November 26, 2021
New Fiction
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab – Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess palter, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he has every intention of killing her. Befriended by a Catholic priest, Maria attempts to overcome her grief, vows to avenge the murder of her family, and plays for her life. For four grueling years, her strategy is simple: Live. Fight. Survive. By cleverly provoking Fritzsch’s volatile nature in front of his superiors, Maria intends to orchestrate his downfall. Only then will she have a chance to evade the fate awaiting her and see him punished for his wickedness. As she carries out her plan and the war nears its end, she challenges her former nemesis to one final game, certain to end in life or death, in failure or justice. That is, if Maria can bear to face Fritzsch-and her past – one last time.
The Ballad of Laurel Springs by Janet Beard – Ten year old Grace is in search of a subject for her fifth grade history project when she learns that her fourth great grandfather once stabbed his lover to death. His grisly act was memorialized in a murder ballad, her aunt tells her, so it must be true. But the lessons of that revelation – to be careful of men, and desire – are not just Grace’s to learn. Her family’s tangled past is part of a dark legacy in which the lives of generations of women are affected by the violence immortalized in folk songs like “The Knoxville Girl” and “Pretty Polly,” reminding them always to know their place – or risk the wages of sin.
New Non-Fiction
Finding Murph by Rick Westhead - JOE MURPHY HAD IT ALL. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton four years later. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn, largely due to the untreated brain injuries he suffered as a player. Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would lead to homelessness. He was smart, dedicated to hockey and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him, too. Murphy wasn’t acting like himself and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless. In the spring of 2018, Murphy made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself and taking handouts of food and drinks from passersby. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North. In Finding Murph, Rick Westhead traces the true story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.
Canadian Courage by Linda Pruessen - When we think about courage, certain images come to mind: troops charging into battle; law enforcement facing down armed assailants; firefighters racing into a burning building. We think about those men and women who are willing to put their lives on the line for their country or for others, those remarkable people who run toward danger instead of away from it. But you don’t have to wear a uniform to be courageous. On any given day, ordinary Canadians exhibit courage in myriad ways. Some do so in the face of danger—like six-year-old Sophia LeBlanc, who, in the aftermath of a crash, escaped an upside-down and partially submerged minivan to get help for her family. Some do so by choosing to fight injustice instead of turning a blind eye—like McGill University student Tomas Jirousek, who supported other Indigenous students to push the school to change the troublesome name of its athletic teams. And some demonstrate courage when they overcome adversity—like Timea Nagy, whose experience as a survivor of human trafficking compelled her to become an advocate for others and a voice for change. In Canadian Courage: True Stories of Canada’s Everyday Heroes, you’ll meet thirty-five remarkable people—men, women, children and even an animal or two—who have shown remarkable courage in the face of danger, injustice and adversity. Their stories are moving, thrilling and, most of all, inspiring. They’ll leave you wondering whether you too have the ability to be courageous when it counts.