Tom Finder

Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Juvenile-Young Adult Fiction! Winner of the Mr. Christie's Book Award! Shortlist for the 2004 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Canadian Book Award Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award winner, 2005 This riveting story is about a fifteen-yearold boy who, as the story opens, realizes he has no idea who he is_beyond his first name_or what has led to his loss of memory. From the outset, he's on the run, a street kid thrust out on his own, living by his wits and involved in a quest to find another lost teenager whose First Nations father is desperate for news of his son. In the process, he learns to survive and begins to get a sense of his strengths and character. Erin Lukens Darr - KLIATT What if you knew nothing about yourself except your first name? What if the only clues to who you are were a candy heart from Valentine's Day and a small spiral notebook with some notes scrawled about Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute? This surprising gem of a story involves a teenager named Tom who cannot remember who he is or where he came from. Now he is living on the streets of urban Canada, trying to solve the riddle of his existence. Tom meets a strange medicine man, Samuel Wolflegs, who tells Tom he is a "Finder." He tells Tom that he has a gift and that before he can solve the mystery of his identity and find home, Tom must first find Samuel's runaway son, Daniel. The story follows Tom as he adjusts to life on the streets: eating from dumpsters, sleeping under bridges, run-ins with gangs, showering at the bus station. On his quest to find Daniel, Tom finds himself (of all places, at the opera!) He slowly learns about the mystery of his past and how it doesn't necessarily have to dictate his future. Tom Finder provides an eye-opening view of the hardships of those less fortunate whom we often ignore. It would be good to use in a middle school or high school while teaching about character education, citizenship, or possibly even health, allowing for wonderful discussion topics. This book exceeded my original expectations with its depth and insight. KLIATT Codes: JS-Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Red Deer Press, 141p., Ages 12 to 18. This riveting story is about a fifteen-year-old boy who, as the story opens, realizes he has no idea who he is - beyond his first name - or what has led to his loss of memory. From the outset, he's on the run, a street kid thrust out on his own, living by his wits and involved in a quest to find another lost teenager whose First Nations father is desperate for news of his son. In the process, he learns to survive and begins to get a sense of his strengths and character. Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Juvenile-Young Adult Fiction! Winner of the Mr. Christie's Book Award! Shortlist for the 2004 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Canadian Book Award Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award winner, 2005 "Benjamin Franklin Juvenile Young Adult Fiction Award Nomination ALA/YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Selection Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Citation" The Dollmage is the wise woman of Seekvalley. As her powers weaken and age comes upon her, she knows she must chose a successor. On the day she predicts to be the birthday of her chosen one, two girls are born: Annakey and Renoa. One must learn the Dollmage's magic, but which one? She chooses Renoa, but as Annakey grows, she discovers that she, too, has magic. When Seekvalley is threatened by outside forces, Annakey is the only one with a plan to save her people. But how can she ever persuade the Dollmage that she has the power to help? Who will believe her? Fifteen-year-old Tom is on the run, a kid on the streets out on his own, living by his wits. Tom also gets involved in a quest to find another lost teenager whose First Nations father is desperate for news of his son. In the process, Tom learns to survive and begins to get a sense of his own inner strengths. Tom knows that somewhere in his former life Mozart's The Magic Flute has been crucially important to him. Though he doesn't know when or how, when he finally gets to the opera's performance, the past explodes his consciousness. Who, now, will he be? The Tom of the past? Or the new Tom, the person he has built out of his street experiences and emerging convictions? Sequel to The Dragon's tapestry and The Prism moon. Marvel's wizard's magic drains away, and she has difficulty casting even a simple spell to heal a garden. She must find the Key, the powerful talisman whose magic has become her only hope and whose symbol is woven into her tapestry. No one has ever seen the Key, though it is rumored to exist with the Taker in the deathlands. Here Marwen and Oldwives must travel to solve its mystery. An evil sorcery prowls the land. The Oldwives are losing their magic, and an ill wind weakens the hiding spell that protects them. Worse still, Marwen is powerless to stop any of it. She must find the Key, the powerful talisman woven into her tapestry. In the deathlands Marwen and the Oldwives must travel to solve its mystery. The word is out upon the land: Marwen has vanquished the dragon and finds herself heir to the Wizard's staff. But her transformation is not yet complete, and the staff is not yet hers. And danger lurks closer than ever as the staff is sought by another who holds the dreaded power of the Prism Moon. When news of dragon trouble comes, Marwen doesn't scoff even though dragons haven't flown in the land of Ve for many generations. Her destiny has been woven, and it will lead her to lost lands, to the powerful magic of the Wizard's staff and to a mystery no one should have to face alone. " ... The wizard's staff is sought by another whose past is intertwined with Marwen's. And what's more, he holds the dreadful power of the Prism Moon to which Marwen finds herself inexorably drawn"--Page 4 of cover "In this conclusion to the Marmawell trilogy, Marwen discovers what she must give up to gain peace in her land. The details and characterization will absorb readers" Cf. Our choice, 1999-2000 "When news of dragon trouble comes from the north, villagers in Marmawell scoff ... But Marwen, the Oldwife's apprentice, doesn't scoff"--Page 4 of cover The Dollmage has chosen Renoa to succeed her as the protector of the valley, but Annakey seems to show more talent for the job