Book Reviews

Blood Root  by Jessica Hiemstra ECW Books 112 pages $22 Jessica Hiemstra’s latest poetry collection, Blood Root, explores themes of belonging, home, and the complexities of loss related to war and colonialism. Rarely shying away from the rawness of death and the...

She’s a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock ECW Books 312 pages $25 In Meredith Hambrock’s She’s a Lamb!, protagonist Jessamyn St. Germain doesn’t just dream of stardom—she demands it, claws at it, deludes herself into believing it’s owed to her. Hambrock shines a spotlight on...

Shadow Price by Farah Ghafoor House of Anansi Press 128 pages $23 Ecopoetry is a field that often explores the boundaries of human, animal, and machine. Shadow Price, the debut collection from Farah Ghafoor, presents a groundbreaking take on ecopoetry, exploring these...

Elseship  by Tree Abraham Book*hug Press 282 pages $25 In this dazzling work of creative non-fiction that brings together perceptive prose and mesmerizing visuals, Ottawa-born writer and book designer Tree Abraham theorizes friendship, love, identity, and language by...

Opening Ceremony  by Laura Marie Marciano Metatron Press 64 pages $18 Laura Marie Marciano’s second poetic memoir, Opening Ceremony, will hit uncomfortably close to home for many aging Millennials—and Marciano does not hold back. Composed with the same candor and...

Toxemia by Christine McNair Book*hug Press 176 pages $23 Christine McNair’s memoir, Toxemia, is a deeply personal account of her experiences with pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy condition marked by high blood pressure, piercing headaches, double vision,...

I Hate Parties by Jes Battis Nightwood Editions 102 pages $20 Jes Battis’s I Hate Parties is a nostalgic poetry collection that chronicles adolescence in the ‘80s and ‘90s—social anxiety and Discmans included—and is peppered with musings from an adult navigating the...

All Hookers Go To Heaven by Angel B.H. Invisible Publishing 368 pages $24 “Since the promise of eternal life was no longer on the horizon, I sought, instead, to experience the full expression of my own self-destruction. Instead of aiming for Heaven, I was now hurtling...

Mary and the Rabbit Dream by Noémi Kiss-Deáki Coach House Books 232 pages $25 A good historian understands that history is, at its core, a narrative—one usually written by those in power. Noémi Kiss-Deáki is one such historian. Mary and the Rabbit Dream, Kiss-Deáki’s...

Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele Invisible Publishing 272 pages $16.95 “The Port Peter peaches lure tourists,” begins Sydney Hegele’s debut novel, Bird Suit, and their hypnotic writing lures readers into this sickly-sweet saga just as effectively. Nestled on the shores of...