Read Rover: Historical Fiction

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Historical Fiction

I'd like to tell them that my father's name was Shipu, that he was a great moose hunter and great fisherman, a friend to the animals, the wind, the sun, the trees and the water. I want to tell them that my name is Nipishish, and that I'm his son. That I decided to come here to become educated, to be free, and that I'm ready to do whatever it takes to rebuild my life, leave the miserable reserve, forget the damned residential school.

There are so many things I'd like to tell them, but the words won't come out. I don't know who I am anymore. Larivière? Nipishish? Métis?

Michel Noël's Good for Nothing tells the story of how 15-year-old Nipishish grows to become a man in northern Québec in the 1960s. Nipishish has managed to escape the abusive residential school system and returned to his ancestral home, only to discover the Canadian government has decided to build white people's homes on the land. Watching the poorly thought out reserve decimate the spirits of his community, he decides he must escape to the city.

The Government decrees Nipishish attend school in Mont-Laurier, an all-white town, and live with foster parents there. Deciding this wll be his chance at freedom, Nipishish agrees and begins school in the community. However, there is no place where he really fits in and after much pain and anguish Nipishish discovers he must return to his roots and uncover the mystery surrounding his father's death.

Good for Nothing tells the story of a neglected period in our history from the point of view of people who seldom get to talk about their experience of it. The book has something for everyone: politics, romance, mystery and should make people reconsider what they think about Canada's residential system and the reality of racism in this country. Recommended reading for men and women ages 15 and up.

The details: Noël, Michel. Good for Nothing. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2004.

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How Do I Find Good Books?

http://ramp.torontopubliclibrary.ca/secondary/booksmore/one-content.jsp Ramp: Books & More - Toronto Public Library. Check out the books of the week for 2007. There are 52 books here with something for everyone. Also check out teen picks, graphic novels, magazines and audiobooks. Ramp is TPL's site for young adults and it's really well organized. There is a segment in the Stuff to Do section that tells you where to go in Toronto for free and there are links to a variety of useful pages, including the TTC schedule and movie times.
http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/books_dvds_and_more/cat/C528/ Book Lists - Vancouver Public Library. The booklists are kind of confusing because the children's lists are mixed in with the Y. A. ones but don't let that put you off. Just read through the one sentence summaries and you'll quickly see that they have guides for selecting books in a variety of interesting areas, like GLBQT youth, First Nations, Historical Fiction, Mysteries, Thrillers, Multicultural Fiction and so on. The booklists are part of VPL's larger VPL Teens' Zone, so if you're local you might want to navigate through the rest of the site to see what they have to offer (check out the events!).

Magazines

http://www.fazeteen.com/main.htm. Faze. Faze is a Canadian teen magazine covering music, sports, careers and social issues. The covers make it look like your typical mindless fashion mag but Faze’s editors focus on showing people of different body types and writing about more than how to land a boyfriend. But for how long will this continue? While it started off proudly displaying a tiny, stylized maple leaf on its cover the editors have chosen to abandon the icon in favour of a more Americanized cover, which is kind of a shame. Why can't we ever be proud of our cultural heritage? I hope that Faze doesn’t bow to the pressure of fitting into one particular image in order to increase sales. Time will tell. That said the issues I read featured well written and informative articles on a variety of subjects. While there is a sizable section focused on beauty/make up/clothing, the models were of different races and ethnicities and appear to be real people (although none were overweight). The clothing is relatively affordable and available in Canada (Yay!) but sometimes only in big cities such as Toronto. I LOVED that one quiz I read was titled, “Test your Classic Literature IQ” rather than “Is He into You?” Awesome. The articles will appeal to both genders (ex. musician biographies, skateboarding tips) and the career profiles are a great way to get people thinking about what they want to do when they finish school, which is particularly important given the rocky state of today’s economy. All in all, there is a really positive vibe to this magazine and I would recommend it to teenage girls looking for something beyond the run-of-the-mill.
http://www.vergemagazine.ca/ Verge Magazine: Travel with Purpose. A magazine for people finishing high school who are considering volunteering, working, studying or travelling abroad. The Spring 2009 issue features a wide range of interesting articles on ecotourism, wildlife photography, Québecois youth working with Peruvian youth and a debate about whether tourism can actually benefit endangered animals and spaces. The magazine focuses on international development and even offers an award for people making a difference in this field. Verge’s website features a resource centre with links to programs like the Student Work Abroad Program (SWAP) that could be very useful to anyone seriously considering spending time abroad. The founder of the magazine is from Waterloo, Ontario, and Verge publishes articles with both a Canadian and American perspective. Highly recommended for people ages 16-18 with an interest in either travel or international development.

Featured Films

Coraline. Adapted from Neil Gaiman's graphic novel of the same name, Coraline tells the story of a young girl who is dissatisfied with her own parents and yearning for something "other," some magical world where her parents and friends meet all of her desires. The movie may have been marketed as a children's or family film but it is clearly too dark for children and will be appreciated far more by older teens and adults. The graphics are lush and fantastical and seeing the movie in 3-D, which some theatres offered, was an intense experience where incredible flowers enveloped the viewer. But it is that same sense of falling deeply into another world that makes the movie so intensely frightening when it inevitably turns darker. For, as we all must come to learn, there is no world where all of our desires are met without a catch. We all must recognize that the sort of egocentricity that demands others bend to our will can ultimately be both self-destructive and damaging to the relationships we hold most dear. Will Coraline be able to reverse the agony she's caused by entering another world at night, one where her Other Mother and Other Father entertain all of her whims? Go see the movie and find out. And when you've finished, head to your local public library and pick up the graphic novel!