Quick! Three more Canadian Books!

The Canadian Book Challenge, hosted over at The Book Mine Set, is coming to a close tomorrow, and I'm supposed to have read and reviewed 13 Canadian books over the past year. As of yesterday I've only done 10!

I decided at the beginning of the challenge that I would only count books I reviewed on my blog—books I chose and decided to recommend. If I counted books I reviewed for CM Magazine I would be way over my quota—but I'm not changing the rules on myself just because I'm down to the wire. What I can do is add a few more books to my blog that I reviewed for CM over the past year and liked. These are books I can heartily recommend as excellent reads, even if they're not books I would otherwise have chosen for myself.

Old Man, by David A. Poulsen, is  the story of a father-son trip to Vietnam. An estranged father tries to come to terms with what he did during the Vietnam war, and share with his son the experiences that, for good or bad, have made him what he is. Sounds heavy and dramatic and potentially didactic, not my kind of thing at all. But Poulsen narrates it from the point of view of sixteen-year-old Nick, and he is likeable, flippant, self-depreciating. The plot is fast-paced and tense, and the difficulties of two non-communicative guys trying to get to know each other are heartbreaking and hilarious. Poulsen conveys the complexities of a terrible war by describing one man's experiences and how they haunt him, all told from the point of view of the son who is trying to understand him. Quite masterfully done. Definitely a book for guys, but also for anyone interested in war stories and history, and anyone who just likes good writing.

Objects in Mirror, by Tudor Robins, is a horse book. I went through my phase as a teenager, devouring every book about horses I could get my hands on. Objects in Mirror is also about a girl with anorexia, and when I discovered this in chapter two I thought to myself, "oh, no, a horse book that's also an issue book." But then I stayed up until past midnight reading it because it's so good!

Main character and narrator Grace's voice is completely authentic. Her compulsion to lose weight is compellingly believable, and it conflicts heartbreakingly with her love and concern for the horses. According the the author interview at the back of the book, Robins is an avid horsewoman, and she has suffered from eating disorders herself. Her understanding and love of horses shines through in her writing: the horses are all individual characters, and she really makes us care about them. Robins also does a great job with the romance in the story: I swooned a bit over "Matt the horse god," who proves to be so understanding about Grace's disease. (And Robins writes one of the better kissing scenes I've ever read!)(I kind of harp on that in all the reviews I wrote of this book, but really, a good kissing scene is a rare thing to find and should be appreciated.) So don't pass this one by because it has a picture of a horse on the cover. It's worth a read whether you're horse mad or not.

Submarine Outlaw, by Philip Roy, is the first book of a series. I reviewed books 3, 4 and 5 for CM Magazine last year, (here are books 3 and 4 on my blog) and then I went on my own to find the first two, because I enjoyed the others so much. I just can't get over how clever Roy's concept is: a teenager builds his own submarine and then travels around the world having adventures. Who wouldn't want to read about that?

This first book describes how Alfred comes to build the submarine in the first place. Alfred lives in Newfoundland with his grandparents, but doesn't want to be a fisherman. He comes across an old oil tank in the local junk yard and dreams of turning it into a one-man submarine. Turns out the crusty owner of the junk yard knows everything about submarines, and the two of them spend the first part of the book building a sea-worthy vessel. The description is detailed enough to make you believe this is actually possible without being boring. Then off Alfred goes. He rescues a dog and adopts a seagull, he has to avoid getting caught because he has no license, but when people need help he doesn't hesitate. In each story in the series, Alfred learns about a different part of the world and learns a little more about himself and responsibility. A coming of age story set in a submarine. Too awesome. Good for boys, good for middle-grade and above, good for everyone who likes adventures.

There! 13 Canadian books read and reviewed between July 1 2012 and June 30 2013! Maybe a bit rushed here at the end, but I squeaked by. Next year I won't leave so many to the last minute. I promise. Really.

Canadian Book Week: Philip Roy's Submarine Outlaw series

I haven't forgotten about Canadian books! I review them regularly for CM Magazine (a very useful reference if you're looking for Canadian children's books), and occasionally the books they send me get me very excited. That's the case with the Submarine Outlaw books. I was first sent River Odyssey, the third book in the series, and I just finished Ghosts of the Pacific, the fourth book, and now I want to get the first two books, because these are great stories! They might be difficult to find; I'm not even sure they're available in the States, but they're worth searching out, particularly if you're looking for books for boys.

The Submarine Outlaw series has an original and appealing central concept: young Alfred pilots his unregistered submarine wherever he likes, with a seagull for a first mate and a dog for a second. He gets into trouble because he can’t resist rescuing people (and animals) and so is always barely evading capture by the authorities, who will take his submarine away from him. Thus Alfred is firmly a good guy and yet still an outlaw—an irresistible combination!

In River Odyssey, the third book of the series, Alfred is given a quest by his spiritual mentor: he needs to find the father who abandoned him as a baby. Unwillingly he puts off his planned journey to the Pacific and instead journeys from Newfoundland up the St Lawrence River to Montreal. Along the way he finds people to rescue and dangers (including police) to evade.


In Ghosts of the Pacific, Alfred sails from Newfoundland through the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. He encounters polar bears and gets trapped in the ice. In the Pacific he gets shot at by a shrimp trawler when he cuts their net to release trapped turtles and dolphins. He rides out a storm, meets a floating circus and sails into a sea of plastic garbage the size of Texas. He visits the Bikini Atoll and dives to see the ships sunk by nuclear testing. Then he ends up on the island of Saipan, where he hides in an underwater cave during a typhoon and discovers the skeletons of Japanese soldiers. Alfred considers an offer to join the circus, but decides he’s not finished sailing alone yet. There will be a sequel!


I think these would be great books for reluctant readers. The language is clear and simple, the plot is full of exciting episodes--and come on: submarines! I usually veer towards fantasy (you may have noticed!), but I found these books completely engaging. Plus I learned stuff!