Valerie Sherrard

Bethany knows that she is special. She doesn't learn things as easily as her classmates do and that sometimes makes them mean to her. They call her names - including the really "bad" name. Even her mom and her sister Mira say unkind things at times. But, Bethany has friends like her neighbor Mrs. Goldsborough as well as happy times with Dad, when he gets home from work. And, now Mira has promised to protect her from the bullies when the new school...

Before you judge me, there are two things you should know about why I did it. Shana Tremain is a good kid. She knows right from wrong and she's never been in any serious trouble. But when her best friend, Carrie, comes to her for help, Shana agrees to break the law to save Carrie from a molester. She even feels good about it for a while. Then trouble starts. Someone in their group of friends is stealing from the others. As she searches for the truth,...

"I knew one thing – I wasn't going to be rotting in that place for the rest of my life. I was getting out of there. That place turned people into the living dead. In that neighbourhood, it was hard to hear anything that didn't carry the sound of defeat." Sixteen-year-old Porter Delaney has his future figured out, but his nice, neat plans are shaken when a man he believes may be his father suddenly appears in his Toronto neighbourhood. Porter knows...

Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens, short-listed for the 2008 Snow Willow Award and Ann Connor Brimer Award "No one pays much attention to you if you don't have much to say, so there was no way I could have predicted what would happen when I stopped talking altogether." When his teacher announces that it's time for the yearly class speeches, Griffin Maxwell starts to sweat. His past experience with the dreaded speech was humiliating,...

Adam's summer is off to a disappointing start. His so-called "best friend" has bailed on him, choosing to stay behind to care for a sick dog, instead of joining Adam and his family at the seaside campground as planned. Adam is furious with Billy for abandoning him, impatient with his mother for her artistic obsessions, and embarrassed by his dad's lame attempts at being funny. At least an ever-changing cast of new summer friends proves to be an entertaining...

There's one other thing I should mention right off, which is that I'm fourteen years old and dying. (I guess that was two things, but the significance of one is sort of tied to the other, don't you think? ) Kate Benchworth is far from typical. Having been diagnosed with a brain tumour that could end her life at any time, she views the world with refreshing honesty and rare insight. As her family and members of her community struggle to accept what...

At last, Shelby Belgarden has put her crime-solving behind her and has returned to the life of an ordinary teenager. Now 16, she has taken her first job: working at a new local restaurant called The Steak Place. But when one of her co-workers - a waitress named Nadine - goes missing, Shelby suspects foul play. The police won't believe her. Neither will Shelby's boyfriend, Greg, who grows frustrated with her search for a criminal who may not exist....

The moment Ellie and her father pull up in front of her Grandmother Acklebee's farm in Weybolt, Saskatchewan, Ellie knows the place doesn't want her. And it's the last place she wants to be! But Ellie has no choice. Her father was laid off from the mill in Moose Jaw, and he's been taken on by the Marvelous Cookware Company as a salesman, a job that will take him clear across the province and back. The road is no place for a nine-year-old, but leaving...

An unexpected delivery from the florist points to a secret admirer for Shelby Belgarden, but when an ominous phone call and a disturbing email follow, the teenaged sleuth and her family realize that the dangerous obsession of a stalker lies behind them. While the messages become increasingly sinister, the police are unable to uncover the culprits identity, and Shelby finds her world has turned into a nightmare of fear and betrayal. When an arrest...

After all, it's all in how you look at things! Jamie doesn't have the same talents as other members of their family. They can draw and tell scary stories. But Jamie can build things and create new worlds - mazes, rocket ships, roller coasters, and secret hiding places! But all Mom can see is chaos and a mess that needs to be cleaned up. She just doesn't appreciate all that hard work! When Jamie tries to see things from Mom's perspective - well, Jamie...