Company Town

Finished January 31

Company Town by Madeline Ashby

This science fiction novel is set in the near future on a city-sized oil rig called New Arcadia located off Canada's east coast. New Arcadia has recently been bought by a family-owned corporation called Lynch Ltd. The rig consists of five towers, each built in a different time period, with the oldest housing some of the poorest of the city's citizens. The main character Go Jung-hwa (Hwa) is one of these. She was born to a Korean-Canadian mother who didn't want her, and with Sturge-Weber, a rare disease that means she has a large birthmark and is more susceptible to certain conditions like seizures. Hwa is also on of the few people in New Arcadia that has no technological enhancements. She is an expert in tae kwon do, and works as security for the United Sex Workers of Canada, of which her mother Sunny is one. Hwa also had an older brother she was close to that died when the Old Rig exploded a few years ago. She is close to many of the sex workers and respects her union representative Séverine. She is given an assignment to watch over two union men who will be attending the official handover of the city to the new owners. 

When there is an incident at the handover, Hwa tries to get a better view of the situation and ends up meeting Daniel Siofra, a high level employee of the new owners who uses technology to affect the mood of groups of people. He is impressed with her skills and wants her to train Joel, the youngest son of the new owner and also act as his bodyguard during the day. Hwa doesn't want the job as she is loyal to her employer and the women she protects, but she is given now choice. As Daniel tells her when she protests "I'll find something you want and give it to you." She will be well-paid and she does set up her own apartment, but stays in Tower One. She also attends school with Joel, offering her a chance to further her education. 

When Joel is attacked and her friends start being murdered in violent ways, Hwa isn't sure who she can trust and who has ulterior motives, maybe for her, and maybe for the whole city. 

This is suspenseful and intriguing and I really cared about Hwa and what happened to her. Daniel appears to like her and support her, and she begins to feel something for him, but doesn't know if she can trust that feeling, or him.

Ashby has created characters with depth and personality, and I particularly liked her choice to give Hwa a Newfoundland accent. Great read. 

Cocoa Magic

Finished April 30

Cocoa Magic by Sandra Bradley, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

This lovely picture book tells a story set in historical Charlottetown. The main character, Daniel is eight years old and one of the highlights of his day is going, before school in the morning, to help his Uncle Lewis at his chocolate shop. He's been doing this for years, and is involved in all aspects of making the chocolates that the shop sells, from mixing and tempering, to pouring and molding. 

When Daniel sees a new girl at school who looks lonely he decides to start leaving chocolates in her desk to surprise her. When that works even better than he expected, he starts noticing other children that need cheering up and begins leaving treats for them as well, until there comes a day when he leaves treats for everyone, with the help of his uncle. 

Shortly after, he finds himself the one feeling sad and without chocolates to console him, and he makes a new discovery. 

The author is also a clinical social worker and here she illustrates the importance of empathy in our lives and the connections that we have to others. 

I loved the pictures here as well, including the ones of individual chocolates in the endpapers. The children show as detailed individuals and one gets a sense of the period from the details in the pictures.

A great book for any season. 

Where Have You Been Bobby Marr?

Finished July 15

Where Have You Been Bobby Marr? Friend, Felon, Hero by Morris Dalla Costa

This biography is of a man who underwent many challenge, mental and physical trauma, PTSD, bad choices, incarceration, and personal loss. Bobby Marr was born in 1948 in London, Ontario, the second child of his parents. His father was a veteran of World War II, and a hard worker, trying a variety of types of work in an effort to support his family. His search for work soon took the family to Texas and the children grew up there. Bobby was good with his hands, liked cars, and was a confident young man. When the Vietnam War began, he thought about his options, leaning towards heading to Canada. But his father, having served his own country during war, pressued Bobby to do his. 

Bobby trained as a medic, and lasted longer than many of his fellow soldiers in Vietnam, but was eventually wounded badly enough to be sent home. It was then that his life began to really go in a bad direction. The support for returning veterans from Vietnam wasn't there as it had been in other wars. Media had brought pictures of some of the atrocities done there to those at home and that turned many against the veterans. The war was an unpopular one to begin with, and that didn't help. The government support was also lacking, both in financial support being given in a timely way and in the lack of mental health support that was badly needed. As Bobby made choices on his gut and feelings, these choices weren't always in his best interests. 

Bobby is a man that cares about his fellow man, particularly those less well off. His time as a medic showed his caring impulse, as did his actions while incarcerated as he tried to help not only himself, but others caught in a system that was not set up to rehabilitate the inmates, but to wear them down. 

This book starts with some of the bigger events in his life and then moves back to his roots, telling of his family situation and his childhood, and continuing from there. His life story is well told, with compassion and real interest, and while for me it was a slow start, once I got further in, it really gripped me. 

Bobby's story is one of many of men of his generation, and serves as enlightening about the mistakes society has made in the past. 

Leave Me By Dying

Finished April 8

Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert

This is the fourth book in the series featuring Ellis Portal, a man who was once a revered judge in the Ontario courts, and then became homeless. This book is a jump back in time, told as memories of Ellis as he considers whether to return to being a lawyer. The story here returns Ellis to the 1960s, where he is in law school. This book tells of an event that became a pivotal point in his life. 

One of Ellis' friends, Gleason Adams, is a young man from a wealthy family, and the story begins as he asks Ellis to join him at the morgue for a meeting in the middle of the night. 

Ellis joins him there, and after waiting for a considerable time, the two are admitted to the morgue where they witness the start of an autopsy that is unexpectedly halted. 

But the image of the dead person there stays in Ellis' head and he keeps wanting to know what the story is behind it. He asks questions, writes letters, and does research and keeps digging for answers. Gleason hasn't been showing up for class and seems distracted when Ellis tries to meet with him.

On a couple occasions they go to strange places and have encounters that Ellis doesn't fully understand. 

Meanwhile, at home, Ellis' brother Michele is heavily involved in social change, watching the actions going on in Selma, in the southern United States, and asking for Ellis' help with an indigenous man who is being drafted to fight in Vietnam. 

As Ellis tries to use the draft dodger case to further his legal goals, he is also slowly discovering the truth about Gleason and what he's been up to. 

This book is a revealing look at one of the significant events in Ellis' past that made him who he is now. 

Bomb Girls

Finished December 8

Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo by Barbara Dickson

I bought this book after listening to a presentation by the author. She's done through research into the facility's history and even had a couple of historical artifacts to pass around during the presentation. 

This is a close look at the GECO facility in Scarborough which produced a variety of ordinance during World War II and became well known for the quality of its output. The facility also had an extremely good safety record, with no fatalities due to the work itself. The only fatality was from a bus accident ferrying workers between the city and plant that happened in the parking lot of the site. 

Besides describing the site, including plans showing the layout, this book looks at the variety of work that happened there, including administrative and support work, and the planning that took place to design the transition from dirty side to clean side and back again, the design of the uniforms that staff wore, the work that was done to help morale and accommodate the other responsibilities of the primarily female workforce, and the history of the two brothers who built and ran the plant.

There are also numerous profiles of workers from both the factory side and the administrative side, which include portions of interviews with them and their families. 

I really enjoyed looking more deeply into this slice of history that Canada can certainly be proud of. Building a complex factory that was producing dangerous goods in record time, and maintaining a largely happy workforce in a safe manner is an accomplishment to be very proud of. 

A Synopsis of Woman Suffrage in Canada

Finished June 29
A Synopsis of Woman Suffrage in Canada by Hilda Ridley

Going through some belongings of my mother-in-law as we clear out most of her library as she moves, I came across this pamphlet and found it intriguing to read. The focus is on Ontario, where the movement began, but it gives a good overview of the changes to women's franchise across the country.

Road Signs That Say West

Finished August 1
Road Signs That Say West by Sylvia Gunnery

This teen novel has three sisters at the center. The oldest is Hanna. Hanna started university, but quit part way through her first year, and went to Europe to work as a nanny. That didn't work out well for her, and she is home now. The girls are supposed to be looking after the house while their parents travel in Europe. But Hanna has the brilliant idea to do a road trip together while they have the chance, all the way from their home in Nova Scotia to Vancouver.
The youngest sister Claire is game right away. She's been having a hard time since a close friend of hers committed suicide earlier in the year. She's always been game for whatever Hanna wants to do. The middle sister, Megan, takes more convincing. She has a summer job lined up, and needs to keep up her swimming practice to stay competitive.
As the girls journey across the country, they encounter other young people, some they like, others they don't. They get invited to a wedding and find themselves offering to help paint a house. They have fights, and get scared. They get hurt, and share secrets and fears.
This is a tale of sisters, with all the messiness that relationship brings. A tale of love despite differences, as they all prepare for what the future may bring them.

A Taste of Travel

Finished May 11
Unforgettable Canada: 100 Destinations by George Fischer and Noel Hudson
This book is a great introduction to travel destinations in Canada. It gives a 2-4 page blurb with pictures of each destination. I liked the fact that it wasn't organized geographically, as that mixed it up a bit. I would have liked an overall map though, that showed where the destinations were exactly as that information was not given in the text. I have been to quite a few of the destinations but have a number that I would like to visit and this book reinstilled that interest. Sometimes in the urge to travel, we forget just how many wonderful places there are within our own country!