In 1860s Belleville, Ont., recently orphaned Lavender starts selling flowers from her garden to make ends meet after her father's death. But when spirit medium Allegra comes to town and seemingly casts a spell on its inhabitants, Lavender starts working with her in the hopes that they can locate money that her father hid before his death. An imagined and alluring historical look at spirits, gardening, and found family, the strength of The Apothecary’s Garden by Jeanette Lynes (HarperCollins 2022) is in its enigmatic story and strange but charming characters.

Rehearsals for Living (Knopf Canada, 2022) is an observation by Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson about present-day problems plaguing society. Born out of the isolation of the pandemic, the two intelligent activists decided to exchange letters that turned into conversations and debates about feminism, being Black and Indigenous, colonialism, and the future. These reflections shed light on these issues in thought-provoking and inspiring ways. 

When I heard Adam Sandler was filming in a synagogue in Toronto, I had to find out what “Mr. Hannukah” was up to. It turns out that this famous funny man is starring in and producing, You’re So Not Invited to My Bat-Mitzvah (Disney-Hyperion 2007), based on a coming-of-age book by Fiona Rosenbloom. Though geared toward teenage girls, this book took me right back to my Bat Mitzvah days, with my parents nagging me about my “special day.” But with relatives I barely knew coming to hear me read in a language I didn’t know, it wasn’t entirely for me, either. It’s a hilarious and endearing story for any age group. I can’t wait to see Happy Gilmore’s spin on it!

Yearning for simpler times when daily “drama” didn’t seem so complicated? In the same vein as Gone with the Wind, Jalna by Mazo de la Roche (republished by Dundurn Press 2006) is the first book in this series of 16, first published in 1927. It’s a delightful saga about the trials and tribulations of a British family that emigrated to Canada and built a house and a life here in the first half of the 20th century. The book’s familial relationships and neighbourly discord read like a lively and quirky soap opera, with uncomplicated yet interesting characters. Jalna is everything good about “old-fashioned” novels.