Coming of age stories touch on family, friendship and courage

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems, by Bob Raczka For those who like to see little bits of text, this book of concrete poems is perfect. Each title is a visual pun, leading us into a poem graphically designed to look like its subject, whether the Big Dipper, baseball, fireflies, lightning or otherwise. Raczka shows that with a few words, you can play a game of logic, design and poetry. Full of satisfying surprises.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk “The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie,” Annabelle says of 1943, when a “dark-hearted” girl arrived in her village and made trouble for a gentle, trauma-scarred First World War veteran. Wolk’s thoughtfully orchestrated plot, and her portrayal of Annabelle’s ever deepening moral understanding, make this exceptionally rich and compelling.

Sea Change by Frank Viva Tongue and onions, fish fumes and maggots are only a few of the new experiences Eliot has when he spends a summer fishing with his uncle on Cape Breton Island. A quintessential summer and coming-of-age story, written with a glorious mix of restraint and hyperbole, humour and sorrow — enlivened by Viva’s drawings and playful design.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston At the end of cheerleading camp and the beginning of her senior year, Hermione is drugged and raped. But she’s determined to be a survivor, not a victim, thanks to the help of her stalwart friend Polly. Johnston’s riff on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale is soberly triumphant, emphasizing girls’ friendship, courage and cleverness in a tale that’s part mystery, drama and school story.

Shooter by Caroline Pignat This multiple-voice school story takes place in one tense hour of lockdown in a high school, when five mismatched students end up in the boys’ washroom.

As each voices her or his perspective, we gain insight into the discontents, incapacities and strengths that arise from their manifold “issues” — meanwhile, the taut mystery of the shooter’s identity unfolds.