Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That, hosts #MustRead. If you have a 'want to read' list on Goodreads (or somewhere else) that goes on forever, then you might be interested in joining for 2018. All you have to do is choose any number of specific books on that list, and do your best to read them all.  My original lists for this year are here. This is my final update for 2017.

In 2016, I managed to read all the books on my must read list. Alas, this is not the case for 2017. In fact, since the last checkin, I finished a mere three books from my fiction list. I read nothing from my nonfiction list. I might have finished more of these but was too sick to read or even listen to books throughout the month of December.

This is what I finished since our last update.

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones

This book was pure fun. It’s set in the Regency period in England. When Annis’ father is killed in France, he leaves her and her Aunt Cassie nearly destitute. Annis soon figures out that her father was a spy and is determined that she will become one to avenge his death. When she is rejected, their new maid, Millicent, helps disguise Annis so she can use her dressmaking magic to earn a living. The book is full of twists and turns and clever humour. Although this book didn’t wow me like Jones' Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, (a book that is truly exceptional) I’ll read a sequel if she writes one.

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud & Emily Bevan (Narrator)

Lockwood, Lucy, George, Holly, and Quill Kipps discover the cause of 'The Problem.' The how and why ghosts are invading our realm is caused by an individual with a lot of political clout. This puts the crew in peril as the perpetrators decide to retaliate by murdering them all.
As satisfying and wonderful as this book is, I can't bear to think that it is the last in the series. I'm just not ready to say goodbye to these fabulous characters. Since this fictional world isn't really completely cleaned up, I'm not giving up hope that there might be at least one more to come.
Perhaps the rumoured TV series will be enough, but I doubt it.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

This is a sweet coming of age romantic fiction that follows the formula set out in romantic Korean dramas. Teen romance is not my favourite genre, but I ended up enjoying this anyway. Thankfully there isn't excessive amounts of angst or heavy breathing. The diverse collection of characters is endearing in spite of, or perhaps because of their flaws. The only somewhat snarky relationship ends up getting resolved positively. I adored the relationships between Desi Lee and her father, and you will too.

I started but abandoned Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. I didn't hate it. The font was just so tiny. I even tried it on my device but whatever the format was, I couldn't increase the size.

In spite of not completing all the books on this list, I don't consider it a failure. Once I started reading from my nonfiction list, I became interested in reading more nonfiction and ended up reading at least 15 adult information books last year. Ideally I had hoped to read at least one a month, and even though I didn't get to all the ones on my list, I still read more adult nonfiction than I did the year before. That's a win, right?

The fiction titles from my list were mostly fabulous.

Not only is The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas the best book on the list, it's probably one of the top three books I've read all year. I loved it so much that I purchased a copy since I know I will reread it at least one more time.

Other books that I thought highly of include (in no particular order)

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick

My favourite nonfiction title was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanith. I also enjoyed Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Ann Lamott and Spin: How Politics Has the Power to Turn Marketing on Its Head by Clive Veroni.

Other Reading Goals:

I had plans to read 50 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors to celebrate 150+ years of Canada but only finished 34. There were many wonderful picture books on the list. I ended up purchasing two copies of We Sang You Home by by Richard Van Camp & Julie Flett; one for each of my grandbabies. The best part of this personal challenge was discovering some stunning writers. I highly recommend Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont. (Upon finishing it, I read just about everything else she has published.) The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline was dark and profound. Medicine Walk and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese were stellar reads. The Break by Katherena Vermette is another dark and memorable read. I know that one of my reading goals for next year will be to read at least another 25 adult titles from this category.

I finished all the Chocolate Lily titles for which I was a juror. I appreciated this opportunity to read many different kinds of books by local writers.

Finally, I challenged myself to read at least 333 books this year. I ended up reading 398. I think this indicates that while I didn't finish everything on my lists, I still managed to get in a lot of reading this year!

Diandra (Dee) Diesel’s father, Tungston Diesel, disappeared years ago in a raid by the Teppan, a nation of birdmen, who are their archenemies. On her 18th birthday, she will inherit control of Peacetowne, the airship colony she calls home. She looks forward to taking over ownership, but has not learned anything about running it. She is brilliantly lazy with no awareness of her latent superpowers other than that she creates a lot of static electricity.

The day before her birthday Dee finds a machine made by the Teppan. She manages to start it without knowing how. When the birdmen come looking for it, Dee and her robot escape, but Peacetowne is destroyed. She thinks she saw her missing father on the Teppan vessel.

When Dee crash lands in a wasteland on solid ground she is rescued from vicious coyotes by her brother Bull who she has not seen in years. The two of them come up with a plan to destroy the Teppan who have headquarters in Stableburg, Bull’s city. If they survive that they plan to warn the Gass people of the Teppan plans, see if they can find the ruins of Peacetowne, and rescue Tungston Diesel.

There are a number of things I liked about this book. 

Gorgeous illustrations loaded with details reveal fabulous worlds. Action scenes are vibrant and powerful. Bright oranges, reds and yellows contrast with dark greys, greens and blues.  Emotion is fully realized on the different individual faces. The witty repartee and humour of the text makes the reading fun. It is populated with mostly multifaceted characters who grow and develop as the story progresses. Irresponsible and selfish, Dee Diesel is not at first a sympathetic character. Thankfully, by the end of the book, she has matured somewhat. I even came to grudgingly admire her.

I appreciated the complexity of the relationships between the different groups. While the Teppan are considered enemies, we learn that they were irreparably damaged by chemical warfare in a previous conflict.

I do have a number of quibbles with this and for me at least, they are not inconsequential. First, the font is so small I had to go and find my reading glasses, (although to be fair, this is a reality for all the graphic novels I am reading these days.) Second, while I appreciate the strength of Dee and Cap, who pilots Peacetowne, I do not like the Barbie doll shaped bodies of these two young women. Finally, the trope of conflict between the only two women in the novel just irritates the heck out of me.

While the novel ends with a satisfying conclusion, there are still plenty of questions to be resolved in sequels. I can’t help but wonder if Tungsten Diesel is working for the Teppan voluntarily or involuntarily. How many of Peacetowne’s residents, if any, survived the crash. I might have to read the sequel to find out.

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In the first few pages of this book my expectations of how a Superman story might unfold were trashed. Right off the bat Kong Kenan does not seem to be hero, never mind superhero, material. Granted, I haven't read any kind of Superman comic for close to five decades, but this New Superman didn't seem to have much in common with the Mr Nice Guy of my youth. Nonetheless, he is targeted by a secret, scientific foundation to become China's new Superman. 

I should have known better than to doubt Gene Luen Yang. While my interest flagged a bit after that beginning, I continued to read. It didn't take long before I was completely engaged by the novel. 

The story arc is fabricated of layers of convoluted intrigue. Ancient mythology is integrated with modern Chinese politics. It is full of complexity as multiple cadres of super powered individuals claim to work in the best interests of China. Readers will question the motivation of many if not all of them. Then there are surprising revelations. Alliances are formed and broken.

The continuing question is what kind of hero will Kong Kenan become? Which side is the right side? Who will he end up supporting?

The illustrations are primarily shades of blue with some other warmer colours. It includes classic action scenes loaded with energy and power. The facial expressions work most of the time but other times there is a kind of blankness (is this supposed to be stoicness?) to the characters. Some individuals seem truly evil, but this can be deceptive. In this novel, who to trust is a major dilemma.

I liked the humor that wends its way through the text, although, and this is my only real complaint, the font is very small. However, given that I feel this way about all the graphic novels I'm reading these days, this seems to be more about my aging eyes than anything else.

What I appreciated most about this novel was the character development. Kong starts out as a self centred narcissist, but over time begins to mature into a more considerate person. I like how his relationships between the other Chinese Justice League members, Wonder Woman and Batman, evolve and consolidate making this a book about friendship and trust. I suspect readers will be anxious to read the next in the series, especially with that ending!

Suee Lee and her father have moved from Bustle Elementary, on Bustle Street in Big City to Outskirts Elementary in Outskirtsville. Moving to a new school is fraught with challenges already. Making friends and navigating bullies are of a higher priority than academic excellence. Suee seems immune to this because she only wants to be friends with people who are her equal. However, on her first day of school she has an accident in the 'Exhibit' room that lands her in the nurses room, although she has no memory of what happened. That night her shadow starts talking to her. 

Soon afterwards the vice principal starts up an after school club for students who are considered 'losers' by their peers. To their peers they are like zombies and have no shadow. These so called 'zero' students are acknowledged by other students, but adults notice nothing. It's a harsh hint to adult readers about how much we miss about the reality of childhood and adolescence. 

Suee connects with two other students, Haeun and Hyunwoo who start up the Zero Detective Agency. Their goal is to figure out what is going on and how these students ended up like this. However, soon Suee's shadow takes control of her and she discovers that the problem is much closer to home than she could have imagined. 

I love so much about this book. I appreciate that the book reveals that Suee's attitude of not caring and claiming that these bullied children are none of her business is comparable to the bullies actions. I'm thankful that it shows that it is ok and even necessary to ask others for help when problems are out of control. I love how her two compatriots show Suee how to be a better person. 

The crisp illustrations are primarily black and white and shades of grey with sparing use of other colour; mostly purples reds and orange. This establishes an ominous backdrop for an already creepy story. Once I finished the novel I went back and reread the prologue. Noting the eyes of the young girl in that section helped put the whole narrative into perspective.

The main characters are richly developed although I wish that the popular girl bully, Yejin, had more depth to her. The contrast between her and Hyunwoo, who is popular, smart, and kind is an important distinction.

I handed this over to my Korean daughter in law to read. She informed me that this was a classic Korean style of illustration. She felt that the book resonated Korean culture. I see it as telling a universal kind of story from a Korean perspective. We are both full of questions and wondering. What will happen to the trapped soul? Why would someone want such a pot created in the first place? 

I generally hate books that end in cliffhangers, but this book has the kind I can live with. The essential problem in the book is resolved. The ending is more of a hint for what will happen in the sequel. You can bet I want to read it. 

In early spring, during the time of Wihlaxs (the Black Bear’s Walking Moon), salmon fry leave their hatching grounds in search of nursing water. It doesn't take long for these tiny fish to become independent of their yolk sacs. After a couple of years, the little sockeye becomes a smoult, preparing itself to move from freshwater to the saltwater of the ocean. When the spring salmon make their trek up the Skeena River, it is time for these smoults to make their journey to the sea.

The Gitxsan, who live near the Skeena River, prepare their nets to capture these spring salmon. A ceremony is held to give thanks and pray that the salmon will always return and nourish the people and land.

The smoults who make it to the Pacific swim north to feed and grow. After two years, the “sockeye mother” swims against the current of the river to return to the exact place where she was spawned. This is the time of Lasa lik’i’nxsw (the Grizzly Bear’s Moon). People and bears catch thousands of salmon at this time. Grizzlys often carry their catch into the forest where they eat only the eggs and fatty bellies leaving the rest of the fish to decay and nourish the forest.

The salmon that make it to the nesting areas lay their eggs and “die a replenishing death” thus fertilizing the water and land.

What I love most about this book is how it highlights the Salmon’s role as a keystone species both ecologically and for the Gitxsan people in Northern BC, culturally. At the same time as it takes the reader through the life cycle of this important fish, it shows us how connected the people are to it during each phase.

I appreciated that the text uses Gitxsan terms and doesn’t hesitate to use challenging vocabulary. It explains that the sockeye has to avoid predators and “dodge the changing landscape denuded by the clear-cutting of man.” Some scientific vocabulary is explained in small text boxes. The back matter gives extra information about the Gitxsan people and shows a map of their unceded territory.

The sense of connection between people and salmon is there in the use of the Gitxsan language in the text, but it’s integral to the illustrations. The images are gorgeously coloured in the shades of the rainforest and river. Having visited this part of the world, I can attest that it captures the terrain brilliantly. What brings it all together though, is the use of traditional art into these landscapes.

  

All school libraries should own at least one copy of this book. 

Below is a video that provides a pronunciation guide for the language used as well as additional information. 

A young Metis girl, Echo Desjardins, travels back in time to 1814. While there she learns about her Metis ancestry and how they were caught in the crossfire in the battle between the Northwest Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. This little known aspect of Canadian History is known as The Pemmican Wars.

The time travelling alternates with Echo’s life in a foster home and at a new school. 

It begins with a young girl looking out across a beautiful vista of the Qu’Appelle Valley (know called Saskatchewan). She connects with a group of Metis who are at their summer camp hunting and preserving buffalo. This first episode was triggered during her history class.

This beginning, and great swathes of the rest of book are without text. The intense isolation and loneliness of Echo’s day to day life is portrayed powerfully in wordless frames that show her moving from class to class at school, and then heading to her room when she returns to her foster home. Most of the story is conveyed in the gorgeous images alone.

The book concludes with Echo meeting with her mother having a conversation about their Metis roots with the words, 'to be concluded….' at the bottom of the page. This ending felt abrupt and incomplete. It left me feeling irritated. The next book in the series, Red River Resistance, will be published in September. I am looking forward to it and hope, even if it is merely a continuation of the series, that the ending is more satisfying.

For readers who want to know more about this aspect of Canadian history, there is a timeline at the end of the book that outlines significant events. There is also a recipe for pemmican.