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In 1999, Fumiko Ishioka made a life-changing decision to trace the origins of a suitcase she received on loan from the Auschwitz Museum for exhibition at the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Centre, beginning a relentless search to find out just who Hana Brady—the owner of the suitcase—was. Based on the information Ishioka uncovered, Hana’s Suitcase tells the story of a young girl orphaned during the Holocaust as she is separated from her family and forced to struggle against Nazi persecution in a concentration camp during World War II.

Second Story Press was co-founded in 1988 by Margie Wolfe and three other women dedicated to publishing feminist-inspired books for adults and young readers. Second Story focuses on stories that feature strong female characters and explore themes of social justice, human rights, equality, and ability issues.

Katie is a high school girl whose overwhelming shyness begins to dissipate when she discovers her love for acting while starring in a school play. She embarks on a complex relationship with her outgoing and wealthy schoolmate Eric, a boy who seems to be Katie’s polar opposite. But is their inseparable bond a happy one or does it conceal a darker truth?

Born in Zagreb, Toronto-based writer Teresa Toten is the author of the acclaimed Blondes series, as well as The Game and The Onlyhouse, among other books. Toten has twice been shortlisted for a Governor General’s Literary Award. Her latest novel, The Taming (co-written with Eric Walters), follows a shy high school girl on her journey as she discovers her love for the stage and navigates a complex relationship with a boy.

All Blink wanted was to steal breakfast for his empty belly, but instead he stumbled on a fake kidnapping and a cell phone dropped by an “abducted” CEO. Enter a girl named Caution. She’s on the run from her drug-dealer boyfriend and a nightmare in her past. When she spies Blink at the bus station, Caution can see he’s an easy mark. But there’s something about this naive, skinny street punk, whom she only wanted to rob, that tugs at her heart. Charged with suspense and intrigue, this taut novel trails two deeply compelling characters as they forge a blackmail scheme that is foolhardy at best, disastrous at worst, and form a fated partnership that will offer them each a rare chance for redemption.

When Yeats and his parents visit his grandmother's creepy old house, Yeats reunites a pair of pirate bookends and discovers that years ago, his father travelled into The Arabian Nights with a friend, but the friend, Shari, is still stuck in the tales. Assisted by the not-always-trustworthy pirates, Yeats must navigate the unfamiliar world of the story of Shahrazad all the while dodging guards and tigers and the dangerous things that lurk in the margins of the stories all in order to save Shari and bring peace to his family.

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable – until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transported to a place unlike anything he's ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power and now fear and suspicion prevail. While Jason searches for a way home, he meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian. With the help of a few scattered rebels, the two become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor, and learn that their best hope of finding a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

Matt Beam and Joanne Schwartz have discovered numbers in many different forms all over the city. They are on houses and apartment buildings, on store windows and doors, on trucks and garbage bins, on sidewalks and parking spots. They are printed, spray-painted, molded in plastic, chiseled in stone, stamped on vinyl, even torched into metal. We see these numbers, often unconsciously, every day, but the wonderful photographs in this book prompt us to look at them more closely, becoming aware and alive to the art, serendipity and variety that surround us.

Forest of Reading Festival of Trees takes place May 15-16, 2013! Tickets on sale January 14.


Image: J.K. Rowling © readings.org

Neil Flambé is a 14-year-old wunderchef, but what many of Neil’s patrons don’t know is that he’s also a budding detective. It all started when he used his knowledge of cooking and his incredible sense of smell to acquit his mother’s client of murder. Ever since, Police Inspector Sean Nakamura has relied on Neil to help him crack case after case.

Now, the city’s crime scene has taken a turn for the personal. Some of the best chefs in town are turning up dead. The cops are stumped and the only real clues are a mysterious smell and some equally mysterious notes that seem to have something to do with Marco Polo. As more chefs fall prey to the killer, Neil finds himself working not only to solve the murders, but to eliminate himself as the prime suspect.