Three page-turning Moose Jaw-related books hit the shelves this past year
With a rich history in literature, it’s no surprise that three new titles with big ties back to Moose Jaw and area made their debut on bookshelves this past year, and they’re all worth adding to your reading list. Angie Abdou, a Friendly City ex-pat now living out in the lush wilderness of Fernie, B.C., released a new memoir earlier this year titled This One Wild Life, following the extended success of her debut memoir about following her son on the minor hockey circuit.
Bishop’s famous Moose Jaw-set novel, Tunnels of Time.
Finders Keepers by Melanie McFarlane. (supplied) This One Wild Life by Angie Abdou. (supplied)
As both a partner and a continuation of that journey, This One Wild Life is about the summer that Abdou and her nine-year-old daughter pledged to hike “a peak a week” in the picturesque mountains surrounding their home. The lofty mother-daughter bonding goal came about after Abdou realized her daughter had developed a serious shyness she hadn’t noticed while busy with her son’s hockey. In addition to her own personal journey in This One Wild Life, Abdou also dives into the topics of young girls and confidence, mother-daughter relationships and the effects of leaving behind the online world to spend more time outdoors. Finders Keepers, the latest from local author Melanie McFarlane, also features a mother-daughter relationship although it’s one with a little more conflict. The fiction novel, aimed at middle-school-age youth, is a story about a 12-year-old girl named Macy who lives at Buffalo Pound Lake with her mom and little brother. When her mom takes a job as a police officer and a move to the city threatens to change the life Macy loves so much, she sets out with the goal of scouring the beach for a treasure big enough to convince her mother to stay — and she finds it in the form of a lost mermaid who needs to get home to the Pacific Ocean. And speaking of being lost far from home, beloved heroine Andrea Talbot was re-introduced to readers this year with an updated reprint of Mary Harelkin
The national best-selling young adult novel tells the tale of 13-year-old Andrea, who finds herself flung back in time during a family trip to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw and suddenly confronted with the prohibition era and the city’s biggest baddie: Al Capone. Originally published in 2000 by now-defunct Coteau Books, the best-selling novel has been picked up by Regina publisher DriverWorks Ink for a revival in celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Tunnels of Time by Mary Harelkin Bishop. (supplied)
The new edition of Tunnels of Time will tell the same beloved story as the original version, but with a few new features — including an updated representation of the prohibition era and Al Capone, more realistic descriptions about Moose Jaw locales, historical notes, a new Q&A section for educators and a new cover and illustrations. All three of these Moose Jaw titles are currently available to purchase from major book retailers, and can also be ordered from Post Horizon Booksellers in Moose Jaw, located at 57 High Street West.
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