TBR needs an update? No problem.
By Hannah Mercanti
Colourful books on a dark, wooden bookshelf. (Lubos Houska/Pixabay)
Ah, springtime. The beginning of a new season: birds singing, buds on the trees, shining sun and… a whole new array of Canadian books being released! But don’t worry, there’s no need to be overwhelmed by choice. We’ve gone through the best of the best to put together an ultimate Canadian new releases spring and summer reading list bound to add some colour and flair to your 2024 TBR schedule.
NONFICTION
North of Nowhere, Marie Wilson
Founded in 2008, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to record the previously hidden history of violent and forced residential schooling for Indigenous children across Canada. One of the commissioners leading this work was Marie Wilson, a journalist and the wife of former Dene Nation Chief Stephen Kakfwi.
In North of Nowhere, Wilson takes readers through her years witnessing the stories of survivors across Canada, providing her own take on the enduring value of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. North of Nowhere will be available on June 11, 2024.
Crooked Teeth, Danny Ramadan
From Syrian-Canadian novelist Danny Ramadan comes Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Novel. Ramadan starts us off with stories of his family in Damascus, and follows his trek across multiple borders as he reckons with “a life spent out of place.” Delving into his journey of life as a queer refugee, the novel beautifully speaks on all the intricacies and difficulties that come along with that.
A “powerful refutation of the oversimplified refugee narrative,” Crooked Teeth will be available on May 28, 2024.
Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes, Adrienne Gruber
From Saskatoon-based essayist and poet Adrienne Gruber comes an electric collection of personal essays about motherhood and the intricacies of family life. Through detailing the births and early lives of her three daughters, Gruber shares with readers what it truly means to bring another life into the world- and the lasting consequences this has on both parties.
It isn’t uncommon for parents to shield the bad and present only the good. Here, it seems Gruber does the exact opposite, intimately welcoming us into her life and her version of parenthood. Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes can be purchased starting May 1, 2024.
FICTION
Dayspring, Anthony Oliveira
In a debut novel mixing poetry and prose, Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira is a queer retelling of one of the most famous books in history- the Bible. From the perspective of “the disciple that Christ loved,” Dayspring is an intimate retelling of biblical narratives asbut also a tender and emotional coming-of-age tale.
Originally a short story, a full version of Dayspring was published on April 2, 2024.
A Witch’s Guide to Burning, Aminder Dhaliwal
What originally began as a webcomic periodically posted to Instagram, A Witch’s Guide to Burning is now a full-fledged graphic novel by Canadian storyboard artist Aminder Dhaliwal. When the burning at the stake of a local witch is interrupted by a rainstorm, she is left to die, half-burnt with only minimal magic left in her. Luckily, she is found by a witch doctor and her toad friend, who make it their goal to save her and nurse her back to health.
Both a charming tale about a displaced witch and her magical friends and commentary about the insidious presence of burnout in our society, A Witch’s Guide to Burning will be available on May 28, 2024.
The Head, Robyn Braun
One day, Professor Trish Russo wakes up to find that the disembodied, but still living, head of an infant has somehow materialized in her home. Trish is unsure of what to do—it cries like a baby and makes sounds like one, so she figures she must take it with her to work.
At the office, her colleagues are disgusted- not by the head, but because she brought it to work. Put on leave, Trish goes to visit her parents, who react in a similar way to her colleagues.
No matter where she turns, Trish is blamed for this thing that she has seemingly no control over. Robyn Braun’s The Head, a bizarre and darkly funny take on trauma, workplace culture and the unsavoury ways that can manifest in our lives, will be available for purchase on May 7, 2024.
I Met Death and Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley, Thom Vernon
In this dark comedy by Thom Vernon, a Toronto high school teacher enlists the help of one of his students in the actioning of his gruesome suicide. Over the course of a 24-hour blizzard, the student, his best friend, his mother and a “low-down” cop must now do everything they can to hide the body and save each other before the storm ends.
I Met Death and Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley, will be available for purchase on May 1, 2024.
Bird Suit, Sydney Hegele
In the sleepy, tourist town of Port Peter, summers are marked by the hot sun and ripening of peaches— and also by the presence of the mysterious bird women who live in the meadow by the lake. When the summer finally ends and the tourists clear out, the girls in Port Peter left hanging with an unwanted pregnancy know what has to be done. They must deliver the baby to the bird women. The birds accept all of these babies- except for Georgia Jackson.
20 years later, Georgia is back in Port Peter and finds herself in the middle of a complicated mess of grief and emotion with her mother’s ex, his wife and their son. A folk tale described as “gorgeously strange, [and] marvellously written,” by Laird Hunt, author of Zorrie and In the House in the Dark of the Woods, Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele promises to be a debut novel that is as wildly strange as it is special and deeply emotional.