pickEzra Cloud is an Ojibwe high school student who splits his time between Northeast Minneapolis where his father works as a college professor and Red Gut in Canada where his grandparents live a traditional life of hunting and trapping. After an incident with another student at school and a fire at the student‘s house, his family decides he will move spend the winter with his grandparents. ⬇️
I started this book during our independent reading time in seminar today, and I did not want to stop when the bell rang. I‘m really intrigued to see where this story goes. However, the book has to stay on my desk at school for the week, so I may not get much further until this weekend.
#TeachersOfLitsy #YA #TRS2025
pickFrank is summoned by the alcoholic father he has met only a few times in his 16 years, and who managed to disappoint him every time. He learns that his father is dying and wants Frank to take him to his final resting place. During their days together Frank learns who his father is and gains an understanding of his own life. It seemed like a simple, straightforward story until I grasped the torrent of the emotions pouring out of me. Loved it.
pick5🌟/5🌟
Parts of this book hurt my heart. Parts of this book made me so very angry. What I do know is that Ma-Nee is a very strong, resilient person that I have a lot of respect for. Even though this book is full of trigger warnings, I believe it's a very important read that all of us can learn from.
so-soHunting, trapping, tradition, and a great love between Grandfather and Grandson. The family bonds were lovely. The nature scenes intense. The reason for Ezra being sent to the wilderness seemed almost irrelevant.
bailedI tried, but I did not not enjoy the writing or the characters. :(
so-soHappy Publication Day! Staples‘ second novel is actually something of a sequel to THIS TOWN SLEEPS— which I wish I had known before diving into this one! I also wish that I had a physical copy instead… the audio performance is great, but with multiple narrators, dates to keep straight & some abrupt, fever dream feeling transitions, I would‘ve preferred being able to more easily flip pages back as needed for reference in this casino based Inferno.
pickHoly moly did Ma-Nee live through some terrible terrible shit. Her empathy, compassion, and generosity shine through. I found the tough parts really tough to listen to and so it‘s my third pick for #CanadaReads winner this year.
pickAnother quick, fun Cork O‘Conner mystery. The premise of this one gets a little out there but it doesn‘t really matter because you get to spend more time with Cork and his family and, most of all, Henry Meloux. As always the story starts fast and then Krueger keeps cranking up the tension…and then in this one the ending hits hard too. If you love mysteries and haven‘t started this one, I can‘t recommend it highly enough. Another good read.
TW: If you have any issues with hunting or animal violence, avoid this book. It clearly describes trapping and hunting, as well as an animal attack.
#YA #TRS2025 #Minnesota #Canada 3mo