MYRCA Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards

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MYRCAManitoba Young Readers Choice Awards

• 2007

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The Convictsby Iain Lawrence
After seeing his father hauled off to debtors
prison, 14 year old Tom Tin sets out to take
revenge on Mr. Goodfellow, but the fog-filled
London streets are teeming with sinister
characters. Accused of murder, Tom is given a 7
year sentence on an old ship where boys are
temporarily held, as juvenile convicts. He
decides to escape, but, if he is to succeed, his
luck needs to turn. This is not a book for the
faint of heart. Are you ready for the adventure? 
Grades 5-8
3
The Crazy Manby Pamela Porter

• For 12 year old Emaline, losing her father, her
  dog and her health because of a terrible farm
  accident seems like an insurmountable tragedy.
  Things become even more complicated when her
  mother hires Angus, a patient from the local
  mental hospital to work their fields, despite the
  neighbors disapproval. However, healing comes
  about in some unexpected ways
• Grades 5-8

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Emilys Pianoby Charlotte Gringas
The family has broken up and the family piano
has been sold. 10 year old Emily feels that if
she can get the piano back, happiness will return
to the family. She sets off on a journey to find
the piano and bring the healing power of music
back into her life. Grades 5-8
5
Four Steps to Deathby John Wilson
It is 1942. The Battle of Stalingrad is raging,
and three young people have been caught up in its
horrors Vasily, a Russian soldier, Conrad, a
German tank officer, and Sergei, an 8 year old
boy whose home has been reduced to rubble. Though
their stories portray three different paths, a
twist of fate causes their lives to become
intertwined. Grades 7-8
6
Gem Lakesby Rob Keough
14 year old Jake Lucknow is ill with cancer.
Spending his last summer at the family cabin,
Jake learns of an old family mystery. With his
sister, Jake sets out on the adventure of his
life. Jake and Claire face dangers and terrifying
confrontations neither one had ever thought
possible. Will Jake find the answers he
wants? Grades 7-8
7
The Gravesaversby Sheree Fitch
Filled with bones, secret rooms, and stories of
loss, Gravesavers intertwines the stories of two
young people. 12 year old Minn, short for
Cinnamon, finds herself spending the summer with
her Nana Vinegar in a small Maritime Village. She
befriends a mysterious stranger while she joins
her Grandmothers fight to save a cemetery from
dissolving into the ocean. 12 year old John
Hindley, the only child survivor of a century old
shipwreck, tells the second story. Grades 5-8
8
Hannah Waters and the Daughter of Johann
Sebastian Bachby Barbara Nickel
This is an unforgettable tale of two lonely
girls reaching out to each other across three
centuries, connected by their love of music.
After the death of her mother, 11 year old Hannah
Waters struggles to find herself. She finds a
kindred spirit in the daughter of Johann
Sebastian Bach. Catharina Bach, unable to reveal
her beautiful voice even to her famous father,
draws courage from Hannah and they begin to make
sense of who they are. Grades 5-8
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The Horses Shadowby Lawrence Scanlan
Claire Vigere, 13, knows horses so well she is
like their shadow. It is 1860 and the Vigres, a
habitant family, is forced to sell their beloved
horses. Claire, who has a special gift with
horses, sets off to protect them and perhaps
bring them back. To do this, she must disguise
herself as a boy and play the role of a deaf
mute. The journey takes her to the battlefields
of the American Civil War.
Grades 7-8
10
One on Oneby Don Aker
Cornwallis Middle School Cougars are champions
and 11 year old Jared is elated when he makes the
team. But Coach Jamieson insists all players must
earn passing grades. When Jared fails math, his
nerdy classmate Ellie tutors him. As well as
math, Jared learns valuable lessons about
friendship, truthfulness, and self-respect.
Grades 5-8
11
The Path Through the Treesby Peggy Dymond Leavey

• Norahs mother has decided that they will spend
  Christmas with her great aunt Caroline. When
  urgent business threatens to delay their holiday,
  13 year old Norah is sent on ahead to stay with a
  great aunt she has never met and who appears not
  to want her. Norah spends much of her time alone
  and begins to notice a young boy in her great
  aunts yard. When Norah questions her great aunt
  about the boy, her great aunt denies his
  existence. Norah begins to wonder who this boy
  might be and why is she the only one who sees him?

Grades 5-8
12
Pond Scumby Alan Silberberg
Oliver is a lonely 10 year old boy who loves to
watch TV and pull the wings off flies just to
hear them snap. Then his family moves to a run
down house near a pond. Amazing things start to
happen when Oliver finds a magical gem, which
allows him to change into what ever pond creature
he is touching. Suddenly, he enters the pond
world where he becomes friends with a salamander
named Mooch and crow named Antoine. Oliver soon
becomes involved, with his new friends, in a
fight to save the pond, for some creatures he
never before even gave a second thought.  Grades
5-8
13
Rink of Dreamsby Nancy Russell
It is a confusing time for 13 year old Gary
MacDonald. His separated parents are dating other
people and his excitement over getting a spot on
the AAA bantam team is being overshadowed by the
constant bullying of his older teammates. Things
start to look up with the arrival of the Snow
Dogs farm team to his hometown of Charlottetown,
P.E.I. His unexpected friendship with Dmitri, an
up and coming superstar hockey player from Russia
is threatened when Dmitris brother gets involved
with the Russian mafia. Its a year of change and
Gary wonders if his hockey dreams will ever come
true. Grades 5-8
14
Skybreakerby Kenneth Oppel
This is the second adventure for 16 year old
Matt Cruse aboard a great airship. Matt is the
only one to know the coordinates of the long
sought after Hyperion, an airship lost for over
30 years. He sets off with his friend, possibly
girlfriend Kate deVries on a ship captained by a
new adversary and joined by a gypsy girl. Each of
them is seeking the Hyperion for their own
reasons. But so are others! Grades 5-8
15
The Sower of Talesby Rachna Gilmore
When the story pods stop growing in the Plains,
13 year old Calantha, undertakes a dangerous
journey to seek the help of the legendary Sower
of Tales but she is plunged into a desperate
struggle against a sorcerer who plans to use the
story pods to destroy the world. Grades 5-8
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Sun Signsby Shelley Hrdlitschka
While battling cancer 15 year old Kaleigh is
taking courses online and pursuing her special
interest in the astrological signs of the zodiac.
Kaleigh designs a research project to determine
if predictions based on astrology are accurate
and enlists the support of her online classmates,
people she has never met. Written entirely as an
e-mail and online journal, we journey with
Kaleigh as she attempts to conduct her study of
astrology, while facing the challenges and
uncertainty of cancer, as well as dealing with
the question Are her online classmates indeed
who they seem? Grades 7-8
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Turned Awayby Carol Matas
Its 1941. The troubles of the Jewish Community
in Paris and the bombing of Pearl Harbour are
both thousands of miles away from Winnipeg. Yet,
the war in both places has a profound impact on
the lives of Devorah Bernstien, a grade 6
student, and her family and friends. Through her
diaries and letters she shares their labours to
support the war efforts and learn how, even as
students they can make a difference.  Grades
5-8
18
Walking with The Deadby L.M. Falcone
12 year old Alexs mother died three years ago
and his still grieving father is opening a museum
of oddities that features an ancient Greek
corpse. When a surge of electricity wakes up the
mummy, Alex and his best friend Freddie fall
through a door into the night sky and find
themselves on a mission to help a cadaver named
Costas to cross the river Styx and clear his name
from a false accusation for murder. To help Costa
clear his name, they undertake the classic heros
journey into the underworld where they encounter
several characters from Greek mythology. Grades
5-8
19
Wild Orchidby Beverley Brenna
Step inside the unique world of 18 year old
Taylor Jane Simon, a young woman with autism.
Taylor struggles with moving to a new place with
her mom, meeting new people, and developing some
independence in the face of her challenges.
Taylor discovers a new understanding of
friendship in this beautiful story about growing
up. Grade 7-8