Canadian Literature

No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process is an autobiography published in 2009. Author Colin Beavan, tired of being a liberal who only lectures his wife about not wearing fur, decides to dedicate himself, his wife Michelle, and their toddler Isabella to a year of creating no impact on the environment. His... Read No Impact Man Summary

First published in 2000, No Logo is Naomi Klein’s classic examination of globalization and its discontents at the close of the 20th century. What started as a journalistic “hunch” about growing anticorporate sentiment on university campuses evolved into a full-scale exposé of the subterranean social and economic system lurking behind our logo-driven consumption.  The stated hypothesis of the book is that “as more people discover the brand-name secrets of the global logo web, their outrage... Read No Logo Summary

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman (Hyperion Books, 2002) is a humorous middle-grade fiction book about how one boy’s unwillingness to lie changes his life and the lives of everyone at his school. No More Dead Dogs won the 2002 Young Reader’s Choice Award (intermediate), one of many award-winners penned by Korman. Gordon Korman published his first book (This Can’t be Happening at Macdonald Hall, first in the Macdonald Hall series) when he was... Read No More Dead Dogs Summary

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Not Wanted on the Voyage is a 1984 novel set prior to and during the event known as “the Flood”. However, the setting is not in accordance with the traditional Judeo-Christian telling. Instead, it is heavily steeped in magical realism, including unconventional interpretations of mythical creatures, oblique references to alchemy and arcane magic, and a plethora of conflicting anachronisms that lead the reader to frequently revise their understanding of the world. However unusual the world... Read Not Wanted on the Voyage Summary

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Oryx and Crake is a dystopian science-fiction novel that deals with extreme genetic engineering. The plot does not unfold in a linear fashion, nor are the facts established from the outset. Rather, the novel moves back and forward in time, often on a chapter-by-chapter basis, and the reader gradually pieces together what has happened.The novel begins by establishing its central character, “Snowman,” who we find sitting near the sea. He is dishevelled and gaunt, and... Read Oryx and Crake Summary

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Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis follows 13-year-old Parvana as she makes her way across war-torn Afghanistan in search of her mother and siblings. Published in 2002, this novel is a sequel to the international bestseller The Breadwinner, which was adapted as a 2017 animated film, and is the second in a series of four called The Breadwinner series. Although Parvana’s Journey is a work of fiction, Ellis bases the setting of the novel on the... Read Parvana's Journey Summary

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is a middle grade novel by Jonathan Auxier originally published in 2011. The novel encompasses a variety of genres: fantasy, the heroic quest, and even some Dickensian orphan flourishes, for good measure. It was a BookPage Magazine Best Book of the year, an ABA New Voices selection (2011), and a finalist for the Monica Hughes Award for science fiction and fantasy.This study guide references the edition published by Amulet... Read Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes Summary

In Plagues and Peoples, William H. McNeill argues that patterns of disease have integrally influenced human history from prehistory to the modern day. Until 1976, the year of this book’s publication, the historical study of disease was treated as a footnote of minor importance compared to war, agriculture, and politics. By contrast, McNeill takes a broader view and breaks human history into two categories. The forces of ecology and humanity are equally weighed in McNeill’s... Read Plagues and Peoples Summary

Prisoner of Tehran is a memoir by Marina Nemat that recounts her harrowing experiences in an Iranian prison post-1979 revolution, highlighting The Impact of Political and Ideological Repression. Through her narrative, Nemat explores The Challenges Faced by Women Under Authoritarian Regimes, illustrating the severe constraints and injustices they endured. Despite these adversities, her story is a testament to The Resilience of the Human Spirit, which showcases her journey of survival and defiance against oppressive forces.This... Read Prisoner of Tehran Summary

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