Library Learning Commons

Fitting in with the gang at high school is never easy. Or, as Ari notes, "Being a loser is bad enough; being a loser with a crazy mother is even worse."

Ari is the smart, sardonic and self—effacing heroine of Retro Girl, Edmonton author T.D. Thompson's second Young Adult novel for Pemmican after Flight of the Wild Geese in 2009 ? a warm and witty story that CM Magazine rated as "a compact and emotionally charged novel." As in that debut, Thompson writes with a wonderful gift for understanding the teenage heart and mind.

This teen novel, written by Iqaluit-based Inuit author Aviaq Johnston, is a coming-of-age story that follows a young shaman named Pitu as he learns to use his powers and ultimately finds himself lost in the world of the spirits.

In this adventurous novel - set in the ancient Arctic, but narrated for modern readers by an inquisitive and entertaining contemporary narrator - a young, wandering Inuit hunter named Kannujaq happens upon a camp in grave peril. The inhabitants of the camp are Tunit, a race of ancient Inuit ancestors known for their shyness and meekness. The tranquility of this Tunit camp has been shaken by a group of murderous, pale, bearded strangers who have arrived on a huge boat shaped like a loon.

Tough and resourceful Tala will be 13 soon, and no one will tell her what to do. On one fateful day in a Quebec forest, however, she has to find her endangered father and protect her young brother from a trio of murderous poachers. All the while, she and her brother may have to face the forest's legendary keepers - the deceptively playful characters known as the Stone People, and a giant, black bird known and feared as Culloo. 

Huuq is a young Inuit boy who has never fit in to camp life. One day, fleeing yet another attack from the camp bullies, Huuq finds himself alone and far away from camp, with only his dog Qipik as company. On a lonesome hill, they find an egg. But this is no ordinary bird's egg. It's big. And almost looks like a stone. When Huuq breaks this mysterious egg, it unleashes a series of events that turn Huuq himself into a monstrous half-human creature. As Huuq tries to figure out why he has been turned into a monster, what the egg and its contents mean, and how he can return to his natural self, he is thrust into a world of fearsome creatures, mystical powers, and an evil the likes of which Huuq has never encountered

The novel Rooster by T.D. Thompson is about a boy named James, who is also known as Rooster. On a trip to the Rockies, James’s friends, Jen and Frank, die, and James thinks he could have stopped the accident from happening, leaving himself to blame. In Rooster, James struggles with problems such as a sick mother, and a father he has never met before. Throughout this 151-page novel James tries to figure himself out with the help of new friends.

Dave's dad was never one for small talk, but when a sudden tragedy struck at the foundation of their two—man family his brooding silence became almost more than Dave could survive. Leaving all they owned and striking off into the foothills in search of a simpler life was supposed to bring new hope to both of them. What Dave didn't count on was the nosy intervention of their friends and neighbours, the serious distraction of the mysterious Lisa and the adventures that would help him learn who he really is.

Alec's Journey is a deep and absorbing story of change, history, and the strength it takes for a young person to welcome both.