The 2018 Canada Reads shortlisted books:
Adult non-fiction:
Precious Cargo: my year driving the kids on School Bus 3077 by Craig Davidson
Forgiveness: a gift from my grandparents by Mark Sakamoto
Adult fiction:
American War: a novel by Omar El Akkad
The Boat People by Sharon Bala
Young adult:
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
ADULT BESTSELLER:
Robicheaux by James Lee Burke: A thriller. Dave, during an investigation, discovers that others think he may have been the one responsible, so he works to clear his name and make sense of the case.
The Wanted, an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel by Robert Crais: Devon, a single mother has hired Cole to investigate why her teenaged son is flashing lots of cash now. She thinks maybe drugs but Cole learns that with two others, it’s high-end burglaries. When one of them is dispatched, Tyson and his girlfriend disappear. They stole the wrong thing from the wrong man, who has now hired two men who are good at their work to get it back at whatever cost and as quietly and discreetly as possible.
Death at Nuremberg, a Clandestine Operations novel by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth: Winning the Legion of Merit, Special Agent James Cronley, Jr. finds himself fighting several wars at once when he is assigned to protect the U.S. chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg War Trials and to hunt and dismantle the infamous Odessa.
The Take by Christopher Reich: Simon is a freelance industrial spy, living a quiet life above his auto garage, until now. Coluzzi has pulled off the greatest street heist in the history of Paris. He’s now in the possession of a stolen briefcase with a secret letter hidden inside it that could disrupt the balance of power. Now it is thief against thief in the grand tradition of The Day of the Jackal and The Bourne Identity.
Fall from Grace by Danielle Steel: What happens when you lose everything? Sydney must rebuild her life after she loses her husband and is set up by her boss.
ADULT AUDIO BOOK:
Tom Clancy’s Commander in Chief, a Jack Ryan novel by Mark Greaney: The President sees that someone is guiding the worldwide chaos and works quickly to stop the trouble.
Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King.
ADULT FICTION:
The Boat People by Sharon Bala: Told through the perspectives of Mahindan and his lawyer Priya who represents the migrants and Grace, the adjudicator who must decide Mahindan’s fate as well as that of his six-year-old son, when the rusty cargo ship carrying them as well as five hundred refugees, reached the shores of British Columbia. They were fleeing a civil war in their homeland. Inspired by real events.
ADULT NON-FICTION:
Precious Cargo: my year driving the kids on School Bus 3077 by Craig Davidson: Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist for Cataract City. In 2008, Craig, saw a flyer in his mailbox “Bus Drivers Wanted”. It was the first step toward a new career. He takes us along for the ride as he shows his evolving relationship with each of the students as they struggle physically as well as emotionally and socially.
Forgiveness: a gift from my grandparents by Mark Sakamoto: When the Second World War broke out, Ralph chose to serve his country overseas while in Vancouver, Mitsue and her family were expelled and endured manual labor in a rural area. After the war, a generation later, Ralph’s daughter and Mitsue’s son fell in love at a high school dance.
Adventureman: the astonishing true story by Jamie McDonald (who visited students at Virden Junior High last month to talk about the journey that inspired this book.)
The Square and the Tower: networks and power, from the Freemasons to Facebook by Niall Ferguson
YOUNG ADULT:
Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross: Opposites really do attract.
Tangled Planet by Kate Blair
JUNIOR FICTION:
Star Wars: 5-minute stories strike back
The Great Treehouse War by Lisa Graff
JUNIOR PICTURE BOOK:
Be Brave, Little Penguin by Giles Andreae
