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Harmony by Project Itoh. Translated by Alexander O. Smith
Pages: 252 pages
First Published: 2008 Japan (July 20, 2010, English Trans.)
Publisher: Haika Soru: Viz Media
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
I have a story to tell.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.
Reason for Reading: I love post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels and at the same time I was very [...]

Black Gate (Vol. 1-3) by Yukiko Sumiyoshi
Pages: 640 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: (2007,2008 Japan) Sept. 28, 2010 English Trans.
Publisher: Tokyopop
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Is a person’s life … set in stone?
Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.
Reason for Reading: The publisher’s summary had me very interested plus I liked the idea of reading a [...]

Blimpo by Dale E. Basye. Illustrations by Bob Dob
The Third Circle of Heck
Pages: 446
Ages: 10+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Random House
Genre: children, fantasy
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Virgil’s stomach rumbled like a gastric earthquake, registering somewhere between a 6.7 and 9.4 on the digestive Richter scale.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next in [...]

The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay by Beverly Jensen
Pages: 307 pages
First Published: June 24, 2010
Publisher: Viking
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
They had strung their shoes by the laces from a solitary elm before entering the woods edging the back field.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Penguin Group (Canada).
Reason for Reading: The early 1900s time frame and the New Brunswick [...]

Mrs. Kaputnik’s Pool Hall and Matzo Ball Emporium by Rona Arato
Pages: 188 pages
Ages: 8+
First Published: Apr. 13, 2010
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
Shoshi Kapustin clapped her hands over her ears to shut out the pitying voices.
Reason for Reading: The combination of the time period (1898) and a dragon intrigued [...]

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo. illustrated by Michael Foreman
Pages: 233 pages
Ages: 8+
First Published: May 27, 2010, UK (Jun 28, 2010 CAN)
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
To tell the truth, I don’t think Lizzie would ever have told us her elephant story at all, if Karl had not been called Karl.
Acquired: Received a [...]

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
Pages: 377
Ages: 12+
First Published: Aug. 16, 2010 CAN (Sept. 1 USA)
Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
This is how we got Zan.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the publisher.
Reason for Reading: Oppel is my favourite YA author and I read every new book he publishes.
This book is something completely different from [...]

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel
Pages: 268
Ages: 12+
First Published: July 1, 2010
Publisher: Graphix
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re having a little engine trouble.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.
Reason for Reading: I’m always intrigued by stories that take place in the “afterlife”.
Frank Gallows is a ghost wrangler. He hunts down ghosts who’ve escaped the [...]