Gabe's lucky number

The Highest Number in the World
by Roy MacGregor
illustrated by Geneviève Després


Gabe (who hates being called Gabriella) is a new player on The Spirit hockey team. She's always worn number 22, the number of her favorite player Hayley Wickenheiser. Unfortunately, the jersey numbers only go to twenty. Gabe is stuck with number 9. Devastated, Gabe buries her jersey at the bottom of her closet. But a visit from Grandma makes her realize that the number 9 is very special.

A sweet story that warms the heart.

New publisher, new series

Fragile Bones: Harrison and Anna
by Lorna Schultz Nicholson


This book is part of a new series by Clockwise Press. Each book in the series, called One-2-One, tells the story of a different pair of teens participating in the Best Buddies program at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. Best Buddies is a real program, but the stories are fictional. 

In Fragile Bones, we meet Harrison, a fifteen-year-old who has high-functioning autism and his Best Buddy Anna, a graduating senior who's aiming for med school. Harrison is fascinated by bones and tends to recite every bone in the skeletal system whenever he gets anxious. Anna is hoping to pad her resumé and get closer to Justin, the Best Buddies president. Together, Harrison and Anna embark on a rocky relationship with more than its share of ups and downs. Told in alternating voices, Nicholson does a good job of showing a scene from two different perspectives, allowing readers to really understand what Harrison and Anna are going through. 

Although the book ends a bit abruptly, it manages to instill a great deal of empathy towards its characters. A very worthwhile read.