New Releases by Sylvia McNicoll

The journey to conquering your fears starts with 1,776 steps. Starting sixth grade after years of homeschooling, Ella is tired of being known as Allergic-to-Everything Girl. She just wants to eat pizza without breaking into hives, convince her mom to adopt a Whoodle dog, and get over her stage fright so she can perform her poem to her class. When her best friend signs up for a CN Tower climb for charity, Ella knows she has to join. If she can climb to the top and summon the courage to recite her poem over the city, she’s convinced she’ll finally be cured of her fears.

In her worst summer ever, Naomi’s life falls apart. Her dog Diesel dies, Dad loses his job, her parents split, and she’s stuck babysitting instead of taking swimming lessons. Then Naomi drowns. Naomi wakes to an alive, talking Diesel, who knows why her watch keeps resetting to 4:30 on July 1. Can his knowledge save her?

2020-21 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award — Shortlisted Five-year-old Pearl claims that a pirate stole the rare Blushing Diamond. But everyone’s a pirate on Halloween. Dogwalker Stephen Noble has been recruited to walk his five-year-old reading buddy, Pearl Lebel, to and from school while her mother is away and her father is ill. He’s sure that this will be easier than walking canine clients Ping and Pong — until Pearl locks herself in the house, runs away from home, and loses her family’s rare pink diamond ring. When Pearl claims that a pirate took the ring, Stephen and Renée are on the case. But the more they discover, the more it feels like everyone is a suspect. With Pearl annoying them every step of the way, will they be able to solve the mystery before the ring''s scheduled appearance at the Brilliant Diamond Show?

2019 Hamilton Literary Award for Fiction — Winner A fatal collision — who’s to blame? Two bodies, two souls switch in search of justice. When fifteen-year-old Hallie gets knocked flying by a Hurricane SUV, her life ends without her ever having kissed a boy. At an otherworldly carnival, she meets and argues with the eighty-two-year-old driver, Susan. Both return to life, only with one catch — they’ve swapped bodies. Now Hallie has wrinkled skin and achy joints while Susan deals with a forehead zit and a crush on a guy who’s a player. Hallie faces a life in a long-term care residence. Susan gets picked up for shoplifting. As they struggle with technology, medications, and each other’s fashion foibles, they start to understand and maybe even like each other. But can they work together to prove that a defect in the Hurricane caused the deadly crash? Or will their time run out?

Anxious young Stephen Noble and his friend Renée are the dogwalking detectives! This special three-book bundle collects the first three book in The Great Mistake Mysteries. Includes The Great Mistake Mystery Dogwalker Stephen Nobel has a habit of overanalyzing things. When the bomb squad searches his school and a car crashes into the building, Stephen can’t leave it alone. But now his new friend Renée and his furry clients Ping and Pong are wrapped up in a dangerous mystery with a real criminal! The Artsy Mistake Mystery Renée and Stephen team up when Renée’s brother Attila is accused of stealing the outdoor art that’s been disappearing all over the neighbourhood. Convinced that Attila is innocent, Renée and Stephen set out to find the truth about the missing art. The Snake Mistake Mystery In the third Great Mistake Mystery, Stephen and Renée investigate a recent robbery that has been pinned on the Noble Dogwalking Agency. The crime involves a missing python and a key that Stephen says he lost. Stephen and Renée need to solve this case or the Noble Dogwalking Agency will go under!

Noble Dog Walking takes care of pets, even if they slither. When a ball python they’re looking after disappears, Stephen Noble and Renée Kobai join forces with their favourite clients, Jack Russell Ping and greyhound Pong, to find that snake. The local animal shelter proves no help at all. The only thing they care about is their annual cat sale. It’s starting to look like the ball python may have been stolen, when Stephen and Renée get word that more homes have been broken into, all of them clients of Noble Dog Walking. The case turns desperate as one by one, their clients leave. After losing Ping and Pong as clients, too, Stephen and Renée pin their last hope on gathering all the suspects at the animal shelter, and a real Cat-astrophe ensues.

Renée and Stephen team up when Renée’s brother Attila is accused of stealing the outdoor art that’s been disappearing all over the neighbourhood. Convinced that Attila is innocent, Renée and Stephen set out to find the truth about the missing art.

Some people count their blessings, but dogwalker Stephen Nobel counts mistakes. Dogwalker extraordinaire Stephen Nobel can get a little anxious, but his habit of counting the mistakes he and everyone else makes calms him. His need to analyze gets kicked into hyperdrive after two crazy events happen in one day at school: the bomb squad blows up a backpack and someone smashes a car into the building. To make things worse, that someone thinks Stephen can identify them. Stephen receives a threatening text. If he goes to the police, his favourite dogs, Ping and Pong, will get hurt. The pressure mounts when his new best friend, Renée, begs for Stephen’s help. Her brother has been charged with the crimes and she wants to clear his name. Is it a mistake to give in to dognappers? How can he possibly save everybody? To find out, Stephen will have to count on all of his new friends. CCBC’s Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2017) Selection

Inspired by the true story of a teen who was killed at a railway crossing, the author weaves the tale of fourteen-year-old Paige, who, taking a shortcut alongside the tracks to avoid the school bullies, is tragically hit by a train and transported to a surreal world where she encounters Kim, who died seven years before. Convinced she is only dreaming, Paige must discover a way to return to her former life. Poignant, gripping, and full of unexpected twists and turns, Best Friends through Eternity will resonate with readers who have struggled with cultural identity, a sense of belonging, and the real meaning of home.

When a small plan crashes in the bush, teenage Sky and her younger brother are mostly unhurt. But their mother is badly injured and Doc only has the use of one arm. When no help arrives, Sky has to overcome fear, cold and despair to save her mother''s life.

Leaving behind England (and the graves of his mother and baby sister) 12-year-old William sails to Canada with his father, where he joins the campaign to eradicate flies in cities and stop the spread of deadly diseases.

Owen has just three days to prove to his father that Hero will be no trouble - or back to the shelter he goes. The odds are against Hero. He''s got problems with a monster cat, chews up Owen''s homework, and makes messes on the floor. Can Hero live up to his name? A book that''s both fun and funny, exciting and warm hearted. Interest Level: Grades 4-6+ Reading Level: Grade 2.4 (Lexile 390L) HIP JR novels feature preteen characters in exciting, realistic situations. Written for readers in Grades 4-7, reading at Grade 2-3 level.

When a skateboarding accident claims 14-year-old Jade''s life, she negotiates a one-week do-over in heaven. Will she attempt to improve the world or simply live life full out? Or will she try to cheat fate instead?

Last year, Sunny served forty hours volunteer time on an Alzheimer''s ward, where she developed a crush on Cole, another volunteer. Now she is on trial for manslaughter.

Instead of spending the summer shopping with her mother in Paris, Zanna is stuck in the ice fields of Alberta with her glaciologist father and twin brother, but her grumpy outlook changes when she finds a wolf puppy under the cabin''s front porch.

A contemporary high school love story: a girl who raises dog guides to overcome the objections of her family, her friends and her school, while she builds a relationship with an older blind and idabetic boy who is the new owner of one of her dogs.

"A Canadian Children''s Book Centre Our Choice, 2005 Manitoba Young Reads'' Choice Award Nominee 2005" Second of the "Bringing Up Beauty" triology! "Bringing Up Beauty" won the 1996 Silver Birch Children''s Choice Award and the 1997 Manitoba Young Reader''s Choice Award. In "Bringing Up Beauty," Elizabeth had her heart broken over the lab puppy she raised for - and returned to - a guide dog program. In "A Different Kind of Beauty," she''s trying again. But this time, she vows, she won''t fall in love. She''ll have fun, sure, but she won''t surrender to those big soulful eyes and goofy puppy love. Hmmm... is it Beauty II she''s resisting, or Scott, the "former" boyfriend who just keeps hanging around?

Fourteen-year-old Kim hates school, but she''s sure her good looks and great fashion sense will get her out of her boring life and into a world of glamour! All she can think about is becoming a model. Why can''t she ace school tests the way she handles the friendship and dating quizzes in her favourite fashion magazines? How will studying help her escape the kind of boring life her parents lead? Why will she need school once she gets a lucrative modeling job? By the time Kim discovers that all the glamour is just hype, she has lied to teachers and her parents, raided her "untouchable" education bank account, alienated her best friend, lost her boyfriend, and been caught shoplifting. A true-to-life look at what a teenager encounters as she becomes obsessed with her image, Caught in a Lie traces Kim''s growth to understanding.

Grave Secrets is published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside.

As if bathtub floods, chewed homework, and accidents on the floor weren''t enough! Being saddled with so much responsibility for bringing up Beauty only adds insult to injury. With a flapjack tongue and oversized feet, this is the ugliest puppy Elizabeth has ever seen. It will be easy to resist loving her. And since Beauty is only staying until she can be trained as a guide dog, there is no room for love in this relationship... At the age of twelve, with busy parents, a sister who''s too cool for words, and two best friends suddenly dating each other, Elizabeth could use a little unconditional love.

Money problems, parent problems, babysitting, and braces on her teeth give Melissa plenty to think about over the summer.

Eric''s family agreed to look after Smoky for just one year. After that, the black Lab pup will go back to Canine Vision Canada to be trained as a guide dog. And that day can''t come too soom for Eric. Then something happens that changes everything ...

Lauren knows if she loses twenty pounds Jay will finally notice her. And it can''t be that hard, can it? Andrea lost ten pounds in less than a month. But Andrea''s starting to act weird. Today she even fainted in class. Lauren''s worried. Andrea says she''s dying to be thin...but just how far will she go?

"A story about a boy who is forever competing with his classmate - a girl who''s great at everything she does - and the consequences of his jealousy. Ideal for discussions about competition and acceptance" Cf. Our choice, 1996-1997.