Canadian Literature

The Canadian Literature Collection highlights the diversity and talent of Canadian authors. Representing the broad range of genres and traditions reflected in Candian Literature, this Collection includes fiction by Margaret Atwood, John Irving, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and other Canadian writers who have shaped the nation's literary canon.

Rouge

by Mona Awad

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Beauty, Death, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Gothic Literature

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Runaway: Stories

by Alice Munro

Publication year 2004

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Love, Loyalty & Betrayal, Nostalgia, Loneliness, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Canadian Literature, Literary Fiction, Relationships

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Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

by Eleanor Coerr

Publication year 1977

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Death, War, Hope, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Family, Friendship

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Dramatic Literature, Grief & Death, Education, Education, World History, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction

Originally published in 1977, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a middle-grade historical fiction novel written by Eleanor Coerr based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl living in Hiroshima, Japan, when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. At age 12, Sadako is diagnosed with leukemia, often called “the atom bomb disease.” Inspired by a Japanese legend, Sadako sets out to fold 1,000 origami cranes, hoping she will be granted... Read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Summary

Sadie

by Courtney Summers

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Social Class, Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Sadie is a young adult mystery novel published in 2018 by the Canadian author Courtney Summers. The book chronicles teenager Sadie Hunter’s quest to find the man who killed her sister. In alternating chapters, Sadie’s subsequent disappearance becomes the topic of West McCray’s podcast The Girls. Sadie won the 2018 Edgar Award and was chosen for many Best of 2018 book lists.Plot SummarySadie follows the journey of 19-year-old protagonist Sadie Hunter as she searches for... Read Sadie Summary

Sailing to Sarantium

by Guy Gavriel Kay

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

First published in 1998, Guy Gavriel Kay’s Sailing to Sarantium is the first book in The Sarantine Mosaic duology. The setting of the novel, based on the Mediterranean world in the sixth century, alludes to the future conflict between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy that had replaced the Western Roman Empire. Kay’s work incorporates magical realism, political intrigue, religious themes, existential crises, and detailed, historically accurate descriptions of art and... Read Sailing to Sarantium Summary

Schooled

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

Canadian author Gordon Korman’s middle-grade novel, Schooled, was published in 2007. The coming-of-age novel follows 13-year-old Capricorn Anderson after he leaves the commune on which he was homeschooled by his grandmother, Rain, to live with a foster family and attend public school while Rain recovers from an accident. With no knowledge of the outside world, Capricorn struggles to fit into his new middle school, learning lessons about how rules and norms govern society and how... Read Schooled Summary

Secret Daughter

by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Daughters & Sons, Family

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Parenting, Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Arts & Culture

Secret Daughter (2010) is the debut novel of Canadian-Indian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda. Spanning twenty years, it follows two families who are mysteriously connected by an adopted daughter. A New York Times Bestseller, the novel has been translated into more than thirty languages and has sold more than a million copies. Godwa formed the idea for Secret Daughter while volunteering at an Indian orphanage as an undergraduate. Secret Daughter received much critical praise for its... Read Secret Daughter Summary

Shake Hands with the Devil

by Roméo Dallaire

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Globalization, War, Colonialism

Tags History: African , Politics & Government, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Biography

Lt. General Roméo Dallaire is a Canadian officer who was assigned as the force commander in the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR), a UN peacekeeping mission to facilitate negotiations after the Rwandan Civil War. He wrote about his experiences witnessing the breakdown of the peace process and the Rwandan Genocide in Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Published in 2003, the book won the 2004 Governor General’s Award... Read Shake Hands with the Devil Summary

Shipwreck

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Friendship, Teamwork, Safety & Danger

Tags Action & Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Survival Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Shoeless Joe

by W.P. Kinsella

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fathers

Tags Sports, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Shoeless Joe (1982) by W.P. Kinsellais a magic realist novel that brings together stories about the Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series by intermingling fantastic elements with the factual. The novel tells the story of Ray Kinsella, who lives with his wife Annie and five-year-old daughter, Karin, on a farm in Iowa, where he grows corn. The writer weaves the narrative around the importance of baseball in the collective memory of Americans, and... Read Shoeless Joe Summary

Silverwing

by Kenneth Oppel

Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Teamwork, Fear, Shame & Pride, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Animals, Relationships, Children`s Literature

Kenneth Oppel’s 1997 award-winning middle-grade novel Silverwing is a high-fantasy work that follows a young bat’s journey to find his colony. The novel has sold over a million copies and been adapted for television as an animated children’s series. This book is the first of four in The Silverwing Book Series.Other works by this author include Inkling, Bloom, Half Brother, and Airborn.Plot SummaryThe novel is divided into three parts, and it shifts point of view... Read Silverwing Summary

Simon Sort of Says

by Erin Bow

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Space, Family, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Humor

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Simple Recipes

by Madeleine Thien

Publication year 2001

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Family, Memory, Immigration

Tags Psychological Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Immigration & Refugeeism, Food, Asian Literature

Madeleine Thien is a Canadian writer whose work explores the trans-cultural world of Asian art, politics, and family life within Canada’s diasporic Asian Communities. She was born in 1974 to a Malaysian Chinese father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother. Thien studied contemporary dance but switched to creative writing as an undergraduate in college. She earned her MFA in writing from the University of British Columbia.Thien’s collection of short stories, Simple Recipes (2001, Little Brown... Read Simple Recipes Summary