A Black immigrant journeys from the Caribbean to Canada—and through multiple musical personas—in a “deeply moving” memoir “suffused with poetic prose” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). As a clever, willful boy in a tiny village in the tropical forests of Trinidad—raised by his indomitable grandmother, Miss Excelly, and her King James Bible—Antonio Michael Downing is steeped in the legacies of his scattered family, the vibrant culture of the island, and the weight of its colonial history. But after Miss Excelly’s death, everything changes. The eleven-year-old seems to fall asleep in the jungle and wake up in a blizzard: he is sent to live with his devoutly evangelical Aunt Joan in rural Canada, where they are the only Black family in a landscape starkly devoid of the warm lushness of his childhood. Isolated and longing for home, Downing begins a decades-long journey to transform himself through music and performance. A reunion with his birth parents, whom he’s known only through story, closes more doors than it opens. Instead, Downing seeks refuge in increasingly extravagant musical personalities: “Mic Dainjah,” a boisterous punk rapper; “Molasses,” a soul crooner; and, finally, an eccentric dystopian-era pop star clad in leather and gold, “John Orpheus.” In his mid-thirties, increasingly addicted to escapism, attention, and sex, Downing realizes he has become a “Saga Boy”—a Trinidadian playboy archetype—like his father and grandfather before him. When his choices land him in a jail cell, Downing must face who he has become. “Lush language and sensory details make the fascinating events of this memoir pop. An authentic, entertaining, and timely account of a creative immigrant’s experiences.” —Booklist “Downing’s elegant, engaging memoir will have particular significance to readers from the Caribbean diaspora, but it will be understood by any reader who has ever had their world suddenly upended and needed to make it whole again.” —Library Journal “A rich memoir about how far some folks have to travel just to arrive where they began.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 SPEAKER'S BOOK AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 TORONTO BOOK AWARD “[A] deeply moving memoir...[and] lyrical story.... Suffused with poetic prose that jumps off the page, this inspiring account sings.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Raised by his indomitable grandmother in the lush rainforest of southern Trinidad, Antonio Michael Downing, at age 11, is uprooted to Canada when she dies. He and his older brother are sent to live with his stern, evangelical Aunt Joan, in a tiny northern Ontario community where they are the only Black children in the town. In this wilderness, after a disappointing reunion with his birth parents, he begins his journey as an immigrant minority, using music and performance to dramatically transform himself. He tries to flee his messy family life by morphing into a series of extravagant musical personalities: “Mic Dainjah,” a punk rock rapper, “Molasses,” a soul music crooner and finally “John Orpheus,” a gold chained, sequin- and leather-clad pop star. Yet, like his father and grandfather, he has become a “Saga Boy,” a Trinidadian playboy, addicted to escapism, attention, and sex. When the inevitable crash happens, he finds himself in a cold, stone jail cell, having become everything he was trying to escape. At the heart of his odyssey is the longing for a home. Richly evocative, Saga Boy is a heart-wrenching but uplifting story of a lonely immigrant boy who overcomes adversity and abandonment to reclaim his Black identity and embrace a rich heritage.

SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Speaker's Book Award LONGLISTED for the 2021 Toronto Book Award The triumph of Saga Boy is the triumph of Blackness everywhere--the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks are prey." --Ian Williams, Giller Prize-winning author of Reproduction An enthralling, deeply personal account of a young immigrant's search for belonging and Black identity amid the long-lasting effects of cultural dislocation. Antonio Michael Downing's memoir of creativity and transformation is a startling mash-up of memories and mythology, told in gripping, lyrical prose. Raised by his indomitable grandmother in the lush rainforest of southern Trinidad, Downing, at age 11, is uprooted to Canada when she dies. But to a very unusual part of Canada: he and his older brother are sent to live with his stern, evangelical Aunt Joan, in Wabigoon, a tiny northern Ontario community where they are the only Black children in the town. In this wilderness, he begins his journey as an immigrant minority, using music and performance to dramatically transform himself. At the heart of his odyssey is the longing for a home. He is re-united with his birth parents who he has known only through stories. But this proves disappointing: Al is a womanizing con man and drug addict, and Gloria, twice abandoned by Al, seems to regard her sons as cash machines. He tries to flee his messy family life by transforming into a series of extravagant musical personalities: "Mic Dainjah," a punk rock rapper, "Molasses," a soul music crooner and finally "John Orpheus," a gold chained, sequin- and leather-clad pop star. Yet, like his father and grandfather, he has become a "Saga Boy," a Trinidadian playboy, addicted to escapism, attention, and sex. When the inevitable crash happens, he finds himself in a cold, stone jail cell. He has become everything he was trying to escape and must finally face himself. Richly evocative, Saga Boy is a heart-wrenching but uplifting story of a lonely immigrant boy who overcomes adversity and abandonment to reclaim his Black identity and embrace a rich heritage.

One of Open Letters Review's Ten Best Historical Novels of 2020; First Place Winner, 2021 Chaucer Award for pre-1750s historical fiction "Highly recommend both as a standalone and series read. Wertman's work is among the best Tudor fiction on the market" - Historical Fiction Reader His mother, Jane Seymour, died at his birth; now his father, King Henry VIII, has died as well. Nine-year-old Edward Tudor ascends to the throne of England and quickly learns that he cannot trust anyone, even himself. Struggling to understand the political and religious turmoil that threatens the realm, Edward is at first relieved that his uncle, the new Duke of Somerset, will act on his behalf as Lord Protector, but this consolation evaporates as jealousy spreads through the court. Challengers arise on all sides to wrest control of the child king, and through him, England. While Edward can bring frustratingly little direction to the Council's policies, he refuses to abandon his one firm conviction: that Catholicism has no place in England. When Edward falls ill, this steadfast belief threatens England's best hope for a smooth succession: the transfer of the throne to Edward's very Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, whose heart's desire is to return the realm to the way it worshipped in her mother's day.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu Debauchery is the triquel to A Harem Boy's Saga, a provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society through his UK boarding school. From there, he was spirited to the Middle East to attend the Bahriji (Oasis) School in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for Harem services for the wealthy elite. It is also a love story between the young man, his 'Big Brother, ' and his 'Valet, ' who served as his chaperones and mentors. This book follows the teenagers' erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their third Arabian Household Harem, the Quwah. There, they became confidants to a prince, assistants in an international dance club venture, "Carousel," and apprentices and models in a controversial photography project, "Sacred Sex in Sacred Places." This story is an account of the author's experiences. Through these truths, often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnation and negativity related to sexuality, love, and personal freedom. A Harem Boy's Saga is a series of seven volumes.

A Guatemalan-American writer returns to the Boston suburb of his youth in this American Book Award–winning novel “full of rebellious comedy and vitality” (New Yorker). A 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist In Monkey Boy, Francisco Goldman’s “brilliantly constructed auto-fiction” (NPR), we meet Francisco Goldberg, a middle-aged writer grappling with the challenges of family and love, legacies of violence and war, and growing up as the son of immigrants. Having fled Mexico after his journalism provokes the wrong people, Goldberg’s attempt to start fresh in New York. But even as he finds himself falling in love, he is drawn away yet again—back to his childhood home in the white, working-class suburbs of Boston. Frankie is beckoned there by a high school girlfriend who witnessed his youthful humiliations, and by his ailing mother, Yolanda, whose intermittent lucidity unearths forgotten pockets of the past. His brief trip is haunted by memories of his recently deceased father, the Guatemalan woman who helped raise him, and the high school bullies who called him “monkey boy.”

Five gripping stories of love, friendship and betrayal--"Forgotten Juliet," "Branded Bibi," "The Youths Who Stopped Time," "Double," and "The Death of Cleo"--comprise this poignant first installment of Kaori Yuki's atmospheric epic. -- VIZ Media

Find yourself in another world in The Transall Saga, the latest adventure from Gary Paulsen: Mark's solo camping trip to the desert begins as any other camping trip, until a mysterious beam of light appears. The trip turns into a terrifying and thrilling adventure when the light beam transports Mark into another time, and what appears to be another planet! Although he is searching for his way back to earth, in the meantime he is forced to make a life in this unknown world. He meets primitive tribes and shares the joy of human bonds, but this end of isolation in the new world also brings war and a struggle for power.

He's the son of a chieftain and a princess--yet Halfdan was born a slave. Now he is becoming a man and it is time for him to meet his destiny. Though raised a slave who could only dream of freedom, young Halfdan's fate may be about to change. If freed, he may train as a Viking warrior, and come to know the glories of true brotherhood and the horrors of unspeakable evil. In the world of Vikings, a warrior's destiny is forged in the heat of battle. If the fates decree it, Hafdan may emerge as a new hero . . . a new myth . . . and perhaps a new legend.

When you're allergic to water, growing up in Hawaii isn't always paradise. Everybody loves Jay. I love my brother, too. Sometimes I wish I could be him--a surfing star instead of the weird kid allergic to water, the Blalahs' favorite punching bag. But that's not the worst of it. In the middle of the night, I dream. There's a mysterious girl who lives in a magical place and acts like she knows me better than I know myself. We hide from the Man with Too Many Teeth. Some nights I wake up with my heart pounding and the urge to eat raw meat. It's just a dream, right? But then I saw him, the Man with Too Many Teeth, walking along the reef at Piko Point. Not even Jay can protect me now. __________________ One Boy, No Water is Book 1 in the Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy. Told from an indigenous perspective and set in a contemporary Hawaiian world where all the Hawaiian myths and legends are real, the series explores belonging, adoption, being different, bullying, defining family, and learning to turn weaknesses into strengths. Through the series, Zader discovers he's not really a boy allergic to water; he's something much more special, dangerous, and powerful. His adoptive brother Jay discovers what happens when the golden surfing star falls from his pedestal and has to choose to make the long climb back from serious injury. It's the ties that bind and support the brothers that allow them to create their own destinies. As typical local islanders, characters use common Hawaiian and Pidgin words and phrases. The meaning is usually clear from the context, but there is also a Hawaiian & Pidgin Glossary for additional support. Each chapter begins with a related island word or phrase and its definitions. A Discussion Guide for book club or classroom use is included. Free additional classroom support materials are available on www.NiuhiSharkSaga.com. One Boy, No Water, Book 1 in the Niuhi Shark Saga, was a 2017 Nene Award Nominee. The Nene Award is Hawaii's Children's Choice Book Award recognizing outstanding literary works.