The Pact by Jodi Picoult Back to Val’s Book Club Main Page This is a heart-wrenching story of two families whose friendship is torn apart because of the relationship of their children and the death of one of them. Picoult knows well how to pull at your heart strings and leave you guessing until the […]
THE PACT by Jodie Picoult Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Loss, wisdom, bereavement Minerva’s Owl: The Bereavement Phase of My Marriage by Carol Matthews Calgary: Freehand Books, 2021 (first published by Oolichan Books, 2017) $17.95 / 9780889823259 Carol Matthews’ memoir Minerva’s Owl is not a happy book, but it is one full of hope and tenderness told with the author’s beautiful prose
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This month, schools, colleges and universities around the world are now back in session. This made me think about education in general as I delve into research for my current “work in progress.” How did education first start in Canada? By the 1600’s, a system called petites ecoles had been established by French settlers early
From Chalkboard to Laptop Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Ticket to Ride (Volume 4 of the Jason Davey Mysteries) by Winona Kent Winona Kent and St Ives, UK: Blue Devil Books, 2022 $19.99 / 9781777329433 I must admit that I was not expecting to enjoy Winona Kent’s book Ticket to Ride as much as I did. A story about a touring
Return of Figgis Green Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews The Rooming House: The West Coast in the Seventies by Michael Kluckner Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2022 $19.95 / 9781988242460 Michael Kluckner has skillfully managed to capture the free spirit, free love era of the late sixties and early seventies in this captivating story of lost youth trying to find their paths
Kitsilano Flashback Read More »
The term “dog days” dates back to ancient times when people in different parts of the world began drawing images of the sky by connecting the dots of stars, now called constellations. These dots allowed people around the world to “see” certain images. Our European ancestors saw bears (hence Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), some
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When you’ve been writing and publishing as long as I have, you’ve seen it all—or most of it! I wrote my first story when I was six and had my first article published in a local newspaper when I was twelve—which was a long time ago! But it was in the 1970s and 1980s that
Val’s Book Reviews A West Coast Soccer Story Head to Head by Jennifer Manuel Toronto: James Lorimer, 2020 $12.95 / 9781459414280In this young adult book for 10 to 13 year-olds, Jennifer Manuel has written a story which will inspire all young girls who love sports. But the book also carries a strong message of how
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June is traditionally a month for brides and weddings. But this was not always the case so let’s take a look back at wedding customs and wedding dresses throughout history. An amusing reason (but not necessarily a true one) is that most people in olden times married in June because they took their yearly bath
The History of Weddings Read More »
Elizabeth II – 70 Years of Dedication On June 2nd 1953, a young woman was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in London England’s Westminster Abbey. One year earlier, she had succeeded to the throne upon the death of her father, King George VI. As a young girl growing up, she had not expected to ever become
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