Confluence Campus
Graffiti Knight By: Karen Bass
Leipzig 1947, two years following the end of WWII Leipzig in Southern Germany is occupied by the Soviet Union who prove to be cruel masters, even worse the Schupos (German police) are just as corrupt as their masters beating and humiliating the weak and poor. In an attempt to fight back 16-year-old Wilm starts committing small acts but escalating acts sabotage against the Schupos. This faced paced novel introduces readers to the hardships suffered by the Germans following their defeat.
Call number: BAS
Pages: 288
Awards: 2014 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, 2014 CLA Young Adult Book Award winner
Like Water on Stone By: Dana Walrath
Inspired by a true story this novel follows three siblings as they attempt to escape the 1915 Armenian genocide, by fleeing too Aleppo. Written in poetic verse this is a serious novel
Call number: WAL
Pages: 368
Megiddo's Shadow By: Arthur Slade
After learning about his brothers death in WWI, 16 year old Edward enlists in the army vowing to help fight the huns, his plans of revenge are change when he is sent to Palestine to fight the Ottomans. This realistic war novel can be a thought provoking read.
Call number: SLA
Pages: 368
Awards: The Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards (2007 )
The Orenda By: Joseph Boyden
The Huron have battled the Iroquois for as long as anyone can remember but the arrival of a new power is about to change the balance of power on the continent and the lives of those who live there. Set in the 17th century Canada this richly detailed historical epic follows Bird a Huron warrior seeking to avenge the deaths of his people and his two prisoners Snow Falls a captured Iroquois teen and Christophe a Francophone Jesuit missionary.
Call number: BOY
Pages: 501
Awards: CBC Reads (2014), Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction (2014)
Copper Sun By: Sharon Draper
Amari is eagerly anticipating her marriage to the handsomest man in her village until slavers arrive and shatter her world. Taken from her African village to a Carolina plantation, Amari along with an indentured servant named Polly, plan to escape to Fort Moses, a Spanish colony that reportedly gives sanctuary to slaves. Call number: DRAPages: 302
Samurai’s Wife By: Laura Joh Rowland
Part mystery part political thriller, in this compelling novel set in Japan during the 17th century the Shogun dispatches the Most Honourable Investigator Sano Ichiro to the ancient court city of Miyako to investigate the murder of an imperial minister.
Call number: ROW
Pages: 352
The Gold Eaters By: Ronald Wright
Seeking to prove his manhood Waman leaves is small town in the Incan Empire for a life of adventure at sea, only to be captured by Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro and Forced to work as a translator. Told from multiple viewpoints this epic novel depicts every major moment of the arrival of the Spanish, from first contact to Invasion and the fall of the Incan Empire.
Call number: WRI
Pages: 384
Murder as a Fine Art By: David Morrell
London 1854, infamous author and notorious opium addict Thomas De Quincey is in London with his daughter on a book tour when a gruesome murder sends the city into a panic. As Detective Shawn Ryan begins his investigation it becomes apparent that the murders are similar… perhaps too similar to Thomas De Quincey’s essay “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts .” Full of action and detail, Morrell depicts life in 19th century England.
Call number: MOR (mystery section)
Pages: 358
Awards: Nero Award (2014), Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award (2014), American Library Association best Historical Fiction (2014).
The Sisters Brothers By: Patrick deWitt
Known for their brutality brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters are gunslingers for hire, their newest employer is the mysterious Commodore, who hires the brothers to ride down to California to kill prospector Hermann Kermit Warm. Along the way the Sisters Brothers have many adventures including encountering a witch, a bear and a gang of murderous fur trappers. Set in the gold rush years to 1850 this fast-paced gritty story has plenty of action but also has it’s humorous moments.
Call number: DEW
Pages: 328
Awards: Oregon Book Award for Fiction (2012), Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction (2011), Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Fiction Book (2012) Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction (2012), Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize (2011)