The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson

There has been a huge shift in the world recently: women and girls are taking centre stage, their voices are being heard, their talents, strengths, and abilities recognised. Books, movies, and television are featuring strong female characters, such as Katniss from The Hunger Games, Diana Prince from Wonder Woman, and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.  

  

The heroine in Tyrell Johnson's The Wolves of Winter is no different. Gwendolynn (Lynn) McBride is a survivalist in a world laid to ruin from nuclear war and a pandemic flu. Lynn and her family eke out an existence in the cold and snowy Yukon, away from what's left of humankind and the clutches of disease. Lynn spends her days skillfully hunting with a bow and arrow, trapping animals, and remembering what life was like before. She is not afraid to speak her mind, or fight for what she feels is right. In my mind I picture Lynn like Ygritte, the wildling from Game of Thrones (she even has long red hair).

After seven years in the wilderness, Lynn is surprised to encounter a man named Jax and his dog, Wolf. She brings them home, never imagining the whirlwind that follows. Jax seems full of secrets and dangerous talents, and, when more strangers appear, things quickly spiral out of control. Lynn will find herself questioning everything and everyone she thought she knew.

This may be Johnson's first book but I feel he does an amazing job of making you feel like you can see what Lynn is seeing; the Yukon he describes is beautiful but also dangerous.  Johnson's apocalypse is believable: you only have to read newspaper headlines to feel afraid this book could come true. The plot really quickens in pace after Lynn meets Jax. The Wolves of Winter has action scenes, plot twists, and even some romance. I would not be surprised to see Johnson write a sequel to continue Lynn's story. Overall, I would give The Wolves of Winter 4 out of 5 stars.

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

Tags: Spy Fiction

         Thrillers and Suspense

Have you ever been watching something on TV when suddenly the scene becomes so tense you feel like you can't bear to watch, and you just want to hide until that part is over?  I have never felt this way while reading a book…until now.

Vivian Miller is a busy wife and mother of four children, one of which has special medical needs.  She is also a CIA counterintelligence analyst!  She develops an algorithm to root out Russian agents hiding in the United States, but what she discovers will turn her whole world upside down. She is forced to choose what is more important, the security of her country, or the lives of her family.

Need to Know is a nail-biter from beginning to end. I found Vivian's character very real and believable, and I struggled right along with her, trying to decide what I would do in her shoes. The twists and turns in plot keep the story moving at a fast pace, and I was still thinking about the ending days after I finished the book.

I first heard about Need to Know from the author Louise Penny, who highly recommended it in a monthly newsletter.  Other best-selling authors, such as John Grisham, Lee Child, and Patricia Cornwell all have high praise for this book as well.

The author, Karen Cleveland, was a former CIA analyst herself, so the subject matter would have been very familiar to her. However, it is still hard to believe that Need to Know is Cleveland's first novel.  I only hope, for the sake of everyone who enjoys reading Need to Know as much as I did, that it won't be her last.

Hot Detox by Julie Daniluk

     

One of my favourite things about working in the library is the treasures I find shelving or among the returns in the book chute. Many times, my interest is captured by an item I would never have thought to search the catalogue for on my own. Hot Detox, by Registered Holistic Nutritionist Julie Daniluk, is new to the library and one of my latest finds. The title hooked me right away, and when I quickly flipped through the book I found lots of beautiful photographs and healthy-looking recipes.

Later, at home, I discovered whole chapters dedicated to cleansing toxins from your "gut", liver, lymph system, kidneys, lungs and skin. Julie Daniluk, who is also the author of the Meals that Heal Inflammation and Slimming Meals that Heal cookbooks, explains how she suffered from colitis and joint pain for years until she began to experiment and eat foods that reduced inflammation in her body. In Hot Detox, Daniluk takes her experience and learning even further, by using warming spices in all the recipes, traditional Ayurvedic practices from India, and medicinal techniques from China. Hot Detox provides a 3 day, 10 day, or 21 day detox plan, each complete with suggested menus.

          

I decided to try the 21 day detox. In the first 9 days of the plan (Phase 1) you are weaned from gluten, dairy, refined sugar and caffeine. This sounds way worse than it is!  I did have a bad headache for a couple of days, which Daniluk suggests could be caused by shifting hormones or toxins, dehydration, or caffeine withdrawal. Phase 2 of the detox (days 10, 11, and 12) eliminates animal products and relies heavily on liquids. Phase 3 allows you to choose whether you want to remain vegan or reintroduce animal products again. There is also more of a focus on rebooting and nourishing all the systems in your body. 

I have to say I really surprised myself!  Not only did I stick to the plan, but I didn't feel hungry or have cravings. I tried lots of new-to-me foods, such as hemp hearts, chia seeds, coconut flour, and coconut milk. My whole family found the supper recipes to be especially good, and some even provided leftovers for another meal. I think the only recipe I really didn't like was called Detox Rocket, which was a smoothie that included boiled beets. Other members of my family, who are counting calories, didn't like the fact that the detox recipes do not include a nutritional breakdown. To save money, I went to Bulk Barn to get only the amounts I needed of ingredients I wasn't sure I would use again after the detox, rather than buy them in big bags at Goodness Me or the grocery store. Some of the recipes also require additional preparation time, so I either chopped up ingredients in advance, or tried the recipe on a day that wasn't as busy. 

I lost 12 pounds on the 21 day detox plan. People ask me, "But how do you FEEL?"  Other than the obvious answer, "I feel great!  I lost 12 pounds!" I think the biggest change happened after the detox was over, when I ate a cookie a friend had made. One small taste of refined sugar and I felt very sick for several hours. This has only given me more incentive to carry on, and I have now borrowed Meals that Heal Inflammation and Slimming Meals that Heal. 

Hot Detox has been shortlisted for the Taste Canada Cookbook Awards 2017.  Daniluk, who lives in Toronto, has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, is a resident expert for The Marilyn Denis Show, and hosts The Healthy Gourmet on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).  Daniluk's blog, free recipes and video cooking classes can be found on her website at www.juliedaniluk.com.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

"Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy.  But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed" spoken by Pino Lella in Beneath a Scarlet Sky.

            Writing Beneath a Scarlet Sky literally saved the author's life. In the preface, Mark Sullivan writes openly about a time in his life when he was so low he considered crashing his car. He decided instead to go to a dinner party, where he heard an old story about a young hero that completely changed his life around.

            Beneath a Scarlet Sky is based on the true story of Pino Lella, who, at 17, wants nothing more than to meet a girl and fall in love. However, it is 1943 and not only is Nazi Germany in Milan where Pino lives, but the Allies start dropping bombs on the city every night.  I am a huge fan of WWII fiction but, until this book, I had never read anything from the Italian point of view. I feel Beneath a Scarlet Sky does a good job describing the struggles within Italy between the Nazis, Fascists, Partisans, and later, the Allies.

            The reader will be drawn to Pino's idealism and passion for his homeland and all those who are suffering. This young man clearly sees the cruelty and injustice around him and acts upon it, while many of the adults seem too full of hatred or too afraid.  Each task that Pino takes on is more dangerous than the last, and he witnesses and endures more heartbreak than anyone at any age should.  It is sad to wonder if he keeps going on because of the resiliency of his youth, or because he lived in a time when there was no other choice.

            There was only one part of the book I found slow, but I think the detail was necessary to truly appreciate the peril that follows. Similar to Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See I found myself thinking about the characters and the story days after I finished reading it, giving thanks for the miracle of a young man named Pino Lella.

The Only Child by Andrew Pyper

I took a course last summer that required me to read from genres outside of my normal reading tastes. Horror is a genre I haven't touched since the mid 1980's, when I read Stephen King's Pet Cemetery, became terrified of my roommate's cat, and had to sleep with the light on for a week!

The other day I noticed a book called The Only Child by Andrew Pyper. When I saw National Post quoted on the cover saying "Pyper could be the next Stephen King" and then discovered that Pyper is Canadian, I was willing to give horror another try.

The Only Child revolves around the character of Dr. Lily Dominick, a forensic psychiatrist, who became obsessed with the human mind after witnessing her mother's death at the age of six.  Lily's newest patient, however, shakes her to the core: not only does he claim to be 200 years old, but he says he knew her mother. Lily struggles between what is real and not real, both in the memories of her mother and the stories this "man" tells her about his life. The patient/man/monster quickly establishes a hold on Lily that keeps both her and the reader in suspense and looking over a shoulder until the end of the book. 

Elements of the characters of classic horror, including Jeykll and Hyde, Dracula, and Frankenstein are present in this storyline, so it definitely had the potential to be terrifying.  However, I found the book to be more creepy than scary. I was able to determine a couple of plot twists way in advance, which also helped reduce my fright (and our hydro bill). Overall, I would give The Only Child a 3 out of 5.

Click!  Light turned off for the night.

Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin

I always feel a little sad when I see a severely neglected and abandoned house. I wonder about the people who might have lived there, the joys and sorrows they might have experienced within its walls, and how they might feel to see their former home in such a state. 

In Gail Godwin's Grief Cottage, the main character becomes obsessed with the dilapidated cottage near his great-aunt's house, especially after he sees the ghost of a missing boy. The cottage was dubbed "Grief Cottage" by the locals after a mother, father, and 14 year old boy disappeared from it when Hurricane Hazel hit. Their bodies were never found. 

Marcus, the 11 year old main character, has had to deal with a fair amount of grief of his own. In fact, the title could easily be a metaphor of his own life. He had already suffered losses before his mother is killed in a car accident. Marcus is sent to live with his only remaining relative, his great-aunt Charlotte, who is a talented but reclusive artist that lives on a small island in South Carolina.

Marcus reminds me of Disney's Pollyanna, only without her eternal optimism. Godwin has written this character to be extremely sensitive to others and wiser than his years: the result produces a profound effect on those around him. In many ways, Marcus is as neglected and abandoned as Grief Cottage, and I found myself bracing for the hurricane that eventually releases inside him. Grief Cottage is a good read but not a happy read: even the positive twists near the end are tinged with loss. Overall, I give Grief Cottage a 4 out of 5 stars.

           

The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

            

 The Map of Salt and Stars, by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar, follows the plight of Nour, a young Syrian girl and her family. Nour's family was living in New York City, but after the death of her father (Baba), Nour's mama decides to move the family back to Syria. The family isn't back in Syria long before they are touched by war. Nour tries to take comfort in the stories her Baba told her of Rawiya, a legendary girl, who disguised herself as a boy in order to travel with a mapmaker charting the Mediterranean for the first time. Nour's mother also makes maps, and, as her family flees Syria for Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Ceuta, they end up mirroring the journey of Rawiya from the past. 

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the parallels the author drew not only between maps of the past and present, but also the maps we contain within ourselves, as we journey through our lives. There are many instances where you get a real sense of the danger, suffering, and loss refugees must feel as they try to find food, safety, and someone who will give them a new "home."

 
Nour has synesthesia, a condition that allows her to see colours and shapes for smells, sounds, and letters. For example, Nour sees her mother's angry voice as red, almost white; her sister's laugh as pink-and-purple; and, when oil and fat sizzle in a pan, it pops like yellow and black bursts in her ears. The fact that Nour experiences multiple senses in colours and shapes also reminds me of the colours and shapes on a map.

I also like that there were strong female characters in this book: all of them had to make hard choices and sacrifices. I continue to be amazed about civilization's ability to be humane and inhumane in times of crises.

However, I found the transitions between the Nour and Rawiya's stories very confusing. Three asterisks were all that separated one timeline from another within the chapters, and sometimes there was extra spacing between paragraphs making me think the storyline was switching when it wasn't. I also had to flip back through the book at times to remember where one girl's story had ended off before it went to the other girl's story. I feel the poor transitioning prevented me from truly engaging with either storyline, and turned what could have been a great book into just a good book. 

Autism in Heels by Jennifer O'Toole

Tags:     Autistic people

             Autism spectrum disorders

            Autism is definitely a hot topic in Ontario news right now. I don't think I really had a true grasp of how difficult it is for children and their caregivers to receive a diagnosis, support and treatment, let alone how much it all costs.

            While browsing the "New This Week" section of our website, I came across a memoir entitled Autism in Heels: the untold story of a female life on the spectrum by Jennifer Cook O'Toole. O'Toole is the bestselling author of the Asperkids series of books, a motivational speaker along the likes of Tony Attwood, and is described as "one of autism's most prominent figures." O'Toole certainly knows her stuff: not only are her husband and all 3 children on the spectrum, but she herself was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when she was 35 years old. She says that was when her "real life began."

            I learned a lot from this book. I learned that in the not-so-distant past, Autism assessment screening tools were often gender-biased towards males. Girls often had to present more obvious characteristics to even be noticed, and experts believed autistic girls had "more severe symptoms and more significant intellectual disabilities." I also learned that girls with autism are more prone to eating disorders, inflicting self-harm, and to be victims of abuse.  Another thing I learned was that people with autism can feel overwhelming compassion and empathy for others, to the point that it literally hurts them to see someone or something else hurting. I encourage you to explore the many other things I learned for yourself by reading the book.

            I have to say, however, that I found this book difficult to read. O'Toole suffered through a lot of bullying and mental, physical, and sexual abuse in her life before her diagnosis. There are even content warnings for a couple of chapters later in the book. These can be difficult topics to read about anyway, but to discover the author thought her mistreatment was deserved or her fault? Heartbreaking. It is also hard to read about how hard she has tried her whole life to make friends and feel accepted. O'Toole has a huge list of accomplishments, but, at times, I felt as though she was still seeking this acceptance and acknowledgement from me as a reader. O'Toole confesses to having a "jumpy thinking style." I often found her writing style to be repetitive or fragmented. I could not read more than a few pages at a time before stopping for a while, but I refused to give up because of all the valuable bits of information I learned. I do not want to discourage you from reading this book, however, as others have stated they could not put it down.