Laura Langston – författare

Fifteen-year-old Lesia can hardly bear it. She and her family must leave their beloved Baba in their Ukrainian hometown in order to flee to Canada. Dreaming of fields of wheat, wealth and security, Lesia looks forward to a life in Canada, free from poverty and rumours of war. But the 160 acres of hardscrabble prairie look nothing like the wheat fields of her dreams. And even though there is no fighting in her new country, the First World War follows them there.

What’s worse: finding out your dad’s not your real dad or finding out your real dad’s an anonymous sperm donor? Sixteen-year-old Cassidy has just been told by her father that she was conceived “under exceptional circumstances.” Struggling to understand that her biological father is an anonymous sperm donor, Cassidy can’t believe it. Not only has her father just been diagnosed with a fatal disease, he’s not really her father. Suddenly Cassidy’s worries about how to hold on to her boyfriend while not having sex, and her geeky interest in birds no longer seems important. Worse, she gets drunk and blurts out the news of her conception at a party and must face some shocking consequences. Like the turkey baster thrown through her front window. Or the fact that she may never know who she really is. Finding Cassidy is a terrific young adult novel that tackles a provocative subject with honesty and humour.

Lily is discovered by a big-name director when she’s auditioning for a role in a toothpaste commercial.

He wants her for his new movie, which is great except for the fact that it’s shooting in Los Angeles and Lily lives in Vancouver. With the help of her Chinese grandmother, she convinces her parents to let her go to LA with her agent as a chaperone. But when she gets there, she finds out that if she wants to be more than the flavor of the week, she’s going to have to pay a price that may be way too high.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.