This week's book reviews, by Connie Forst, as submitted for publication in the Tofield Mercury.

Canada Reads 2009

Canada Reads 2009 is officially underway with five great Canadian books being dicussed and defended by five great Canadians.

The books that are going to be debated and discussed are:

• The Book of Negroes by Lawerence Hill, defended by Avi Lewis
  • Summary: A sweeping story that transports the reader from a tribal African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from the teeming Halifax docks to the manor houses of London.     
• The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay, defended by Anne-Marie Whithenshaw
  • Summary: Tremblay's first novel is an affectionate and funny chronicle of the lives of a family in its community."A comic tour de force covering one day in the life of a Montreal street".
• Fruit by Brian Francis, defended by Jen Sookfong Lee
  • Summary: Thirteen-year-old Peter Paddington is overweight, the subject of his classmates'' ridicule, and the victim of too many bad movie-of-the-week storylines. A beautifully crafted work by a first-time novelist who writes like an old master comfortably hitting his stride.
• Mercy Among The Children by David Adams Richards, defended by Sarah Slean
  • Summary: Believing he may have accidentally killed a friend, Sydney Henderson makes a pact with God - to never again harm another human being, if the boy's life is spared.     
• The Outlander by Gil Adamson, defended by Nicholas Campbell
  • Summary: Extraordinary novel opens in heart-pounding mid-flight and propels the reader through a gripping road trip with a twist -- the steely outlaw in this story is a grief-struck nineteen-year-old woman.

Canada Reads is a week-long show hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. In this annual literary bun-fight, five celebrity panelists are asked to defend their favourite Canadian work of fiction. Day by day, books are voted off the list, until one panelist triumphs with the book for Canada to read this year.

The half-hour debates will air on CBC Radio One from March 2 to March 6, 2009, at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

For more information about Canada Reads, to vote and take part, to join in the online discussions and more, be sure to check out the website at http://www.cbc.ca/canadareads/.

To put your name on the list if you haven't read any of these titles but still would like to, place an online hold at www.tracpac.ab.ca.

Happy Reading!