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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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
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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
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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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Val’s Book Reviews The Driving Force The Famous Five: Canada’s Crusaders for Women’s Rights by Barbara Smith Victoria: Heritage House, 2019 $9.95 / 9781772032338 In this very important book, Barbara Smith tells the in-depth stories of five women — Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards — who collectively changed
Val’s Book Reviews Terminal City Spooks Vancouver’s Most Haunted: Supernatural Encounters in BC’s Terminal City by Ian Gibbs Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2021 $20.00 / 9781771513180 Ian Gibbs, who has spent years collecting and sharing ghost stories as a Ghostly Walk tour guide in Victoria, British Columbia, has done another impressive job in his second book
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Val’s Book Reviews A naval labour of love Dutchy’s Diaries: Life as a Canadian Naval Officer in His Own Words, 1916-1929 by John Crispo Inglis “Dutchy” Edwards, edited by Helen Edwards [Victoria]: Helen Edwards, 2020 $29.50 / 9780969728252 Helen Edwards, a well-known heritage professional researcher in Victoria, has achieved a work of immense importance to naval
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Val’s Book Reviews Under Russian occupation My Long List of Impossible Things by Michelle Barker Toronto: Annick Press, 2020 $12.95 / 9781773213644 Reviewed by Valerie Green This book is possibly one of the best Second World War books out there right now for Young Adults and is especially pertinent in view of current world events. My
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Val’s Book Reviews Return of the sea otter Sea Otters: A Survival Story by Isabelle Groc with forewords by Dame Judi Dench & David F. Mills Victoria: Orca Books, 2020 $24.95 / 9781459817371 Reviewed by Valerie Green Sea Otters: A Survival story by Isabelle Groc is a delightful wildlife book for all ages. Author Isabelle Groc has
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Val’s Book Reviews Trauma, work, love Forest Green by Kate Pullinger Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada (Anchor Canada), 2020 $19.95 / 9780385683067 Reviewed by Valerie Green In her novel Forest Green, author Kate Pullinger has produced a powerful portrayal of a man at various stages of his life from childhood to old age. Her protagonist, Arthur Lunn, is
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