Cameron and his mom have been on the run. Moving houses, cities, new schools, unlisted phone numbers. Just as things settle, Cameron's mom has a feeling that his dad has found them and they are on the move again. It's been so long since Cameron has seen his dad he can't remember if his memories are real or just stories his mom has told him.
Cameron moves into an old farm house and starts hearing stories about the place. Soon he's talking to ghosts and digging up old murder stories. Is Cameron losing his mind or is he on to something? Most importantly, is Cameron just like his dad?
The Dogs by Allan Stratton is a Red Maple nominee in the 2016 Forest of Reading.
Every year I like to read one or two Red Maple books to my grade 7 and 8 classes. This year I've really struggled to pick one of the ten that I could read out loud to a class. The nominees this year seem to be a bit more mature than other years. I thought I would pre-read The Truth Commission to see if it might be a good read aloud. Definitely not!
The Truth Commission is about three friends that attend a special art high school. Normandy Pale is writing a story for a school assignment and The Truth Commission is that story. Norm has two best friends Neil and Dusk. The trio decide to seek out the truth among their fellow students. Eventually the truths begin to unravel within the group. Norm has some major family issues that no one talks about, including her parents. When Norm's sister moves back home from college though it may just be too much to handle.
I found The Truth Commission to be very mature for a grade 7 and 8 level. I thought some of the truths were way too mature. One guideline that I try to use when picking books for that level is making sure that the characters are at the most 14 years old. Norm and friends are 17 years old. Because this book is a Red Maple book I will purchase it for my school library but I will probably let borrowers know that it's pretty mature before they start reading.
Henry K. Larsen is trying to rebuild his life in a new town where no one knows his name or about IT. His brother recently committed a murder/suicide at his high school. His new psychologist wants him to try writing a journal. In the journal Henry deals with why IT happened.
In the journal Henry reflects on many situations of bullying that he saw his brother suffer. Also, in his new school he sees a kid that reminds him a lot of his brother and sees the bullying that this poor boy suffers as well.
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is nominated for the Red Maple award in this years Forest of Reading program. Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author that has also written the very popular Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom.