C'est en fouillant la littérature jeunesse pour parler à sa fille de son adoption que Catherine a eu l'idée de ce texte : elle y trouvait beaucoup de koalas chez les ours polaires ou vilains petits canards chez les cygnes. Catherine n'est pas un cygne et sa fille n'est pas un vilain petit canard. Elles sont des arbres à musique qui n'ont pas les mêmes racines, mais dont les feuilles ont appris à jouer les mêmes symphonies.

From the celebrated author of Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan, comes another humorous and poignant early middle grade novel. My Life Begins! explores how life begins for Jacob when his triplet sisters are born, and how siblings get to know each other as time, and love, evolve. Jacob is nine years old when his life changes. He wants a litter of puppies. But instead his parents have a different surprise. Jacob will be an older brother soon. And there won't be only one new baby. There will be three! When the triplets are born, Jacob thinks puppies are cuter. The babies look identical to him and he gives them a name: "the Trips." For a school science project, Jacob decides to study the Trips. It feels like magic as they begin to smile, talk, and grow. Slowly, he gets to know each of them. They call his mother "Mama" and his father "Da." But what will they call him? One day, one of the Trips calls him "Jay." As each of the triplets become unique and more special with each day, Jacob starts to wonder if "the Trips" is still a good name for them. They aren't puppies, or a bunch of bananas, and they aren't just "the Trips" anymore. What should he call them that will show what they mean to him? Can he figure out their "forever name?" And will he ever get a puppy?

A heartbreakingly beautiful novel in verse about adoption, family, friendship, and love in all its many forms, perfect for fans of Robin Benway and Jandy Nelson, from the acclaimed author of Three Things I Know Are True. Rynn was born with a hole in her heart--literally. Although it was fixed long ago, she still feels an emptiness there when she wonders about her birth family. As her relationship with her adoptive mother fractures, Rynn finally decides she needs to know more about the rest of her family. Her search starts with a name, the only thing she has from her birth mother, and she quickly learns that she has a younger sister living in foster care in a nearby town. But if Rynn reconnects with her biological sister, it may drive her adoptive family apart for good. This powerful story uncovers both beautiful and heartbreaking truths and explores how challenging, yet healing, family can be.

When her mother dies, fifteen-year-old Mari and is desperate to avoid being caught up in the foster system. Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor. An unforgettable middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings on a cross-country journey in search of their place in the world.

A CBC BEST CANADIAN FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR Probably Ruby is an audacious, brave, and beautiful book about an adopted woman's search for her Indigenous identity, for readers of Tommy Orange's There There and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries. Relinquished as an infant, Ruby is placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple who can't afford to complain too loudly about Ruby's Indigenous roots. But when her new parents' marriage falls apart, Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity. Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs, and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her. In a series of expanding narratives, Ruby and the people connected to her tell their stories and help flesh out Ruby's history. Seeking understanding of how we come to know who we are, Probably Ruby explores how we find and invent ourselves in ways as peculiar and varied as the experiences of Indigenous adoptees themselves. Ruby's voice, her devastating honesty and tremendous laugh, will not soon be forgotten. Probably Ruby is a perfectly crafted novel, with effortless, nearly imperceptible shifts in time and perspective, exquisitely chosen detail, natural dialogue and emotional control that results in breathtaking levels of tension and points of revelation.

New York Times bestseller! Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming Blade will become just like his father. In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. And songwriting is all Blade has left after Rutherford, while drunk, crashes his high school graduation speech and effectively rips Chapel away forever. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift. “A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “A rhythmic, impassioned ode to family, identity, and the history of rock and roll.” —Booklist, starred review “Many readers will identify with Blade’s struggle to find his place in a family where he feels like an outsider.” —Publishers Weekly “The authentic character development and tone will strike a chord with young adults.” —School Library Journal

Vee's favorite bedtime story is the night she met her parents. When Vee was nine months old, they flew from Canada to China to bring her home. But when she struggles to keep up in Chinese dance class and a woman at the grocery store makes Vee feel like she doesn't belong, her white parents don't always understand. Vee wants to embrace every part of herself, but it's hard when it feels like she has to choose. With help from another adoptee, can Vee find a way to celebrate being in between?

This inclusive picture book celebrates the joy of preparing to welcome a child, with contemporary illustrations depicting diverse families and their communities of support.

Two teens take the stage and find their voice. . . A girl learns about her heritage and begins to find her community. . . A sister is haunted by the ghosts of loved ones lost. . . There is no universal adoption experience, and no two adoptees have the same story. This anthology for teens edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung contains a wide range of stories in a variety of genres. This collection centers what it's like growing up as an adoptee.

This moving novel of self-discovery and redemption takes place during the Oka Crisis of the summer of 1990. Having been adopted as an infant, Carrie has always felt out of place—and recurring dreams keep warning that someone close to her will be badly hurt. When she finds out that her birth father is living in Kahnawake, Quebec, she goes there and finally finds in a place she truly belongs.

In a story that celebrates bonds between adoptive and birth families, a young boy prepares his gift of whistling like a bird for his new adopted baby sister