The year is 1684. Twelve-year-old Eustache Breman leaves behind a life of misery begging on the streets of France for a second chance in the New World with his mom, his sweetheart Marie-Elisabeth, and Marie-Elisabeth's family. But life is tough, with plenty more tragedy and disappointment to come on De La Salle's ill-fated expedition to the Mississippi. Join Eustache as he comes of age in Louisiana, all in a sparkling English translation that's every bit as modern and playful as Camille Bouchard's original French. Squabbling leaders, bloodthirsty freebooters, and a hostile Karankawa nation make for heartbreaking adventure--and occasional proof that "all sorrows end up diluted in the concerns of everyday life." This action-packed young adult novel weaves real historical events and important themes into the day-to-day concerns of a young boy. It is written simply and well, posing some troubling questions along the way. Will God answer Eustache's prayers or punish him for his actions? Will young love conquer all? Or will the men's true nature be revealed and bring about their downfall?

It's a long way from a basement apartment in a Montreal suburb to a new life on a fictional planet, but that's the destination our unnamed narrator has set his sights on, bringing readers with him on an off-beat and often hilarious journey. Along the way, he writes poems, buys groceries at the dollar store, and earns minimum wage at a dead-end supermarket job. But not to worry - he is John McClane, he is the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi (with a bacteria he's never heard of), he is Justin Timberlake... Meryl Streep... a grumpy George Clooney...In between treatments for his cystic fibrosis and the constant drip-drip-drip of disappointment, he dreams of a new life on Tatouine, where he'll play Super Mario Bros and make sand angels all day. But in the meantime, he'll have to make do with daydreams. Daydreams of normality, daydreams of surreal little catastrophes, daydreams of a better life. On Tatouine.

Rosa Ost grows up in Notre-Dame-du-Cachalot, a tiny village at the end of the world, where two industries are king: paper and Boredom. The only daughter of Terese Ost (a fair-to-middling trade unionist and a first-rate Scrabble player), the fate that befalls Rosa is the focus of this tale of long journeys and longer lives, of impossible deaths, unwavering prophecies, and unsettling dreams as she leaves her village for Montreal on a quest to summon the westerly wind that has proved so vital to the local economy. From village gossips, tealeaf-reading exotic dancers, and Acadian red herrings to soothsaying winkles and centuries-old curses, Rosa's Very Own Personal Revolution is a delightful, boundary-pushing story about stories and the storytellers who make them—and a reminder that revolutions in Quebec aren't always quiet.

Emile Claudel is no ordinary child. Only months after he was born, following the liberation of France in 1945, he can already speak several languages, much to his mother's frustration. Emile, nicknamed the Little Fox for his appearance, is born into a loveless home, where patience is in short supply. Abandoned by his family, he struggles to find a place in society. This deftly written coming-of-age novel follows Emile on his journey toward adulthood, as the country he was born into passes from austere conservatism to the counterculture of the 1960s.

This book tells the fascinating story of Montréal, Canada, from prehistoric time through the 21st century. From the Iroquoian community of Hochelaga to the bustling economic metropolis that Montréal has become, this account describes the social, economic, political, and cultural forces and trends that have driven the city’s development, shedding light on the city's French, British, and American influences. Outlining Montréal 's diverse ethnic and cultural origins and its strategic geographical position, this lively account shows how a small missionary colony founded in 1642 developed into a leading economic city and cultural centre, the thriving cosmopolitan hub of French-speaking North America.

“Jean-Yves Soucy’s story and encounter with my Dad provides a charming glimpse into a changing world, for us all.”- Romeo Saganash. It’s 1963, Jean-Yves Soucy is 18 and dreams of being a fire warden scanning the boreal forest from a fire tower. But he ends up at an equipment depot between Val-d’Or and Chibougamau. To his delight, he is located near the Cree community of Wawanipi. With two Cree guides, including a man named William Saganash, he will be canoeing through the lakes and rivers of the region. On each encounter with the Crees, Jean-Yves expects to see a new world. Instead, he meets a different civilization, as different from his own as Chinese civilization. Yet he knows nothing about it. He wrote Waswanipi because Romeo Saganash, son of William, insisted: “You have to write that, Jean-Yves. About your relationship with my father and the others, how you saw the village. You got to see the end of an era.” Provides a Cree-English glossary.

"I hate hockey " is the first and last sentence in this novel that offers a great take on our love-hate relationship with hockey. Narrator Antoine Vachon blames the game for killing his marriage with his beautiful ex-wife (well, that and the power outage that brought her home unexpectedly to find him in bed with her intern). But hockey is a pretext for unlikely adventure in this sardonic roman noir that at times flirts with the outrageous.Antoine Vachon is a total loser living in a pitiful bachelor apartment after he has lost his wife and his job as a car salesman. When his son's hockey coach is found dead, he is browbeaten into coaching the team for one game. He makes it through the game (to great comic effect), but things take a turn for the worse when they stop at a motel after the game. Who killed the former coach and why? Was Antoine's son involved? Or his ex-wife? The late coach was liked by all and was a pillar in the community. He was close to his player, perhaps too close... Why is Antoine unable to communicate with his son?