Sixteen-year-old Claire is walking across Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver when a good-looking young man approaches. He's laughing, talking on his cellphone. Then, when they get close, he reaches out, hands her his phone, says, "I'm sorry,? " then climbs over the railing and jumps. This is the shockingly vivid first scene of Leanne Baugh's young adult novel, Last Words, a moment that profoundly changes Claire's life as she searches for an explanation to this mysterious suicide. In the end, Claire's investigation becomes an assertion of life, rather than a mourning over death. Pivotal to the story is Claire meeting with Kiki, a young cancer patient whose determined passion for life inspires her to embrace the everyday. Then there's Claire's sister Belle, who has Down's syndrome and is a steady reminder that life is messy but full of possibilities. This profound novel is rich in diverse characters that illustrate what it is to live fully in this world.

In the opening pages of this historical novel, sixteen-year-old Kate Harding is desperately trying to assist her mother who is about to give premature birth to a child in their home in the small colonial community of Victoria in 1861.The experience is gruelling for mother and daughter, and in the end, though a local midwife gets there in time to assist, the baby does not live more than a few hours. It's ironic because Kate's father is one of only a few doctors in the colony, but was out tending patients while his wife was going through this tragic ordeal. Though Wild Bird is set 160 years ago, it has a lot to say to the readers of today. First of all, in its spotlight on a young girl's yearning to involve herself in meaningful work in a society that thinks women are little more than decoration, and household managers. Secondly, in the description of the way in which Indigenous people relate to the recently arrived settlers who are quick to turn on them when it suits. Finally, the story includes some historical figures who made a significant impact on the early history of Canada, portrayed in dynamic ways.