Books published by publisher Thistledown Press

Living with the Hawk explores the traumatic events in the life of Blair Russell, a high school football player who struggles to do what? right in tough circumstances. Key characters are his brother, Blake, the team? quarterback; Jordan Phelps, the star receiver, a kid with a need to control others; Paul Russell, his father, an Anglican priest; and Barb Russell, his mother. Blair is the subject of taunting and hazing, including physical intimidation on the football field by Jordan. His brother Blake used to stick up for him, but seems ambivalent about helping him now, a concern that Blair both resents and yet understands. At a football party where beer flows freely, Blair spots Jordan and a group of his laughing, drunken buddies, including his brother; he is shocked when he sees that they are urinating on a girl who has passed out. From that moment conflict grows between the brothers. In the backdrop to the event Blair begins to suspect that his brother is not who he thought he was. Like the sparrow hawk that survives on the kills it makes at the birdfeeder outside their home, in Blair’s mind, Blake has become a wicked predator of the helpless.The next time Blair sees the abused girl from the party, Jordan Phelps is relentlessly harassing her in the school corridor. The trapped girl, Amber, is helpless and must suffer the humiliation of Jordon? taunts. Suddenly a native girl intervenes, calls Jordan asshole, and knees him in the groin. Buoyed by her actions Blair can no longer stay neutral and confronts Jordon himself. For his efforts, Jordan slams him into a locker, but a teacher breaks up the fight before it can continue. At home Blair learns the native girl is Anna Big Sky, and she? in his brother? class; he begins to suspect that his brother Blake likes her and suddenly he feels jealous. Not long after his newly developed interest in Anna, Blair begins hearing racist slurs in the locker room they are directed at her and generated by Jordon Phelps and his buddies, Vaughn Foster, and Todd Branton. Frustrated by his inability to confront them, Blair? anger causes him to argue with his brother about Anna. They both lose their tempers and then fight at football practice.Some days later Blair hears talk of a body found in a field north of town and when he learns it? that of Anna Big Sky; he is devastated. Certain that his brother played a part in her violent death, Blair wonders what to do. He finally phones Crime Stoppers, naming those involved in Anna? death, including that of his brother, an action that divides the Russell family and leads to a tragedy that changes their lives forever.

Lydia Buckingham is an ice queen. She wasn’t always that way, but after her parents uprooted the family to move to an isolated and rundown farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, she has been forced to adapt this personality in order to survive in rural Saskatchewan. Despite her interest in the local history at Batoche, Lydia finds herself unable to relate to her peers at school or to her surroundings. To top it all off her parents are constantly fighting, drinking, and abandoning Lydia and her younger sister Victoria for days on end. Soon the sisters have had enough, and they decide to set out alone into the brutal Saskatchewan winter.

Living in a small working class town has never suited Addy, so after a summer working as a janitor at the local hospital, she is more than ready to move to the city. When the night before her move finally arrives, Addy’s bags are packed, she has visited all her favourite spots one last time, and she has even attempted to make amends with her single mother. Her rough-around-the-edges boyfriend Craig, however, wants to make their final night in town one to remember, so they head out to the cemetery with friends for one last party. At the cemetery, Addy notices a boy named Jonas hovering in the bushes. The rest of her friends think he is eavesdropping, but Addy knows the younger teen is visiting his recently deceased mother’s grave. When a game of chicken escalates and Jonas is struck by the truck Addy and her friends are driving, guilt causes Addy to feel responsible for healing the boy’s injuries and his grief, and she vows to help him escape his violent home. As their lives become further intertwined, Addy realizes her connection to Jonas is more than platonic, and she must decide whether she wants to leave for the city with Craig or follow her heart down another path. Size of a Fist is a dark, gritty novella about growing up in difficult circumstances where abuse and hopelessness are ever-present. The suggestion of violence hovers beneath the surface of every relationship in this harsh tale of self-preservation and personal discovery. Addy must navigate her entry into the cruel world of adulthood alone, discovering along the way the sacrifice involved in truly following her heart and taking responsibility for her actions. This gripping thriller exposes the hearts of its teenage dreamers as they attempt to outrun the law and their respective pasts.

In Something to Hang On To award–winning author Beverley Brenna constructs a diverse cast of quirky and honest young teens in tough times. In varied settings characters battle through adversity: a fear of heights, family violence, the physical cage of Down syndrome, ossifying muscular dystrophy, the artistic world of autism, and even a toe caught in the vacuum.In these positive fictions, teens find ways to overcome their obstacles by capturing lasting resolutions from within. In “Foil Butterflies” a creative boy with a rare form of autism escapes to his tree house to write poetry and personify gum wrappers. Set in pre–colonial Canada, “Gift of the Old Wives” is a story about a young Cree girl with a unique gift, which allows her to predict an impending Blackfoot attack on her tribe. In “Finding Your Voice” an exceptional and unconditional friendship is made between an insular foster child and a girl immobilized by muscular dystrophy. In “One of the Guys” Brenna employs rare writing mechanics in a first person narration of a boogey boarding teen boy who finds solace in ocean waves.By using effective problem solving to overcome the seemingly impossible, these characters become encouraging examples for all teens to look within for resolve and to reach out to others in need. The twelve stories that comprise Something to Hang On To vary in time, place, and voice offering pathos as well as zany humour, creating maximum appeal for their reading audience.

Keeper of the Mountains follows fifteen-year-old Chris’ trials and growth in crossing 800 miles of rivers, muskeg and mountains. Discoveries made on the expedition bring Chris to a personal crossroads, when he makes his own expedition into the sacred twin mountains and dramatically discovers the meaning of being a &quotKeeper&quot. Shirlee Smith Matheson’s tale is a rugged and wondrous blending of fact and fiction, rendered into dramatic accuracy.

How do you find a bully who lurks on the Internet and lashes out at helpless victims? Intrepid kid detectives Marty, Remi, and Trina must answer that question if they're to stop a cyber bully targeting their classmates. In their toughest case yet, the sleuths must follow the electronic trail to their enemy, but the cyber bully outsmarts them at every turn, leaving the trio to wonder if they've met their match. When a ploy to expose the culprit goes wrong, Marty does the unthinkable and loses his best friend Remi's trust. Not only does Marty have to find the cyber bully, but he also has to find a way to win back Remi's friendship. Marty Chan is back with the exciting fourth installment in the Marty Chan Mystery series.

The title Stepping into Traffic is a play on words (and a metaphor) reflecting the protagonist’s actions. When we meet Sebastian (Seb) he is already taking risks and putting himself in harm’s way as he and a couple of his friends carry out a failed break and enter and are arrested. As we get to know Sebwe discover his life has been a series of bad foster experiences that have left him numb to the memories of his dead parents, and poor in his judgement of how to fit in. Much of his foster care has been damaging to his self-esteem and moral codes. He is not strong and his fears begin to mount. Awaiting his court appearance, Seb is placed in his eighth foster home in seven years in the company of Mrs. Ford, a foster home caregiver, whom Seb finds familiar and comforting. Memories of his early home life flood him and he begins to find a sense of well-being and trust. However, Seb’s troubles soon reappear in the form of wealthy, manipulative drug dealer Donny Malner. Lured by Donny’s social power and blind to Danny’s ruthlessness, Seb seeks his approval. Soon he is entwined in Danny’s drug-dealing world where violence and lies direct most actions. Though Mrs. Ford continues to stand by him, he knows he is betraying her trust. Others who could help him like his school friends, the nerdy Nina or her friend Matt, cannot hold sway. Soon Seb is caught up in a wave of violent circumstance that neither Mrs. Ford nor his unusual mentor the school janitor, Mr Frogly, can help him out of. He is as lost and directionless as the feral dog he befriends and cannot escape the wicked path of lies he has created. In a final showdown with Donny and gangland members, he must decide what he will do. His dilemma is as great as the fear he faces: engage in the revenge he seeks and lose the closest thing he has had to a home, or stand up to his mistakes, reveal his lies and accept the consequences. Though he is not ready, Sebastian steps out in the traffic. Buy an eBook version of this book atKobo,Amazon Kindle Store,or your favourite eBook store

What keeps Marty Chan's mysteries fresh is his positive sense of humour and his ability to get inside a child's mind. This remains true for the latest offering, The Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher.The plot once again seems straightforward: When Trina's bicycle is stolen, Marty and Remi gear up to solve the case. Once they start their investigation they are both surprised and perplexed that the evidence leads them to the doorstep of their new elementary school teacher. The problem of the confrontation ensues as Mr E seems to be quite resourceful as an opponent and the new girl at school, Ida, lends additional energy to foil their attempts to catch the school kleptomaniac. To add additional depth to the action, Marty discovers that he and Remi share the same feelings toward Trina and then finds out that Trina likes him, a fact he must hide from Remi at all costs because he cannot risk losing him as his best friend.Who would think that life as a young solver of mysteries could suddenly get so complicated? But for Marty, friendship, loyalty, and trust suddenly seem less straightforward when the mystery of girls is involved.