Books in Canadian Disaster series

Twelve-year-old Jolene is determined to find independence from her brother, Michael, during a family trip to research the Halifax explosion of 1917 for her father’s Museum of Disasters. When her grandfather finds a time crease into the past, Jolene discovers a new friend and the importance of family and loyalty in a world torn apart by World War I. Once Michael joins them, however, the past suddenly becomes much more complicated. He inadvertently threatens Jolene’s friendship with a grieving family, and his careless comments spark speculation that they are spies. Together, the twins try to reconcile the honour and horrors of the Great War as they struggle with the knowledge that Halifax will soon be devastated by the collision in the harbour between the Mont Blanc, laden with explosives, and the Imo. When Michael attempts to change history, the twins are led to the brink of destruction. A compelling sequel to Shadows of Disaster.

This historical time-travel novel, for children ten and up, is the third volume in Cathy Beveridge’s ongoing series on Canadian disasters. Once again we meet Jolene and her twin brother Michael, this time in an RV on the shores of the Great Lakes, where her father and grandfather are conducting research into the Great Storm of 1913. When Grandpa discovers a time crease that enables them to step back into 1913, Jolene embraces the opportunity but soon finds herself, along with her brother and a new friend, inadvertently on board ship in the midst of the Great Storm. With her brother injured, Jolene is forced to draw on all her resources to allow the threesome to survive. In the process, she discovers her inner strength and a new passion for life.

Tragic Links is award-winning author Cathy Beveridge’s fourth young adult novel focusing on Canadian disasters. This time Jolene and her family find themselves in Quebec where Jolene’s father is conducting research for his Museum of Disasters. When Jolene finds a time crease, she discovers Montreal in the 1920s. “Back there at the church,” Jolene said, “I was hiding. ” But Stephan, the handsome boy who lives next door to her Grandma Rose in Montreal, knows otherwise. And so Jolene divulges their family secret — the ability to time travel through time creases. After a narrow escape in Montreal in 1927, Jolene travels to Quebec City with her family and Stephan. When Stephan disappears, Jolene, Michael and Grandpa go back to 1907 and watch horrified as the Quebec Bridge collapses. With a new understanding of family and friends, Jolene returns to Montreal where she completes her family tree, learning in the process how tragically linked to the past she really is.