New Releases by Lesley Choyce

John Alexander MacNeil is back with another astonishing adventure. The ninety-year-old still lives alone on the blessed isle of Cape Breton. He still sometimes makes tea for his wife, who died decades ago. He accepts his lonely life, ignoring the world changing around him. But one night, he feels his heart stop. After willing himself back to life with sheer stubbornness, John Alex finds Death himself sitting at his kitchen table, perplexed and intrigued by his victim’s recovery. What follows is a tale on the edge of reality, full of love, doubt and the inexplicable details of an extraordinary life. Keeping what wits he has about him, John Alex needs to muster all the wisdom and courage he has to protect those around him from the dangers of an ever-changing world and the grim reaper he has come to know. In his 103rd book, acclaimed author of The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil takes the reader through another beautiful adventure about time and love. Lesley Choyce tackles topics like dementia, elder sexuality and assisted dying with humour and grace.

The story of two seasoned and intrepid Canadian travellers, Lesley and Linda Choyce, who embark on a new adventure with their West Highland terrier, Kelty. Lesley Choyce is a 70-year-old year-round North Atlantic surfer, the godfather of transcendental wood-splitting, and the award-winning author of over 100 books. His wife, Linda, a former high school principal who has fearlessly commandeered knives from teenage malcontents, usually guides her husband away from quixotic quests, but she is fully on board for this one. As for Kelty, the couple''s West Highland terrier, he''s always ready to give up on chewing shoes and chasing pheasants for something more exciting. For years, Lesley has been fascinated and perplexed by the tumultuous history of England, the inexplicable customs of the English, and the many paradoxes of the people, but also their indomitable spirit. If he were to continue to grow intellectually and spiritually, he was certain that the answers to the meaning of life were to be found in England. As their itinerary expands, Lesley and Linda will cross borders into Wales and Scotland as well. Join the Choyces as they hurtle around the U.K. in search of history (all kinds), good food (mostly Indian), quirky destinations (the smaller and weirder the better), and places for the dog to pee. All while waiting for the imminent arrival of new grandchildren back home in Canada. Ever wondered what a Nova Scotian surfer/wood-splitter/Renaissance man/Westie owner thinks of the U.K.? Now you can find out.

Tyler and Mason dream of escaping to the big city and getting started on their lives. One night, Mason convinces Tyler to help him steal a car and they are soon having the adventure of a lifetime. Until they run out of gas. Stranded on the side of the highway, Mason blames Tyler, Tyler blames Mason and their argument turns physical. Their fight is broken up by a scruffy-looking guy who offers them a ride to the city. Eventually the teens realize their rescuer is none other than Sean Dakota, a heavy-metal musician who suddenly disappeared from the spotlight the previous year. Tyler is intrigued by this music legend, but Mason wants to take advantage of him. Listening to Sean and the lessons he’s learned from his own life choices, Tyler starts to realize how dangerous and damaging his friendship with Mason is. But will he find the courage to branch out on his own?

Down Home for Christmas offers a rich tapestry of seasonal stories from some of Pottersfield Press''s most talented and beloved authors and is sure to touch both those who love Christmas and those who enjoy the entire winter season in our rugged Down East region.

Key Selling Points In The Rules Have Changed, a teenage boy is shocked to learn that a lot has changed in the three years he’s been away. The book is set in a modern not-as-dystopian-as-one-might-think North American high school and is the author''s commentary on the possible impact of the actions of the current US government. In this book themes of rebellion, governmental control and xenophobia are explored. The author has written many titles in the Orca Soundings line, including The Ledge, The Thing You''re Good At and Kryptonite. New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

The award–winning author celebrates the everyday disasters and discoveries that shape a life in this memoir of love, loss, and adventure in Nova Scotia. If Lesley Choyce was not a surfer, he would not have dropped out of graduate school in Manhattan in 1978 and moved to Nova Scotia—a decision that made all the difference. In Saltwater Chronicles, he reflects on the ambitious, idealistic, and brash young man he once was, while the older man ahead of him beckons him forward with a mischievous grin. In between, Choyce adapts to the crisis of becoming a respectable citizen. He experiences the death of his father and of his family dog. He helps guide his wife through cancer as they ride the North Atlantic waves and record a most human range of sorrows and joys. In this, his one-hundredth book, Lesley Choyce takes readers along as he writes about nearly everything under the sun from his home by the sea on the North Atlantic coast of Canada—all of it most ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.

Nick was used to being good at everything. Hockey, football, track, they all came easy to him. Surfing was his latest passion. That is, until the accident. Now partially paralyzed, Nick is angry, depressed and getting far too fond of his prescription meds. But his frequent visits to his physiotherapist, a Syrian refugee, and a budding friendship with a partial amputee who has also experienced firsthand the horrors of war help him start to piece his life back together. A story about overcoming the odds and changing your life for the better.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 EVERGREEN AWARD A tale of one man’s shipwrecked life and an unlikely crew of rescuers. Fifty-five-year-old Charles Howard has lost his long-time journalism job and has been swindled out of his life savings. Standing by the edge of Halifax Harbour on a foggy morning, contemplating his dismal future, his ritual of self-pity is interrupted with the appearance of the mysterious and beguiling Ramona Danforth. And so begins a most interesting relationship. On a whim, Charles asks Ramona to drive him to his childhood home, Stewart Harbour, a fishing village populated by rugged individualists far down Nova Scotia’s remote Eastern Shore. Charles left the Harbour immediately after graduating from high school and never looked back. And now that he''s returned, the past starts catching up with him in ways he could never have imagined.

Everyone knows there are no skunks in Nova Scotia...right? Well, that''s what Pamela thinks, until she wakes up one morning to a terrible smell. Now Pamela stinks, her father stinks, her sister stinks, and her mother stinks. Soon her life stinks--her friends at school won''t come near her! And no matter how many skunks her father catches underneath the house, there always seems to be another. Join Pamela and her family as they confront the odorous onslaught--and watch Pamela slowly start to like the unexpectedly cute creatures.

Jackson knows how to get what he wants. Whether it''s sweet-talking his friends into buying lunch or convincing teachers to give him extensions, he feels entitled to take whatever he wants—even a day off school or a new pair of shoes. Now he''s set his sights on Abby, a troubled girl fresh out of juvie who only has eyes for Bryce, the go-to dealer of a dangerous new drug called kryptonite. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Trevor has known since he was ten years old that he has Huntington''s disease, but at sixteen he is informed that he has one year to live. One day while he''s trying to figure stuff out, an old man named Plank finds him standing at a cliff by the ocean. It''s the beginning of an odd but intriguing relationship. Both Trevor and Plank decide to live by Plank''s Law, which is "just live." This means Trevor has to act on the things on his bucket list, like hanging out with real penguins, star in a science fiction movie and actually talk to Sara—the girl at the hospital who smiles at him. With the aid of Plank and Sara, Trevor revises his bucket list to include more important things and takes charge of his illness and his life.

Sixteen-year-old Declan Lynch starts hearing the voice of a girl inside his head. It isn’t long until he starts falling in love and sets out on a quest that brings him to the shores of Ireland, and places where the “real” world seems like a thin veil stretched over someplace else, in the hopes of finding her.

John Alexander MacNeil is eighty years old. Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, he lives alone in rural Cape Breton, but he still cooks breakfast for his wife, who’s been dead for thirty years. He silently starts to question his own mind after stopping to pick up a hitchhiker — a hitchhiker who turns out to be his neighbour’s mailbox. Everything shifts, though, when Emily, a pregnant teenager, shows up at his house with no place else to go. Determined to help Emily as best as he can, John must also keep the wolves from his door and maintain some semblance of sanity. The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil is a compelling, witty and heartwarming novel by renowned Nova Scotia author Lesley Choyce.

In this high-interest novel for teen readers, Ethan''s new friend Gabe is being harassed for being different than all the other girls.

In this whimsical free-verse novel, young Hunter quite literally propels himself out of this world and into the next after pushing his bike just a little too far. In fact, he flies right off a cliff only to awaken in a place called Heaven. Here he meets a compelling young friend named Trinity. From this point on, his mission is to love and protect her and all the while, find a way back to life on earth. Too bad for Hunter, because that''s when things get really complicated... In the end, through unexpected twists and turns that are both humorous and moving, we discover a little bit about the meaning of love, and something of Heaven and Earth.

Josh’s mother always had issues—with drugs and just getting by. And Josh has always been the one who kept them together. But when his mom dies, he really is on his own and must find a way to look after himself. On his way to his mother’s funeral he meets Lindsay, a cute girl who flirts with him but then steals his wallet. When he confronts her and tells her where he is going, she apologizes, returns his wallet and convinces Josh to let her accompany him to the funeral. So begins a complex relationship that changes both of their lives forever.

In Nova Scotia Love Stories, Lesley Choyce has assembled some of the province''s most beloved authors who explore through fact and fiction the myriad ways in which a love story exists.

Sixteen-year-old Cody was born and raised “off the grid” deep in the wilderness by idealistic parents. When his father becomes seriously ill, the family is forced to move into the city so he can get treatment. Attending high school for the first time, Cody is an oddity and has a hard time adjusting. He finds unlikely allies in DeMarco, an inner-city kid, and Ernest, a philosophical homeless man, and he begins a tentative friendship with Alexis. u003cbru003e    When he comes to DeMarco’s defense in an altercation at school, Cody finds himself in trouble with the police. A second confrontation puts Cody in more trouble with the cops, and he is convinced he must escape to the family homestead or be arrested. But Cody is torn between fleeing the city or staying with his ailing father and facing whatever consequences come his way.u003cpu003e

"Interview with Lesley Choyce"--Pages 167-174.

Just when sixteen-year-old Cameron thinks he''s going to straighten out his troubled life, his parents break up and he ends up living on the street with his dog, Ozzie. Cameron meets a girl named Mackenzie, who has been sleeping in a pup tent in the park. With her help, he tries to survive on the street and continue with school, despite the new challenges in his life. Finding a safe place for them to crash at night is difficult, and panhandling for money isn''t as easy as it looks. Cameron learns that Mackenzie has her own emotional baggage to deal with, and life for a kid with a dog and no home gets even more challenging. After Mackenzie gets into some real trouble, Cameron realizes he needs to come up with a realistic solution if they are going to survive the turbulence. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Tara''s life in Halifax is about as good as it gets--she gets top marks in her class, her parents are cool, she has a good part-time job, her boyfriend Ron edits an alternative paper. Her life is especially good compared to her friend Janet''s. Janet fights with her parents whenever she sees them, which isn''t often. She spends more time begging for change on the street and crashing at the dismal squat locals call Hell''s Hotel. Soon, however, cracks start to appear in Tara''s perfect life. When Ron writes an exposé on the kids who live at the Hotel, Tara is forced to question his motives. Things start falling apart, one by one: her grades slip, her friends drop her, her mom leaves town. When catastrophe hits Hell''s Hotel, however, Tara and Janet find themselves relying on each other more than either expected. Together they aim to make big changes, in their city and in themselves. Set against a gritty, inner-city background, Hell''s Hotel examines the challenges teenagers face every day, in their comfortable homes and on the streets. This book was originally published in 1984 as Dark End of Dream Street.

The odds are stacked against Melanie and Trent, who are trying to stay in high school while holding down part-time jobs to survive. They can''t live at home, and they can''t rely on the social support system. They''re going to have to help each other through if they''re going to make it. Previously published as Falling Through the Cracks, a Canadian Children''s Book Centre "Our Choice" selection.

“Controlled, fluid, wry and passionate.” —Halifax Daily NewsA generous serving of new and selected poems. Lesley Choyce was declared “a national treasure” by the Ottawa Citizen and “Nova Scotia’s answer to the Renaissance Man” by CBC’s Peter Gzowski. Quill and Quire found Lesley Choyce’s writing “life enhancing, life celebrating.” For a taste of this lasting collection, you can watch Lesley read the title poem “I’m Alive. I Believe in Everything,” which is available on youtube.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Cuando Zach descubre que su novia está embarazada, entra en pánico. ¿Qué van a hacer?

Colin is tired of school bullies and other students'' refusal to speak up or "rat" on the real troublemakers. When Colin does speak out against a couple of school thugs, they post an embarrassing photo of him on a social networking website. Colin makes some new enemies in the process but also a few new allies, including the VP, Mr. Miller. One of Colin''s new unwanted allies, though, is Jerome, who is selling weapons to kids at school for "self defense." Colin threatens to turn Jerome in but backs off, tired of his growing reputation as the school rat. When Jerome is shot and killed, Colin regrets not speaking up earlier. Jerome''s killer is now known but has not been located by the police. When the police show up, Colin tells them what he knows, and while he realizes that he has some enemies, he also has some real admirers as well.