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.

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Romance, Fantasy

Briar Boleyn’s 2024 novel, The Bond That Burns, is the second installment in The Bloodwing Academy dark fantasy-romance series. Set at a deadly magical university, the novel continues the journey of Medra Pendragon, a student with a secret lineage who awakens a powerful dragon named Nyxaris. Now a prisoner at Bloodwing Academy, Medra must grapple vicious power politics, her destiny as a dragon rider, and her troubling attraction to her consort, the arrogant and dominating... Read The Bond That Burns Summary

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music

Tags Historical Fiction, World History

Aminata Diallo, from the village of Bayo, in western Africa, is the daughter of Mamadu, a jeweler, and Sira, a midwife. At the age of eleven, she is kidnapped after watching her parents murdered and her village burned. She is captured by African slave traders, who sell her to white slave traders. She and the other captives are marched in a coffle, a line of prisoners chained together, on a harrowing three-month journey to the... Read The Book of Negroes Summary

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, War, Family, Gender Identity

Tags Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

The Breadwinner, also known as Parvana, is a 2000 children’s novel by Canadian author and activist Deborah Ellis. It centers on an 11-year-old girl named Parvana who, due to her family’s circumstances, is forced to defy the Taliban and their repressive laws to become the breadwinner for her family. Exploring themes of human connection, maturation and bravery, and the repression of women, The Breadwinner was critically acclaimed upon its release and has had over 40... Read The Breadwinner Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Indigenous Identity, Community, Colonialism, Self Discovery

Tags Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World History, Music

The Cellist of Sarajevo focuses on the struggles of four people during the long and brutal Siege of Sarajevo. For the citizens of Sarajevo at this time, life is torturous. There are snipers in the hills encircling the city with their guns trained on the people below. These snipers, who the characters refer to as “the men in the hills,” are picking off the townspeople one by one whenever they venture outside for food or... Read The Cellist of Sarajevo Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Femininity, Friendship, Art

Tags Romance, Sports, Contemporary Literature

Published in 2018, The Chase is a New Adult romance novel by Elle Kennedy. A New York Times and USA Today bestseller, the book is the first installment in the Briar U series, a spin-off of Kennedy’s popular Off-Campus series. Both series are set at the fictional Briar University and center on the lives and relationships of the school’s elite hockey players. The novel follows Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis, a fashion-loving student who, after being rejected... Read The Chase Summary

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Love, Fathers, Religion & Spirituality, Good & Evil

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, US History, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

The Cider House Rules is the sixth novel by the American Canadian author John Irving. It was published in 1985 by William Morrow and Company. The novel was made into a movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 1999. Other works by this author include Avenue of Mysteries, A Son of the Circus, and Until I Find You.This guide uses the 2012 William Morrow Kindle Edition of The Cider House Rules.Plot SummaryThe Cider House Rules is... Read The Cider House Rules Summary

Publication year 1992

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Romance, Free Verse, Love & Sexuality

Michael Ondaatje is the author of the poem “The Cinnamon Peeler.” First published in his fictionalized memoir, Running in the Family (1982), Ondaatje republished the poem in his poetry collection Secular Love (1984), and the poem is one of many that comprises the final section, titled “Skin Boat.” Ondaatje is a Canadian citizen who lived in England and was born in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka—a former English colony famous for its cinnamon (Ceylon... Read The Cinnamon Peeler Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Crime & Law, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Politics & Government

Published in 2004, The Corporation, by legal scholar Joel Bakan, demonstrates that corporations often misbehave because it is in their nature to do so. The corporate legal mandate, to pursue profit on behalf of shareholders, impels corporations to take any action, including callous, antisocial, and even unlawful behaviors, so long as they generate a profit.  Because corporations are created by governments, they are beholden to the state for their survival, yet they often manage to... Read The Corporation Summary