography or space exploration. From t …

Between 1915 to 1940, the Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball Club ("the Grads") went from a small-city, girl's high school team to world champs with an unparalleled winning record. Sports journalist Richard Brignall tells the story of this talented upstart team, whose sportsmanship and unwavering determination inspired generations of female a …

Victor Malarek is known to most Canadians as a tough investigative journalist who is willing to delve into stories revealing the worst side of human nature. His previous books investigate the clients of prostitutes, and the women who break the hearts of Canadians whom they marry only to gain citizenship.

In this classic book, Malarek turns his inves …

An expert takes us inside the dark world of gangs in Canada.

Dr. Mark Totten has spent fifteen years learning all about these gangs and the young men and women who belong to them. He has interviewed over 500 gang members across the country, traced their lives from infancy to adulthood, and explored the roots of their involvement in crime and their r …

Toronto synchro swimmer Carrie Munroe is Podium Sports Academy's team flyer and the school's best prospect for making it at the upcoming Vegas tryouts -- fulfilling her dreams of being in a glitz-and-glamour professional show. Carrie feels there's only one thing holding her back -- the weekly poolside weigh-ins. Her coach agrees, and Carrie is put …

In 1931, a group of ten teenage girls from Preston (present-day Cambridge), Ontario, enlisted the help of the top women's sport journalists of the era, and the Preston Rivulettes hockey team was born. Within a decade the team became so good that no other team would dare to play against them. Yet the struggles these young women faced are ones that w …

Ever since Ariel's mom has been too sick to work they've been moving to progressively lower income neighbourhoods. Then they seem to hit rock bottom--Vancouver's downtown east side, Canada's poorest postal code. Here Ariel gets on the wrong side of a gang of tough girls at school after receiving unwanted attention from their boyfriends. Now she's s …

At the first-ever women's hockey world championships in 1990, Canada dressed its National Women's Team in pink. Offending many, the controversial decision nevertheless drew media and public attention to the series and subsequently registration in girls' hockey went up 40%. Lorna Schultz Nicholson offers an insider's look at the power behind the pin …

"'My arms were tired. My legs ached. My stomach hurt in one big awful pain and I couldn't get my breath. I wanted to quit. When it gets to your stomach, marathoners say, you're through.' Marilyn Bell was through - or so it seemed." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: sport, biography, or sports history. Marilyn B …

One of Canada's best-loved and most respected dancers, Karen Kain's rise to ballet stardom is an inspirational story of dedication and passion. Now a national treasure, Karen Kain brought Canadian dance to the world's stage in the 1970s. This is a story of artistry and ambition - the joys and the sacrifices of a prima ballerina.

"Blondin's daring and cool demeanour made him an instant celebrity - on one [tightrope crossing, he carried a small cook stove, stopped midway, fried up two omelettes, and lowered them to spectators aboard the Maid of the Mist." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: history, or adventure. From swimmers and jumpers, …

Agnes Macphail, Canada's first woman MP, is a heroine for our times: an accomplished politician, committed feminist and a complex, well-rounded human being.
A democratic populist who emerged politically during the post-World War One farmers' revolt, Macphail helped build the alliance that became the CCF, ending two-party domination of national pol …

In this book, sociology professor John F. Conway looks at families past, present and future and examines the changing nature of family. Figures from the first decade of the new millennium tell us that one marriage in two may well end in divorce. Conway considers the implications of divorce, the impact of social changes on men, women and children, a …

Zadie thinks she's tough and indestructible, like the superheroes she draws in her graphic novels. She'll fight any girl who dares to take her on, and she always wins -- until, one day, she loses. Beat up and riled up, she quickly gets her revenge and hospitalizes the next girl she challenges. Scared that this time she may have gone too far, Zadie …

From Canadian history come the stories of imposters. Meet the cross-dressing Isabel Gunn, disguised as fur-trapping "John Hubbisher." Read about a woman who posed successfully as Dr. James Barry, surgeon and early women's rights advocate. Follow the astonishing life of Archie Belaney, who convinced millions of people that he was Grey Owl, a First N …

"It was a dangerous time to be loyal to the Crown. The divisive war had pitted neighbour against neighbour and father against son." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: history, biography, and life as a Loyalist in the Maritimes. The life of young Christiana Margaret Davis, a Loyalist born in upstate New York, was …

The stories of Canadian women who challenged the establishment and paved the way for greater equality are compelling. From the mid 1800s to the 1920s when women had few civil rights in Canada, pioneering women activists made their presence strongly felt in political life and achieved important early gains. There were the Famous Five, now honoured …

At the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy consisted of just 13 warships and about 3000 permanent and reserve members. By the war's end, however, it had grown into the third largest navy in the world, with 365 warships and more than 100,000 personnel. The men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy came from all corners of Canada to figh …

Crimes of passion, brutal slayings, infanticide, and revenge: here are eight gruesome and often tragic stories of women accused of murder. Many are little known or long forgotten, such as Mary Osborn, the first woman to be hanged in Upper Canada, executed for poisoning her disappointing husband. Read about the crimes and subsequent trials of Mary a …

The 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada was a defining moment in Canadian history. It led to political and economic reforms, pushed forward the process of nationhood, and sparked a sense of patriotism. It was also a time of turbulence, uncertainty, and sacrifice. Rebels Against Tories in Upper Canada 1837 focuses on ordinary men and women who found them …

Devout and charismatic, Aimee Semple McPherson led millions in prayer. A pioneer in female travelling evangelism, McPherson was believed to possess a healing touch. Great masses of the sick and the burdened gathered from far and wide to hear her sermons and perhaps to be cured by the miracle worker. This is the story of one woman's extraordinary li …

"These dedicated men and women gave blood, sweat, and tears as their contribution - And now, it really happened, our beloved bird was in the air." - Ray Boone, A.V. Roe Canada employee. In the 1950s, A. V. Roe Canada was at the forefront of aviation development worldwide. After building one of the first jet airliners and completing production of Ca …

During the War of 1812, Canadian and British forces battled against the United States with great determination. Many of these soldiers displayed incredible bravery in the face of the enemy. The most legendary act, however, was performed by a civilian woman. This is the story of Laura Secord, a devoted wife and mother, who risked life and limb to wa …

Gwendoline Cramer was one of the 48,000 war brides transported to Canada by the Canadian government between 1942 and 1947. Many of them were escorted across the water and handed over to their husbands with nothing more than a handsake and a cookbook. Following her heart to rural Saskatchewan, Gwen felt like a fish out of water. She couldn't milk a …

During World War II, some of the most treacherous jobs were those performed by men and women located deep within enemy territory. Always in danger of being exposed and subjected to torture, imprisonment, and even death, their stories are chilling accounts of bravery and luck--and, in some cases, what happens when the luck runs out.

Forget social studies, math, and science -- this hilarious novel is about surviving some of the real problems tween girls face in the sixth grade. Honest and heartwarming, the story follows eleven-year-old Becky Lennox over the course of the school year as she figures out how to survive friendships, first crushes, embarrassing parents and annoying …

Raine has a family, good grades, best friends, and a boyfriend who loves her. But then anorexia takes over, and her life spirals out of control. Her efforts to hide her condition are finished when she collapses at a school dance. Although she's whisked away to treatment, Raine isn't ready to accept who she really is and get the help she desperately …