The book Bomb by Steve Sheinkin is an absolutely fascinating read about what was going on at Los Alamos during WWII and the mad race for physicists around the world to figure out atomic weapons. Oppenheimer is certainly a presence in the book, but where the film delves into the behind-the-scenes trial, this book digs into the many different personalities working on atomic energy. I wish I’d read this book before seeing the film.
If you like history and spy stories then this is for you. It’s billed for age 10-14 but don’t let that dissuade you. Sheinkin offers up a rich history lesson, in plain language, that is spine-tingling.
Check out the excerpt on the author’s website. Or just go buy the book (Amz).
Description: The story begins with French (Francis) who is 11 and on the run from the Recruiters. Recruiters are basically white folks and traitors who are capturing Indigenous people and mining them for their bone marrow. The novel is set in a time when the world is almost destroyed by global warming, and clearly shit is going down.
Favourite Moment: French meets up with a group heading north. At one point they find an abandoned luxury lodge and sneak in for the night. French has the hots for Rose and she sneaks into his bed. But the group isn’t used to all sleeping in separate bedrooms and they feel safer together. French’s night of passion ends quickly when the youngest RiRi sneaks into bed.
I slide my arm out from under Rose, an almost painful separation, and climbed over Slooper, almost stepping on Chi-Boy, who was stretched out beside the bed, a discarded pillow under his head. Beside him was Wab. There were a few inches between them, but their breathing was matched, an even greater intimacy than touch.
So we were all here, crammed into one room, all of us besides Miig.
“Morning, French. I see we ended up having a slumber party last night.”
This is a futuristic, dystopian novel rooted in First Nation culture and history. Author Cherie Dimaline deserves all the awards and praise this book garnered.
Perfect for fans of Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel and Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson. I found this book spooky and unsettling but also beautiful.
The first book in this mystery series for readers age 9-12 introduces readers to cousins Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee. This inseparable quartet are nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for how they stick together and tromp around the rez solving mysteries. In this story, they need all their wits about them to figure out what has happened to a missing archaeologist working for the nearby mine.
Most mystery / detective series are firmly placed in white, middle-class neighbourhoods but this community is full of characters from Ugly Fish, a hunting and fishing guide, to Denice, the kids’ activist cousin, to various Elders and company men working at the nearby mine.
The First Nation residents are no fan of the mine or the bone-digger, but they also want to rescue the lost man. The Mighty Muskrats are keen to find him too, and show their Uncle (the cop) just how helpful they can be.
The underlying story is that of the conflicting feelings about the mine. On the one hand there are good people working there who need the job to support their families. On the other, there are environmental concerns about water and air pollution, how the mine changes the land and the locals ability to fish and hunt.
Overall this is a fun mystery, and a story about the ties between families, neighbours, and communities.
Michael Hutchinson is a member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation, north of Winnipeg. He currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario where he works at the Assembly of First Nations, which advocates for First Nation families and communities across Canada.
