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Books

All these...and I've still got four in a drawer. Plus two halves, so I guess that's five.

Great Bear Rainforest

Go behind the scenes, into the intense and demanding experience of creating an IMAX® film in the Great Bear Rainforest. You know, like having a sea lion pop your entire head in its mouth while you're underwater. Special interviews with the crew, producer and filmmakers. Photographs by Ian McAllister.

Great Bear Rainforest book by Alex Van Tol Buy

Aliens Among Us

Informed by the curators, collection managers and exhibits at the Royal BC Museum—and illustrated by the brilliant Mike Deas—this book tells the stories of more than 50 alien and invasive animals and plants that have established themselves in British Columbia.

Aliens Among Us book by Alex Van Tol Buy

Good Morning, Takaya

A rhyming board book about Takaya, the wolf that lived alone on BC's Discovery Island, just off the coast of Victoria, for the better part of a decade. Accompanied by Cheryl Alexander's stunning photos that illustrate the natural splendour of Takaya's island refuge.

Good Morning, Takaya book by Alex Van Tol Buy

Oracle

I like this review line: "A warm, sensitive look at the difficult relationships that our youth must face as they grow into adulthood." (AKA: a book about a kid who poses as an astrology expert to win the babe of his dreams.)

Oracle book by Alex Van Tol Buy

Chick: Lister

Chick is a popular fourteen-year-old who is essentially on this earth to live up to his father’s impossible expectations―or, at least, that’s how he feels. Lots of jumping-off points here for conversations about anxiety.

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Redline

Jenessa tries to outrun the agony of her best friend's death in the only way she knows. A taut, fast-paced action novel that deals with death, grief and emotional manipulation. I might have swiped that last line from a review.

Buy

Knifepoint

Gonna just give you a review line on this one: "Nail-biting suspense, fast-paced adventure, and believable characters will pull even the most reluctant reader through to the end."

Buy

Viral

After a compromising video goes viral around their school community, Lindsay seems to be determined to destroy herself. Plenty of talking points, including media consent, sexual consent and suicide.

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Shallow Grave

Tasked with cleaning up the old boathouse as a consequence for a school prank, Shannon and Elliot find themselves caught up in a deadly paranormal mystery that demands to be solved before time runs out.

Buy

Gravity Check

While at mountain bike camp, brothers Jamie and Seth stumble on an illegal grow-op in the North Shore BC wilderness—and the thugs that guard the place. (Note: I wrote GC before weed was legalized in Canada...you'd never be able to have this big of an adventure in a grow-op nowadays.)

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Food Freak

Ashamed of her father who has taken to waving placards proclaiming the evils of processed foods, Dani flees to a new school—and anonymity. But now that this alluring guy Gregor is on the scene, can she keep her family secret hidden?

Buy

Dead Man's Curve

The publisher went out of business (maybe it was me?), so the book is gone, but this story holds some of my finest horror scenes. In fact, I think I was so horrified at myself for having written it, I haven't ever had the urge to revisit the genre.

All gone

Sonia Sotomayor: U.S. Supreme Court Justice

President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court in 2009, inviting in the country's first Hispanic Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor has built a life as a lawyer, activist and judge committed to the rights and advancement of people of all backgrounds and ethnicities.

Sonia Sotomayor book by Alex Van Tol Buy

Dolores Huerta: Voice for the Working Poor

Fueled by her own contact with migrant farm workers, Dolores became an outspoken labour rights activist. She founded the United Farm Workers with Mexican American labour leader César Chávez, and worked to improve the lives of workers, immigrants and women.

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Liam Hemsworth

Growing up in Australia, Liam Hemsworth's youth was focused more on surfing than acting. This early-career biography catches Hemsworth just as he moved into the Hunger Games franchise. I was a little jealous of the author who got to write about Katy Perry. I was much more interested in her story.

Buy