Bullied at school and ignored at home, Travis has a secret: cutting himself with a razor blade is the only thing that lets him control the pain in his life and find some peace. When he becomes friends with Chyvonne, a new girl at school, he doesn't know how to get close to her without revealing his secret and making himself even more vulnerable. Sp …

Toronto was Boomtown in the 1960s. The city was growing quickly, gobbling up farmland for suburbs, pushing through expressways, knocking down neighbourhoods to make way for high-rise apartments.
With the rapidly growing population, there was huge demand for new housing. Toronto needed apartments, lots of them. It was a perfect market for a new kin …

Bush pilots haul cargo to remote reserves along the West Coast of Canada. They ferry big-game hunters to base camps and fly-in fishermen to remote lodges. They take nature photographers to scenic vistas and archaeological explorers to their latest dig.
Bush pilots and the planes they have flown are an exciting part of Canada's aviation history. In …

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 …

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 -- …

Dave Davidson's heart is in the right place. He believes it's his mission to cure his friends of their fears. But his solutions are hare-brained at best and often come with unintended and hilarious consequences. Afraid of dancing at the school dance? Dave's got ways to fix that: sprain an ankle, eat expired food to get sick, or even get yourself s …

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 history of black major league baseball players and the crumbling of the colour barrier in sport, and the story of how Fergie Jenkins rose to the top to become Canada's first inductee into the American Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fergie Jenkins grew up in the era when Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball, and …

Cale Finch has just won second place in a skateboarding competition when he's ambushed on his way home by a member of a rival crew, the Mental Posse. They steal the money that Cale was going to use to replace his broken skateboard. Cale feels embarrassed by what happened, so he doesn't tell anyone right away.
Eventually, Mark Skinner, an older skat …

Cale Finch's plans for Spring Break? EAT, SLEEP, SKATE.

Cale's determined that this time he'll successfully ollie the set of seven stairs that mark initiation into the Seven Stair Crew, a group of older, junior-high skaters. But Cale soon finds that not all local skaters are welcoming to grommets (new skaters) like him. He has to find his voice, lea …

In the early morning of August 19, 1942, over five thousand Canadian troops landed on the beach at Dieppe to reclaim the shore from German troops occupying France. It was a mission doomed from the start. Mere hours later, over two-thirds of the men were dead, wounded, or taken prisoner by German forces. It was the worst disaster in Canadian militar …

Gavin and his friends Mido and Critter are starting high school this year, which means moving from a school with a championship-winning soccer team to a school that doesn't have a team at all. With a little encouragement from his friends and granddad, a former "footballer" from England, Gavin musters up his courage and makes a deal with the school …

Takeo Nakano immigrated to Canada from Japan in 1920, later marrying and starting a family in his adopted homeland. Takeo's passion was poetry, and he cultivated the exquisite form known as tanka.

Then came the Second World War. Takeo Nakano was one of thousands of Japanese men forcibly separated from his family in 1942 and interned in labour camps …

Of all Podium Sports Academy's attackmen, Calgary native Nathan Moore stands the best chance of getting a lacrosse scholarship at a U.S. college. But at 5'10" and 125 lbs, Nathan's told by the scouts that he has some filling out to do before he can take the hard hits. Waiting for his body to catch up to his dreams isn't an option, so Nathan takes d …

Since Dexter's parents' death, he's been living with his aunt in her Scarborough apartment. Even though it's been two years, Dexter is still struggling to control his anger and so far the best way for him to do this is through sports. Then one day he snaps and attacks the pitcher during a baseball game, and Dex suddenly finds himself off the team. …

I dont see why I have to become this new person just because I like guys. Most of who I am has nothing to do with who I hump.

Will's never been obvious about being gay. Not like Daniel, who takes the heat -- and the beatings -- at Spencer High. But then Will's best friend outs him on Facebook, and his small-town life starts to spin out of control. I …

David dreams of soccer glory, and is willing to suffer hours of monotonous practice drills to achieve it. His asthma might slow him down a little, but he works every day to be a better player.
The coach of his Winnipeg team has a different formula for success: play the best players, and let the rest spend the season warming the bench. When the fi …

The soccer-mad gang from Brunswick Valley School featured in Robert Rayner's two previous books for this series is back, gathering every Saturday afternoon to play a friendly game against friends from a neighboring town. A well-meaning adult spots potential in some of the players and offers guidance, inspiring parents of the other side to get thei …

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 …

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 …

"Within hours of his arrival, Norman was taken to meet Chairman Mao Zedong. The smiling man grabbed Norman's hands in welcome....The two men talked for hours." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: history or biography. One of the world's top surgeons, an advocate of democratic medical services, and an internationa …

Jay Hirtle plays on the basketball team at Richmond Academy in a small rural Nova Scotian town. The team to beat is Centreville, where star player Mike Murphy is seen as Richmond's number one opponent. After the Hirtle house is destroyed by fire, Jay's family moves in with his grandfather and the kids must switch schools until the end of the school …

"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, …

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 …

Often little-known but extraordinary, the quiet heroes of one of the most destructive wars in history left indelible impressions among those whose lives were touched by their actions. Up against firing squads, torpedoes, rogue waves, P.O.W. camps, and all the living hells of warfare, they persevered, they saved lives, and they valiantly served thei …

Myths and legends abound with tales of giants and their feats of exceptional strength, witches and their powers of good and evil, and the miraculous abilities of healers and medicine men. The past comes alive in this selection of stories about extraordinary Canadians who have lived unusual lives.

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 …

Crazy Canucks recounts the trials and triumphs off the Canadian men's alpine ski team of the 1970s and early 1980s. Eric Zweig offers a behind-the-scenes look at this innovative team that dared to take risks other skiers were too afraid of. The team rose from obscurity to prominence on the European and North American ski circuits with Olympic medal …

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 …

"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 …

The human story behind Canada's worst chemical fire
"Why you leaving Stelco?" the friend asked the rookie firefighter.
"'Cause it's hot and dirty and I don't like shifts."
Enter the world of Hamilton's firefighters. Theirs is a smouldering, combustible workplace, and in the effort to save lives they routinely put their own on the line. They know t …

"I never saw his equal for true grit... He lay all day with his body torn and bleeding, and it was only at night when the stretcher bearers could approach the trench to get out the wounded that he was carried away, and then he went last." The history of Canada is filled with charismatic and talented military leaders. Each of the men featured in thi …

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.