That Time I Loved You by Carrianne Leung
The suburbs of the 1970s promised to be heaven on earth. But in one Scarborough subdivision populated mainly by newcomers, a series of sudden catastrophic events reveal that not everyone's dreams come true.  Moving from house to house, Carrianne Leung explores the inner lives behind the tidy frong gardens and picture-perfect windows. With sharp insight, Leung examines how difficult it is to be true to ourselves at any age.






The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu
A group of young girls arrives at Camp Forevermore, where they set off on an overnight kayaking trip to another island. Before the night is over, they find themselves stranded with no adults to guide them. Kim Fu follows five girls through and beyond this fateful trip. We see the survivors through the successes and failures of their teen and adult years, and learn how tragedy alters the lives it touches in innumerable ways.




 

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Ayesha's dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job, and she lives with her large, boisterous Muslim family. Her flighty younger cousin Hafsa has just rejected her hundredth marriage proposal.  Although Ayesha is lonely, she does not want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid, who is as smart and handsome as he is irritating and judgmental. And Khalid, too, can't get the beautiful, outspoken Ayesha out of his mind.






Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez
Hernandez employs a multitude of voices to tell the story of a tight-knit community under fire: among them, Victor, a black artist harassed by the police; Hina, a Muslim school worker who witnesses first-hand the impact of poverty on education;   Bing, a gay Filipino boy growing up under the shadow of his father's mental illness; and Sylvie, a Native girl whose family is struggling to find a place to live. This is a raw, empathetic glimpse at a community that refuses to be undone.






Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear
In 2012, Kyo MacLear met a Toronto musician with a captivating side passion- he had recently lost his heart to birds. Curious about what prompted him to suddenly embrace nature, Kyo decides to follow him for a year to find out. This memoir celebrates the particular madness of chasing birds in the big city. Intimate and philosophical, this is an exuberant meditation on creativity and life- a field guide to things small and significant.

Vote for the book that you would like everyone in Markham to read this Summer!  Markham Reads is our annual celebration of books, ideas, and community.  For the seventh year running, we're encouraging everyone in Markham to connect with new ideas and with one another by reading the same book.  Which book do you think everyone should read this Summer?  Read up on the contenders here.

Voting starts on Tuesday, April 3^rd in branches and on social media, and will continue throughout the month of April.

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