In the Northern town of Moosonee, Ontario, Will Bird, a former bush pilot, lies in a coma.Once a legend, the weakened Cree man is left in the hospital, haunted by memories of residential school and the choices of his past.His niece, Annie decides to drop by, after spending eight months in a different world.In hopes that he will awaken, she decides to expose the details of the time they spent apart.For a year, Annie ventured south and struggled to find her sister, Suzanne, who had slipped away into the city life.Annie’s decision to follow her tracks led to a trap, one laced with drugs, alcohol and modelling.In her Northern life, she is independent and mysterious, keeping the traditions of her people alive by living off the land.But her knowledge of the bush does not help her in Toronto and she must fight to survive.As Will listens to his niece, he begins to drift back into his memories of flying, goose hunting and drinking beer on the river bank.Joseph Boyden weaves the stories of two generations together to illustrate the changing nature of Canada’s indigenous peoples.This novel is a stunning explanation of what it means to hold on to identity and keep a family together.It is the worthy winner of 2008’s Giller Prize.Recommended for grades 10-12.
A 30 year old goalkeeper from Brazil whose team has just won the World Cup in soccer is interviewed by a reporter and tells the tale of how he became a world class player. The story takes us into the heart of the rain forest where logging is changing the shape of the landscape. The boy's father is a logger, and for awhile, the boy joins his father in that enterprise. The boy learns soccer from a ghost caught between the living and the dead. The reporter speaks for the reader when he questions the keeper's fantastic story about being trained by a ghost... but in the end the reader wants to accept the story. Afterall, there is always mystery attached to the question of how some triumph in the face of adversity while others fail.
