Black Beach by Glynis Guevara

Sixteen-year-old Tamera lives in La Cresta, a rural fishing community on a Caribbean island. Despite having the support of relatives, including her dad, Earl, her elder sister, Mary and her best friend and first cousin, Jan, she struggles to deal with her mom’s mental health issues and the absence of her boyfriend, Dalton who moves out of the village to work.

The Glory Wind & Rain Shadow by Valerie Sherrard

Miramichi’s resident young people’s author Valerie Sherrard has had many of her books shortlisted and awarded in various categories, and The Glory Wind and Rain Shadow are no exceptions. I am reviewing these middle-grade reader books together since they both take place in the fictional town of Junction, Manitoba in the mid 1940s, and Rain Shadow compliments some of the story lines in The Glory Wind, so for the most emotional impact, The Glory Wind should be read first, but this is by no means a requirement.