We Were Dreamers
Regular price $34.99Marvel’s newest recruit shares his own inspiring and unexpected origin story, ranging from China to the bright lights of Hollywood. An immigrant who battled everything from parental expectations to cultural stereotypes, Simu Liu struggled to forge a path for himself, rising from the ashes of a failed accounting career (yes, you read that right) to become Shang-Chi.
Our story begins in the city of Harbin, where Simu’s parents have left him with his grandparents while they seek to build a future in Canada. One day, a mysterious stranger shows up; it’s Simu’s father, who whisks him away from the only home he has ever known to the land of opportunity and maple syrup.
Life in the new world, however, is not all that it was cracked up to be. Simu’s new guardians lack the gentle touch of his grandparents, resulting in harsh words and hurt feelings. His parents, on the other hand, find their new son emotionally distant and difficult to relate to. Although they are related by blood, they are separated by culture, language and values.
As Simu grows up, he plays the part of the ideal son well, getting A’s at school, crushing national math competitions and making his parents proud. But as time goes on, he grows increasingly disillusioned with the expectations placed on his shoulders, and finds it harder and harder to keep up the charade. Barely a year out of college, he hits rock bottom when he is laid off from his first job as an accountant. Unemployed, riddled with shame and with nothing left to lose, Simu sees an ad on Craigslist that will send him on a wildly unexpected journey into the mysterious world of show business. Through a swath of rejections and comical mishaps, Simu’s determination leads him to succeed as an actor and to open the door to reconciling with his parents.
We Were Dreamers is more than a celebrity memoir—it’s a story about growing up between cultures, finding your family and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstances.
“A sincere, funny, and fascinating love letter to family, and a guidebook to pursuing your dreams.” — Olivia Munn
“Don’t let Simu Liu fool you. On the outside you may see boyish good looks, talent, and a body made of tightly coiled muscle. But on the inside? It’s quite good-looking in there, too. Strong heart, beautiful ligaments, and a soul made of spun sugar. Also, he wrote this hilarious and heartfelt story about growing up, finding yourself, and seizing your moment.” — Ryan Reynolds
“Oh great, another underdog story of overachievement. Just what we needed.” — Ronny Chieng
"In this triumphant debut, Liu, star of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, traces how he followed his immigrant dream' all the way to the big screen. . . .The book’s beating heart, however, lies in the affecting story of his family’s path to healing: 'My parents are beaming with pride at the son who has disobeyed practically every single order they had ever given.' This real-life hero’s journey is a knockout." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Like your favourite superhero, within the first few pages, this book made me feel like I could do anything.” — Shifter Magazine
“[We Were Dreamers] is an excellent celebrity memoir that takes readers beyond the velvet rope and into the life of one of Canada’s most beloved stars. Simu’s story gives readers a chance to know a different side of him as he creates a compelling narrative of his life in words.” — The Daily Hive
When We Lost Our Heads
Regular price $32.99
From the bestselling author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel, a spellbinding story about two young women whose friendship is so intense it not only threatens to destroy them, it changes the course of history
Marie Antoine is the charismatic, spoiled daughter of a sugar baron. At age twelve, with her pile of blond curls and unparalleled sense of whimsy, she's the leader of all the children in the Golden Mile, the affluent strip of nineteenth-century Montreal where powerful families live. Until one day in 1873, when Sadie Arnett, dark-haired, sly and brilliant, moves to the neighbourhood.
Marie and Sadie are immediately inseparable. United by their passion and intensity, they attract and repel each other in ways that set them both on fire. Marie, with her bubbly charm, sees all the pleasure of the world, whereas Sadie's obsession with darkness is all-consuming. Soon, their childlike games take on the thrill of danger and then become deadly.
Forced to separate, the girls spend their teenage years engaging in acts of alternating innocence and depravity, until a singular event unites them once more, with devastating effects. After Marie inherits her father's sugar empire and Sadie disappears into the city's gritty underworld, the working class begins to foment a revolution. Each woman will play an unexpected role in the events that upend their city—the only question is whether they will find each other once more.
From the beloved Giller Prize-shortlisted author who writes “like a sort of demented angel with an uncanny knack for metaphor" (Toronto Star), When We Lost Our Heads is a page-turning novel that explores gender and power, sex and desire, class and status, and the terrifying strength of the human heart when it can't let someone go.
Where do Your Feelings Live?
Regular price $24.99A picture book about how we can show love to difficult feelings, from the acclaimed author of M Is for Mustache: A Pride ABC Book and I Promise
When you're someplace unfamiliar
How do you feel?
Does your feeling live in your tummy where strange creatures roam in fields of prickly grass?
Does it want to burrow its head deep in the sand where no one can find it?
In Catherine Hernandez's new picture book, young readers are encouraged to show compassion to themselves, their families and their communities, and to imagine where inside themselves they keep their feelings.
Championing young people for weathering the storms of their many emotions and trying their best, Where Do Your Feelings Live? is a gentle celebration of all the tricky feelings that make us who we are. This buoyant and touching text is brought vibrantly to life by illustrations from Quebec artist Myriam Chery.
Why I Love Canada
Regular price $12.99Featuring children's own words and heart-warming pictures, a special little book about why we love Canada.
A lovely gift book at a pocket-friendly price, created by asking real children why they love Canada and combining their words with illustrations of gorgeous baby animals.
• Partly written in children's own words, this is the perfect gift for little Canadians everywhere!
• Use of children's original words ensures instant parent-child appeal
• Adorable animal illustrations throughout are perfectly targeted at the younger age bracket
• The newest title in the cuddly cute Why I Love… series, illustrated by Daniel Howarth
Why I Love Hockey
Regular price $12.99The newest edition to the popular Why I Love series!
Why do children love hockey? Because they’re part of a team. Because they love to cheer. Because they love to skate-and score goals! There are so many reasons. A wonderful new book featuring all-new illustrations that are sure to light up the faces of young fans.
Wonder Land Road
Regular price $24.99An absorbing and heartfelt new novel about three people looking for a future when the world hangs by a thread, for readers of Moon on the Crusted Snow and The Future
Pauline has not spoken to her sister, Mei, in two decades, not since before the world changed. A rare letter arrives asking Pauline to return to their old neighbourhood to care for Mei’s young daughter while Mei goes to find work.
Twelve-year-old Jing is living in the Children’s House, where all the parentless children stay while their parents work at the Farms. She hasn’t heard from her mother in months and the food deliveries they were promised have dwindled. Her only friends in the neighbourhood are a crow named Iris, an older boy named Julian, and the ghosts of her ancestors in their abandoned apartment.
Julian, once a star athlete and student with a bright future, is one of the only young men left on Wonderland Road. He can’t leave his parents, and he knows there is nowhere left to go. But Julian dreams of a boy he met and a kiss shared in what feels like another lifetime.
These three people will cross paths on Wonderland Road, a community trying to survive in a world of massive disruption and uncertainty. When the future feels poised on a knife’s edge, they must find a way forward.
You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance
Regular price $23.99NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From beloved astrologer Chani Nicholas comes an essential guide for radical self-acceptance.
Your weekly horoscope is merely one crumb of astrology’s cake. In her first book You Were Born For This, Chani shows how your birth chart—a snapshot of the sky at the moment you took your first breath—reveals your unique talents, challenges, and opportunities. Fortified with this knowledge, you can live out the life you were born to. Marrying the historic traditions of astrology with a modern approach, You Were Born for This explains the key components of your birth chart in an easy to use, choose your own adventure style. With journal prompts, reflection questions, and affirmations personal to your astrological makeup, this book guides you along the path your chart has laid out for you.
Chani makes the wisdom of your birth chart accessible with three foundational keys:
Astrology is not therapy, but it is therapeutic. In a world in which we are taught to look outside of ourselves for validation, You Were Born for This brings us inward to commit to ourselves and our life’s purpose.
