New Releases by Lesley Choyce

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.

Dorf a toujours été fidèle à sa devise : « Si ça en vaut la peine, fais-le. Si ça n''en vaut pas la peine, fais-le quand même. » Mais il a déménagé à la ville et le terrain est différent. Il ne peut plus faire rouler sa planche oû bon lui semble et il a de la difficulté à s''intégrer à sa nouvelle école. Ses tricks audacieux lui assurent le respect des voyous du coin, mais il devra faire appel à une autre forme de courage s''il veut vraiment changer sa vie. Cet ouvrage en format ePub est entièrement accessible. Également disponible sous le titre Skate Freak en anglais.

Quinn Dorfman a de la difficulté à l''école alors que sa famille se désagrège. Et depuis qu''il est déménagé à la ville, il n''a plus autant de plaisir à faire de la planche, sa passion.

Quinn Dorfman a de la difficulté à l''école alors que sa famille se désagrège. Et depuis qu''il est déménagé à la ville, il n''a plus autant de plaisir à faire de la planche, sa passion.

Cameron has been in trouble with the law more than once for breaking and entering. After Cameron''s latest conviction, he''s sent to an outdoor program for young offenders rather than a standard juvenile detention facility. There he meets Brianna, a girl who has been caught selling drugs at her school. They bond quickly, and she convinces Cameron to steal two sea kayaks and head off with her into the wilderness of bays and coves of Nova Scotia''s Eastern Shore. It''s a fearless but ill-timed escape as a hurricane is about to pound the coast. They must use all their courage and newfound survival skills if they are going to make it back to shore alive. And Cameron suspects that Brianna may not be telling him the truth about her real plans. 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!

Cody and his friends call it street cleaning--four of them beating up on one guy they don''t like the looks of. Cody partakes in the action, even though he''d rather be taking out his aggression on his drum kit. A drummer without a band is one lost dude, so Cody soon hooks up with Kelsey and guitar playing Alex. Cody manages to keep his destructive tendencies under wraps long enough for the band to start to have a following. But before success comes knocking, Cody''s old friends show up with a score to settle. Cody needs to decide whether the time is right to come clean about his past and face the consequences. Lesley Choyce has revised and updated his 1994 Ann Connor Brimer Award winning novel published under the title Good Idea Gone Bad. His story of teens looking for trouble is as fresh today as it was when it was first published.

When he is 16, Michael Grove is convicted of killing his girlfriend. Despite a confession from the actual murderer, Michael is still regarded as a criminal by most of the people he knows. His six months in jail before the real killer confesses have branded him as an ex-con, a danger to society. The next door neighbour, kids at school, even people he has never met look at him with disrespect and even contempt.

Whether he is yodelling into construction equipment, or driving his car over thin ice, Lesley Choyce believes that mistakes are what makes life interesting and offer us all a true learning experience. In this hilarious new work, Choyce freely shares his most entertaining misadventures along with some of his best advice on topics ranging from plumbing to bad jobs. With a lively, down-to-earth style and a wonderful talent for observation, How to Fix Your Head is sure to make the idea of self-help a lot more enjoyable.

After 17-year-old Brandon falls out of a tree onto his head--and survives--his doctor suggests he''s had such luck he should buy a lottery ticket. So Brandon does, and he wins three million dollars--and that''s last happy moment he has for some time.

Josh knows he''s riding recklessly when he knocks down the old man he suspects is the hermit of Loggerman Creek. Josh is shocked when the hermit walks into the forest with his bike after the accident. Being without his beloved bike for a week motivates him to hike into the woods and confront the crazy old man. The hermit, Jonathan, has fixed Josh''s bike, and Josh learns that he has more in common with the old man than he ever imagined. When Jonathan needs help, Josh has to respect the old man''s choices in order to save his life. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade 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.

Zach and Ashley have been going out for a while, and things are going well—until Ashley finds out she is pregnant. She is angry and blames Zach. She wouldn''t be in this state if he hadn''t been so careless. Insistent at first on an abortion, she turns against Zach. Confused, Zach struggles with what he should do and what his responsibilities are. Coming to terms with the reactions of their families and friends, Zach realizes that this is a decision that he and Ashley must make together. 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! Available in Spanish as Reacción.

"Random" is the story of 16-year-old Joe''s digging into his past, and looking around the present, as he seeks to make sense of the world.

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

Thunderbowl, la banda de Jeremy, está de moda y han conseguido su primera gran oportunidad: una serie de presentaciones en un bar local. El problema es que, aunque Jeremy debería estar al día con sus trabajos escolares, pasa casi todas las noches en el escandaloso club tratando de mantener a la banda unida. Equilibrar los sueños de éxito con las realidades de la industria musical obligará a Jeremy a tomar decisiones muy difíciles. Disponible en inglés: Thunderbowl.

Sixteen-year-old Nigel has written a class assignment about a world where teenagers become the leaders of society. Unexpectedly, Nigel''s story is published, and he quickly becomes a celebrity.

After being the victim of an armed robbery, Sean should be terrified but he isn''t. Sean finds he likes the rush that comes from danger and tries to recreate the feeling. But when his risk-taking leads him to some of the worst parts of town and he finds himself face-to-face with the original armed robbers, he finds he must do the right thing. 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!

"Whether finding hope rescuing ophaned birds, truth in the creation of potholds, beauty in the swirling of herons over a rocky island, Lesley Choyce shares a journey that is funny, honest and deeply rooted in the soil of Nova Scotia. In Seven Raves: Two summers in a life by the sea, Choyce tells us a time when he had slipped "several rungs down the ladder" he was climbing and how he turned to his notebook and to nature to find his way back up." --Book Jacket.

Dorf is all about skateboarding and so far that''s worked out fine. But now that he''s in a new city, the terrain has changed. He''s no longer free to skateboard where he wishes, school is more difficult, and his passion for skateboarding garners him the nickname and reputation of a freak. With daring stunts he gains the grudging respect of local troublemakers, but he needs to tap into another kind of courage to effect real change. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade 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. Also available in French as Accro d''la planche.

After spending 6 months in prison wrongly convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, 16-year old Michael Grove is released, only to find that the stigma of imprisonment will not be easy to escape.

The Discipline of Ice is an experiment of thought and word bursting with enthusiasm, devotion and despair. Part rant, part ode, part mirage, the book covers a wide range of important subject matter, including merit badges, God, cigarettes, Tokyo, Jules Verne, Iceland, Vietnam, cranberries, Clam Bay, Doaktown, Nietzsche, Culloden, County Cork, Joshua Slocum, Euell Gibbons, chantarelles, truth, delusion, class reunions, the death of Peter Gzowski, the Yellowhead Highway, the sound of birds singing and an anthem to silence.

Here is the complete history of the famous cove and the unique village that hosts thousands of visitors each year. The story begins with the formation of the rocks along these shores and the impact of the glaciers. The Mi''kmaq were the first to live here in the summers, harvesting the riches of the sea. A land grant in 1811 brought the first hardy settlers, who built homes and wharves and discovered that the sea could provide bounty but was also a source of great danger. The story includes the origin of the name, Peggy''s Cove, and details about the everyday life of nineteenth-century families living here. A history of the famous lighthouse is included and there are excerpts from many of the famous and not-so-famous visitors who have written about the Cove through two centuries. The author explores the most damaging storms and the shipwrecks, the reports of sea monsters and other strange phenomena. Fishing was always a source of income, but it changed over the years. At times the fish prices were so low it was not worth the effort and, in recent years, dramatic changes to the ocean have seen the collapse of several important species of fish. In the twentieth century, Peggy''s Cove attracted artists, writers and ultimately thousands of tourists. Sculptor William de Garthe made his home here and created his monument to the coastal fishermen out of the sheer granite outcropping in his backyard. In 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed off the shores of Peggy''s Cove and the community opened its doors to the world in an effort to provide support for the rescue workers and the families of the victims. From the earliest days to the present, the story of Peggy''s Cove has been a tale of natural wonder and human endurance.

Asked to write something for English class that expresses who he really is, 16-year-old Carson blisters the page with hate for everything in his life. Stuck in a private school for kids who have repeatedly flunked out elsewhere, Carson knows hes got nowhere lower to sink to. Then he meets someone who is even less optimistic than he is.

Laura wants Carrie to sing in the upcoming talent show, but Carrie has lost her nerve. Includes grey scale illustrations, author and illustrator profiles and book descriptions.

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

Sixteen-year-old Dylan Gibson has always felt different from his classmates and is shocked to discover he is a clone of his dead brother.

Novelist Lesley Choyce weaves together his real-life adventures living by the sea at Lawrencetown Beach on Nova Scotia''s Eastern Shore. He writes of his love for the rugged coast and tells tales of the ordinary and the extraordinary. His story includes accounts of what it''s like surfing in the Canadian North Atlantic through all four seasons including the frigid depths of winter. Also threading its way through this narrative is the story of Minnie''s piano. There is music here in word and spirit along with the lessons learned from the old and the young. Driving Minnie''s Piano is an eloquent personal memoir about the precious and fateful moments that change our lives. It is an exploration of what makes us tick and prompts us to be both heroes and fools in the daily enterprise of living.

Key Selling Points New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

Short-listed for the 2005 CLA Young Adult Canadian Book Award Sixteen-year-old Simon has always been considered odd. Three years ago, a skateboarding accident caused some minor brain damage and made him a little stranger. His career-driven parents mostly leave him alone, and he spends much of his time living in his imagination. When Andrea, whom no one else can see, appears to Simon in class, he is fascinated by her and strikes up a friendship, even though he knows she may be pure hallucination - he’s had imaginary friends before. Andrea says she is there to "help" him, but before the story ends, Simon discovers that it is he who needs to help Andrea, not the other way around.

Jeremy''s band is hot—really hot. Thunderbowl is on the way up and they have had their first big break—a long-term gig at a local bar. The only problem is that while Jeremy should be doing his homework and keeping up in school, he is spending most nights in a rowdy club, trying to keep the band together while his life is falling apart. Trying to balance his dreams of success with the hard realities of the music business, Jeremy is forced to make some tough choices. 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! Available in Spanish as Los Pandemónium.

Lesley Choyce''s poetry is transcendental, joyful and at times ecstatic, though rooted securely in the world. The new poems in Revenge of the Optimist are charged with a kind of soulful music and are distinguished by wide tonal flavours and range. Lesley Choyce has said of his writing that "Poetry arises from events, real or imagined, that stir the intellect and emotions to re-create, through words, the full impact of life''s greatest challenges... the best poetry comes about from the compassion that develops in a writer, the compassion necessary to understand the pain and joy of others while at the same time being able to work with one''s own suffering as a source for emotional honesty in all that is written." Book jacket.