A Voice in the Wilderness - Blog
Spring Break Book Recommendations
There are certain times of the year when we all think about ways to unwind, relax, and find our balance (metaphorically speaking). For many this involves, exercise, dinners out and maybe a movie or series streamed to our couches in the quiet enclave of home. But every so often in our modern world we seek an opportunity to travel without a passport, to walk in someone else’s shoes, and look in the mirror at ourselves. Through books we can do all of these things – and have our comfy couch enclave.
So this Spring Break, recharge the battery and settle in with a good book. I asked our Shawnigan family for book recommendations for the break. What we plan to read, what we hope to read – and here is our compiled list. A little bit of everything from many different voices. Escape, relax and find yourself a place to call “Vacation.” Challenge yourself and try something you wouldn’t normally pick up – I know I will.
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Fiction
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (various publishers, 1868): “Louisa May Alcott’s most famous novel, Little Women, is the story of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. Loosely based upon the author’s own experiences with her three sisters, the novel is a classic coming of age story which follows the development of the young women into adulthood.”
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Books, 1996-2011): A five-book series (with two more to come!). A fantasy odyssey for the senses. “Winter is coming.”
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper, 2022): “From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity.”
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (Harper Collins, 2023): “White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American – in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.”
Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Penguin Random House, 2023): “From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah’s Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them.”
Non-Fiction
Dove by Robin Lee Graham (William Morrow, 1972): “In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in a 24-foot sloop. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he returned to home port with a wife and daughter and enough extraordinary experiences to fill this bestselling book.”
The Class by Ken Dryden (Penguin Random House, 2023): “On Tuesday, September 6, 1960, the day after Labour Day, class 9G at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute in a suburb of Toronto assembled for the first time. Its thirty-five students, having written special exams, came to be known as the ‘Selected Class.’ They would stay together through high school, with few exceptions. They would spend more than two hundred days a year together. Few had known each other before. Few have been in other than accidental contact in all the decades since.”
Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein (Harper Collins, 2024): “In this lively, funny memoir, Peggy Orenstein sets out to make a sweater from scratch – shearing, spinning, dyeing wool – and in the process discovers how we find our deepest selves through craft. Orenstein spins a yarn that will appeal to everyone.”
Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis (St. Martin’s Press, 2021): “A ground-breaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.”
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Company, 2008): “In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of ‘outliers’ – the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?”
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt (William Morrow, 2005): “Takes an unconventional look at how the economy really works, from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing, offering a very different view on what really matters and what really drives the economy.”
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater (MacMillan, 2017): “The riveting New York Times bestseller and Stonewall Book Award winner that will make you rethink all you know about race, class, gender, crime, and punishment. Artfully, compassionately, and expertly told, Dashka Slater's The 57 Bus is a must-read nonfiction book for teens that chronicles the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, California.”
Rayna Hyde-Lay is Shawnigan’s librarian and loves all things libraryland! She still believes in 398.2 and enjoys working with students as research support, great read locator, advisor, and teacher. Most recently she has expanded her skills and is working with Shawnigan’s Grade 8 program as the School embarks on this brave new phase.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
