Val’s Book Reviews Make No Mistake by Julie Wise Penticton: Wise Publications, 2025 $20.99 / 9781069525505 This debut novel by Penticton author Julie Wise is a fast-paced and exciting feminist thriller about a heroine, Maggie Carpenter, who fights for justice for women everywhere. Maggie has spent a lifetime working for women’s rights, during which time […]
‘It is better to speak’ (and then act) Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Fleeing the 51st State: A Voyage of Resistance and Hope by Peter Freeman Vancouver: Tablet Publications, 2025$35.00 / 9781069460813 Canada’s worst nightmare has happened. The country has been invaded from the south and is now occupied by the enemy. That’s the fascinating premise of Salt Spring island author Peter Freeman’s latest novel Fleeing
I think we’re hooped Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews The Worm Lady’s Daughter by Peter Freeman Salt Spring Island: Ensilwood Publishing, 2025 $19.95 / 9781990415166 Salt Spring Island author Peter Freeman has created a story rich in descriptive prose and strong emotion with his novel The Worm Lady’s Daughter. It is set in the 1960s on the windswept dunes of Noosa
A Tale of Queensland’s Past Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Trees of Victoria: A Wanderer’s Guide by Collin Varner Victoria: Heritage House, 2025 $26.95 / 9781772035339 Although Victoria, British Columbia, is always thought of as the “city of gardens,” author Collin Varner believes it should also be known as the “city of trees.” After having read his delightful guide to more than
Ambling appreciation of the arborist Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Fake Out: A Long Beach Mystery by Faye Bayko Victoria: Tellwell Publishing, 2025$26.99 / 9781779624789 Faye Bayko’s debut novel Fake Out plunges her readers into the world of hippies, drugs, and a place where young people are deeply committed to the slogan “Make love, not war.” She sets her story in May
Draft dodgers, flower children, murder Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews 300 Mason Jars: Preserving History by Joanne Thomson Victoria: Heritage House, 2024 $34.95 / 9781772935162 Author, artist, and poet Joanne Thomson, has found a delightfully different way of preserving her family history in her book 300 Mason Jars. In six separate sections Thomson has created her family’s story in prose, poetry, and
Containing and releasing family history Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Scrappy Jack: 100 Years of Hardship, Laughter, and Recycling by Joan Steacy Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2023 $24.95 / 9781988242521 Scrappy Jack by Joan Steacy is a delightful mix of memoir and illustrations aimed at both adult and juvenile readers. It is the story of the author’s father Jack who was born in
Mix of memoir and illustrations Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Letters from Gerald by R.W. Butler Altona: Friesen Press, 2024$22.49 / 9781038305459 I was pleasantly surprised to find that fiction about ornithology could hold my attention to the very last page. West coast author R.W. Butler’s debut novel on this specialized topic has much to commend it. The book concerns young Eleanor
Eleanor, on the ascent Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Dear Arlo: letters to my grandson by Olga CampbellVancouver: Jubaji Press, 2024 This memoir by Olga Campbell is a mixture of prose, art, poetry, and recipes interspersed with letters to the author’s grandson, Arlo. It tells the tragic story of a legacy of trauma. Campbell herself is a second-generation holocaust survivor born
A tragedy of generational trauma Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews My Turquoise Years: A Memoir (Twentieth Anniversary Edition) by M.A.C. Farrant Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2024$21.95 / 9781772016369 My Turquoise Years is the 20th Anniversary reprint edition of M.A.C. Farrant’s original memoir with five additional stories added, plus an introduction by Lynne Van Luven and a new preface. This is not a typical memoir
Non-typical memoir, non-typical family Read More »
