PILGRIM

 David Whyte. PILGRIM. Many Rivers, 2019. 

ESSENTIALS

 David WHYTE. ESSENTIALS. Many Rivers, 2021.

A BETTER MAN

 Louise Penny. A BETTER MAN. St. Martin's, 2019.

Armand Gamache has returned to the Surete after being disciplined. He has accepted a demotion and will take over Jean-Guy's Head of Homicide once J=G moves to Paris. In this story, an abused wife drowns in a flooding river and the original charges against the first suspect are dropped. Internal politics, community strengths, the damage done by cruel words. 

DOLLS

 Michael Hiebert. DOLLS. Dangerboy, 2013.

A writer known to local writer friends. Not my usual choice. I have very little experience of YA writing or of YA readers. This story, told in the first person, is about the MC, a girl, learning to identify and use her power. I could not tell whether the vocabulary would always have been approriate for a 12-year-old to use. Once or twice I felt the images would not have come to mind to that MC.  The reverences to spells and witchcraft would interfere in the story's being widely  accepted. Although, granted, Harry Potter still has many reader fans. 

FORMS of DEVOTION

 Diane Schoemperlen. FORMS of DEVOTION. Harper Collins, 1998. 

The sticker on this hardcover find says Governor General Literary Award Winner. Where was I? How do I not know this writer's name? How does this type of literary writing find an agent, an editor, a publisher? Asking for a friend. 

Thouroughly enjoyed these stories. Humour. Irony. Playfulness. Everyday life, with twists. A sharp eye guiding the pen. "Count Your Blessings" A Fairy Tale stands out in my memory.

THE BLACK WOLF

 Louise Penny. THE BLACK WOLF. Minotaur, 2025.

Borrowed this from the library on a 7-day loan. Read it in 2.5 days. Scary. But I've written about it in my Substack newletter. OneLonelyWriter.Substack.com.