secrets The Miramichi Reader

Annaka by Andre Fenton

November 1, 2020October 19, 2020 by Gemma Marr

The narrative follows 16-year-old Annaka Brooks as she returns home to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia for her Grampy’s funeral. Though much of her adolescence has been tarnished by feelings of loneliness and difference, her homecoming provides opportunities to rebuild connections with family and friends and to figure out key secrets from her past.

A Joy To Be Hidden by Ariela Freedman

June 3, 2021April 11, 2019 by James M. Fisher

Having enjoyed two of Linda Leith Publishing’s recent titles (Hutchison Street and The Philistine) I picked up Ariela Freedman’s newest novel, A Joy to be Hidden hoping the quality of writing would be sustained. A few pages in, … Continue reading

Under the Floorboard by Wendy Ranby

December 13, 2018December 12, 2018 by James M. Fisher

15-year-old Aileen never feels good enough to please her mother. When she pries up the floorboard at her aunt's house, she sheds a light on the dark secret she worked so hard to forget. Why does no one ever talk about her baby sister Claire and what happened to her?

The Women of Saturn by Connie Guzzo-McParland

June 22, 2017March 5, 2017 by James M. Fisher

This ambitious debut novel (420 pages) by Ms Guzzo-McParland is an epic story of an Italian family emigrating to Canada, some (like Caterina the narrator) to join their family, others (like her older friend Lucia) to meet husbands for the first time. They make the voyage by the sea in the late 1950's onboard the Saturnalia, from which the story takes its title. Caterina, her mother Teresa along with Lucia the teenage proxy bride are "the women" of the Saturnalia.