Brouwer, Sigmund. Devil’s Pass. (Seven, the Series)

Brouwer, Sigmund.  Devil’s Pass. (Seven, the Series)  

Orca  237p  $9.95 978-1-55469-938-4   2012      ms/jr        VG        Conflict         

Webb has already left home with his guitar and very little else.  His home had become an inferno, especially after his mother married Elliot.  The threats and the fear he felt for his mother’s safety made it impossible for Webb to continue living in a house where his every move was monitored, and if he even looked at Elliot the wrong way his mother always had to pay a price.  Then his grandfather dies, and Webb discovers that as his last request, his grandfather has set up a quest for each of his grandchildren to fulfill.  For Webb this is almost heaven sent!  It would have been nicer to carry out the quest alongside his grandfather, but at least Webb now has a plan and a reason to move on.  The trip he takes becomes a coming-of-age trip in which he faces dangers, truths, and moments that imperil his life, but he manages to stay on track to uncover the truth behind a mystery his grandfather left unsolved.  

     

Canada–Fiction, Grandfathers–Fiction, Abusive behavior-Fiction   

                                                            --Magna Diaz

Buffie, Margaret. Winter Shadows.

Buffie, Margaret.  Winter Shadows.  Tundra Books      327p  $11.95     

978-1-77049-358-2    2012           ms/hs       VG          Historical Fiction

Two young women, separated by time but bound together by similar difficulties and circumstances, find each other through a diary that has been hidden for 150 years.  Both modern-day Cass and nineteenth-century Beatrice struggle with “wicked” stepmothers who are making their lives very difficult.  When the story begins, Cass is still mourning the death of her mother and fighting the interference of her new stepmother in her relationship with her father, as did Beatrice so long before.  When Cass discovers that she can communicate with Beatrice through Beatrice’s diary, the girls form a bond and are able to offer advice to one another that will make their lives more bearable.  This coping mechanism will allow each girl to progress to the best of her abilities and come to grips with the changes in their family dynamics.  The story is told in alternating chapters and offers engaging, well-written historical fiction with excellent characterizations and a well-paced plot. It also offers a unique look of nineteenth-century Canadian life and the difficulties of intermarriage between English and First Nation peoples.

                 

Canada–Fiction, Time travel–Fiction, Mixed marriages–Fiction                                                                             --Susan Ogintz