A humorous coming-of-age novel and a sharp-edged look at how silence can shape a life, from the winner of the Journey Prize. A Chatelaine Summer Reads pick. Named one of the most anticipated books of the fall by CBC Books and 49th Shelf.“But wait, what happened to the girl?”    “I don’t know,” I say. I don’t tell him that what will happen to her is what happens to every girl.      Nina, a bright, hilarious, and sensitive 14-year-old, doesn’t say anything when her best friend begins to pull away, or when her crush on her English teacher intensifies. She doesn’t say anything when her mother tries to match her up with local Halifax Indian boys unfamiliar with her Saved by the Bell references, or when her worried father starts reciting Hindu prayers outside her bedroom door. (“How can your dad be happy when his only daughter is...

From the Governor General’s Award-shortlisted author of The Most Precious Substance on Earth comes a breathtaking and sharply funny collection about the everyday trials and impossible expectations that come with being a woman.What would have happened if she’d met him at a different time in her life, when she was older, more confident, less lonely, and less afraid? She wonders not whether they would have stayed together, but whether she would have known to stay away. A writer discovers that her ex has published a novel about their breakup. An immunocompromised woman falls in love, only to have her body betray her. After her boyfriend makes an insensitive comment, a college student finds an experimental procedure that promises to turn her brown eyes blue. A Reddit post about a man’s habit of grabbing his girlfriend’s breasts prompts a shocking confession. An unsettling second date leads to...

Mira Acharya's life in suburban Toronto sometimes feels like an aberration. After the death of her father, the only family left to her are Ravi, her autistic older brother, and their mother, who is deeply caring but flawed in her parental responsibilities. Only as she grows and changes does Mira begin to understand that her mother and brother face the same challenges she does. Together, the family experiences quiet moments of sorrow, and tenuous moments of hope. Written with humour, grace, and heartbreaking honesty, The Family Took Shape is Shashi Bhat's stunning debut novel about finding one's place in the world, and discovering the rare beauty of those one cannot live without.