Every summer, Laney's family visits their cottage on Tidnish Beach. Summertime on Nova Scotia's north shore is slow and sweet: there are long days in the water until fingers turn pruney, bottomless glasses of cherry Kool-Aid, and bonfires with the other families summering along the shore. But this year the baking heat and bright red sand provide cold comfort. This year Laney's little sister, Jenny, is gone. Ten-year-old Laney grapples with the loss. She carries immense, secret guilt that she can only work out by writing letters to her sister. Laney's mother won't even say Jenny's name, so writing quickly becomes Laney's coping mechanism, to the detriment of her social skills. She avoids the other kids until she makes a new friend--one who doesn't look at her with pity. It's a tough lesson for a preteen, but Laney must learn to acknowledge her grief in order to overcome it. When a situation arises and Laney needs to help her new friend, she finally understands that even though she will miss Jenny forever, she can find happiness again. A tender meditation on life and loss through the lens of a childhood summer, A Beginner's Guide to Goodbye will fill readers with warmth and spark important conversations.

A heartfelt middle grade novel exploring anxiety from the TD Canadian Children's Award--shortlisted author of A Beginner's Guide to Goodbye. Bertha Mae Stewart--otherwise known as Bertie--is ready for anything grade 6 can throw at her. She spends every day with her best friend Kevin, enjoys delicious cookies at her grandmother's, and has an adorable baby half-brother to dote on. But then her teacher announces a public speaking assignment, she's paired up with her worst enemy for the project, and her inside voice won't stop telling her that everything is going to go wrong. And of course, there's that nagging little secret Bertie can't tell anyone about. Most days, a trip to her favourite tree or a hug from Grammy are enough to make Bertie's anxiety go away for a short while. But as life grows more complicated, and Bertie pushes the noisy feelings further down, the pressure inside of her starts to build. And someday soon, she won't be able to hold it all in. From the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award--shortlisted author of A Beginner's Guide to Goodbye, Bertie Stewart is Perfectly Imperfect is a heartfelt tale about learning to cope with anxiety amid life changes both big and small.

There are only three things fifteen-year-old Victoria Markham truly enjoys: English class, her signature "Goth Girl" look, and art. It's just that she tends to do the last one late at night, with spray paint, in public places. It isn't long before Vic is caught red-handed and forced into community service with a bunch of stereotypes: there's Rachael, the princess; Russell and Peter, a pair of fist-bumping punks; and Zach, the rich jock, who Vic is secretly crushing on. The motley crew has to collaborate to produce a mural for Halifax, but getting it organized is like herding cats. On top of all that, Vic's mother's boyfriend, the only father figure Vic has ever known and the one who taught her to paint, left them both. Vic's mother is still reeling, her relationship with her daughter strained. She doesn't understand Vic's insistence on spiking her hair, piercing her nose and lip, and wearing black clothing and heavy makeup. Vic is convinced her mother doesn't care enough to find out what's really behind the get-up. Tensions run high as Vic tries to figure out who she is: Victoria Markham, or Goth Girl? Sometimes, there's more to people than meets the eye.