Special Collections

The Shade

Safira doesn't believe in ghosts, but the girl in her cabin at camp was not a living person, so what was she? Safira's friend Trinity is convinced Safira's seen a ghost and sets out to discover who the ghost girl is. Safira is too busy dealing with her family to help solve the mystery. Safira has never gotten along with her sister, Mya, and now that Mya's pending marriage dominates the family there seems to be no hope for friendship between them. But when Trinity discovers the death of a girl named Myra, Safira starts to wonder if the ghost-girl has an important message about her own sister. 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!

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Shadow

Fourteen-year-old Preston Craft is organizing a film festival for his school's film club when a crime occurs. One of the films goes missing two days before the festival begins, Preston is convinced it was stolen and is determined to get it back. The only indication of the theft is a suspicious shadow that Preston noticed right before he discovered the film was gone—but Preston is legally blind and no one quite believes him. However, not unlike the gritty private eyes in the classic black-and-white films he adores, Preston refuses to give up. Can he solve the mystery based on such a shady clue? 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.

Date Added: 03/15/2018

Shadow Ride

Bronwen Smith trains hard with Olympus, her Hanoveriean-cross gelding, preparing for the most grueling of equestrian events: three-day eventing, including dressage, stadium and cross-country jumping. A member of the Ontario Young Riders' Team, she aims to excel at the North American Young Riders' Championships upcoming in Illinois. She trains so hard, in fact, that she hasn't time to make friends, and recently her secret demon--bulimia--has returned to plague her. A chance encounter with a poet and his wife, however, forces Bronwen to reassess her priorities. Soon she's moving towards the balance needed to truly succeed, in the show ring and in life. Shadow Ride shows how hard it can be for a young woman to set high standards for herself and at the same time accept who she is.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Shadow Road

In Book Four of the Warlocks of Talverdin series, half human warlock Nethin is abducted and forced to use his formidable powers to open the shadow road, an action that may have terrible consequences beyond anyone's imagining.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Shadows on the Train

It's all aboard! for mystery when Dinah Galloway takes the cross-country train from Vancouver to Toronto, to appear on a TV talent show. But will she make it-or be permanently derailed? Along with her sister Madge, and her fellow junior musicians, tree fanatic Pantelli Audia and history buff Talbot St. John, Dinah is shadowed by someone who wants to get hold of an $80,000 treasure left by her late dad. But what is the treasure? The redheaded, singing sleuth realizes that the secret dwells somewhere in her dad's murky past, and involves a funny, if less than respectable, ex-con named Ardle McBean, and a mysterious man with a bowl cut. The mystery accelerates when Dinah's sweet, elderly piano teacher, also on the train, disappears and the danger to Dinah increases. She struggles to keep on the tracks of the mystery before the shadows, past and present, overwhelm her.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Shapeshifter

This is the turbulent and heartbreaking story of Sive, a girl of the Otherworld who must flee her world of plenty to live as a hunted beast. Surviving hardship, danger and crushing loneliness, she finally finds refuge -- and unexpected joy -- with a mortal champion, Finn Mac Cumhail, the great hero of Irish legend. But Sive's ordeal is far from over. She has a gift the Dark Man craves, and the smallest misstep will give him his chance to snatch her away from all she holds dear. Set in the wild, magical landscape of Iron Age Ireland, Shapeshifter is a tale of rapacious evil, quiet courage and the healing power of love.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Shark

Seventeen-year-old Mark "Shark" Hewitt is good at playing pool. Really good. When he, his mom and sister move to a new town, Mark immediately seeks out the local pool hall. He loves to play, but even more than that, he just loves hanging out with the regulars. It reminds him of good times with his dad, who is no longer in the picture. When one of the patrons notices Mark's natural gift for the game, he forces Mark to use his talent for profit. Now Mark has to find a way to get out from under this sleazeball's thumb and protect his family.

Date Added: 03/15/2018

Shooting Star

Quyen is a basketball star at her Ottawa school until a fight with her coach forces her to find another team. Her new teammates are hard to get along with and one of them goes out of her way to pick on Quyen. Then, when her parents start acting strangely, Quyen is forced to confront her family's past in Vietnam in order to face the challenges of the present. Shooting Star is a touching story of how past tragedy affects future generations, for good and ill.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Shortcuts #1

Keegan, the best skier on the hill, ends up playing detective when he discovers that someone is trying to sabotage the ski team, and it looks like a pretty blonde snowboarder is involved.

Date Added: 03/27/2018

Shut-Out!

David dreams of soccer glory, and is willing to suffer hours of monotonous practice drills to achieve it. His asthma might slow him down a little, but he works every day to be a better player.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Sink or Swim

Dario Cavalito has his summer plans all mapped out: he's going to split his time between the basketball court and his Uncle Vinny's cafe, the "Via Granita," off Commercial Drive in a funky Vancouver neighborhood. His plans are derailed, however, when his mother tells him he' s going to summer camp--to a water sports camp, no less. Dario can barely do the dog paddle, so he's not exactly thrilled. When he finally gets tired of playing sick and hiding in the camp's infirmary, he finds he actually kind of likes the water. As the camp's sailing regatta approaches, he fights to overcome the last of his reluctance and to win big. Packed with action and humour, "Sink or Swim" is a story about a boy overcoming his fears and striving for his best performance.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Sk8er (Sports Stories Series)

Jordy Lee and his friends are thrilled when a new skateboarding park offers a youth competition.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Skate Freak

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.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Slam Dunk

Mason's basketball team, the Cabbage town Raptors, is going co-ed after seven successful seasons. He's pretty open-minded about the change, especially after he meets Cindy, a really top-notch player.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Slam Dunk

Sixteen-year-old Salvador "Slam" Amaro thinks being the assistant coach of the Brookfield High School girls' basketball team will be an easy gig. Show up, run a few drills and pad his resumé so he can win a spot on the Ontario Provincial Under-17 team. But Slam's job suddenly gets a lot harder when the girls' coach and her daughter, the star point-guard, vanish after being threatened. Getting to the bottom of their disappearance puts Slam in confrontation with a mysterious stalker. But that's not his only problem. With the girls facing playoff elimination, Slam has to come up with some new coaching strategies while he battles some tough competitors for a place on the Ontario squad.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Snitch

Josh had been living in a group home after being ratted out by Scott, his one-time best friend. Now Josh has moved in with his brother and overbearing sister-in-law and has been sent to a class designed to teach him to deal with his anger. When an old enemy continues to push his buttons and Scott appears to be up to his old tricks, Josh struggles to control his temper. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, it will take all of his new-found strength to keep his cool—and his freedom. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Also available in Spanish.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Soccer Star!

Samantha Keyes is used to a life on the move. Her military family has been transferred across Canada, and she's grown up with stories of her Inuit ancestors exploring the far north. For Sam, soccer has been the one constant in her life. But now that she's thirteen, her home base isn't the only thing that's changing. Sam longs to show up Carly, her school's reigning soccer star, but Sam's new interest in theatre is taking up a lot of time. Does she have the time to practice her sport and be the lead in the school play? And just how far will she go to prove to her parents that she can handle more than one extracurricular activity?

Date Added: 05/25/2017

The Solstice Cup

On a visit to Ireland, twin sisters are lured into the "Otherworld," where a dangerous enchantment threatens to separate them.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Somebody's Girl

Martha knows she is adopted, but she's well-loved and popular, at least until her mother gets pregnant and she feels her parents' attention start to shift. Upset and confused, Martha lashes out at—and loses—her friends. She also makes no secret about her annoyance at being forced to do a school project about sturgeon with Chance, a difficult boy whose foster parents are family friends. To add insult to injury, Martha's birth mother announces that she is getting married and moving away. Now Martha isn't number one in anybody's life. When her mom goes into labor prematurely, Martha realizes that she needs to figure out a way to be a better friend and daughter, and a great sister.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Something Girl

Sophie is in a lot of trouble. She is on probation for stealing and is doing poorly at school. Her mom doesn't really talk to her, and the other adults in her life are pressuring Sophie to talk about her bruises. Sophie worries that if she tells, she will be sent to live in a group home. Her friend Jujube is the only person who knows the truth, and now Jujube, too, wants Sophie to speak up.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Speaking Our Truth

Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential school system and the lack of understanding of the historical and current impact of those schools.

Healing and repairing that relationship requires education, awareness and increased understanding of the legacy and the impacts still being felt by survivors and their families.

Guided by acclaimed Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith, readers will learn about the lives of Survivors and listen to allies who are putting the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into action.

Date Added: 03/15/2018

Special Edward

Edward is a classic slacker. He's got better ways to spend his time than toiling over homework, and as long as he gets passing grades he's happy. When his fifty percent average is threatened he has to find a way to pull up his grades without applying himself. Edward discovers that special education students get more time to complete tests, and he thinks he's found the perfect scam. Little does he know that manipulating everyone around him will take more work than he ever imagined. Also available in French.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Spiral

When fifteen-year-old Abby is seriously injured, her wounds go far deeper than her broken back. Rehabilitation therapy teaches her to cope with her new physical reality but once she's home with her family, she refuses to participate in life and withdraws into a world of drugs. Abby's family discovers her addiction, and she is sent to a farm that specializes in Equine Assisted Therapy. She must still do battle with her cravings, but when she witnesses the connection between another young patient and a pony, she decides that if this girl can heal, she too can learn to be present in life again.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Splat! (Orca Currents)

Keegan and Alex decide to add some excitement to the town's tomato festival.

Date Added: 05/25/2017

Split (SideStreets)

After her mother suddenly leaves her family for good, Sandra is left behind with her alcoholic father -- and a lot of anger. At first, Sandra is more concerned with getting a job and getting on with her life, but then the people around her start pushing Sandra to at least try to find her missing mother. What will Sandra say to her mother if they are reunited? And how do you find a person who may not want to be found?

Date Added: 05/25/2017