Why am I passionate about this?

One of my favourite sounds is teens interacting—especially when they are throwing shade. I spent twenty-five years as a junior and senior high teacher, and I miss rocking and rolling during class discussions with my students. As a writer of contemporary fiction (actually in anything I write), I work hard at using dialogue as an engine to drive each scene. Each line needs to be refined to ensure that it’s snappy, engaging, and real. I’m a writer from southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, where there’s no shortage of great one-liners to use. I hope you enjoy the dialogue in these five recommendations as much as I did.


I wrote

Power Plays

By Maureen Ulrich,

Book cover of Power Plays

What is my book about?

Jessie McIntyre, fourteen, is new to Estevan Junior High, and she’s having trouble fitting in. By signing her up with…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Hate U Give

Maureen Ulrich Why did I love this book?

The Hate U Give is a best-seller and a blockbuster movie. The former English teacher in me would say it’s a perfect balance of character, setting, plot, and theme. The writer in me would say each scene is crafted to draw me in and carry me along. Beyond the storylines of searing systemic racism and the collision of Starr Carter’s two worlds (the white suburban prep school she attends and the volatile black neighborhood in which she lives), the interactions between sixteen-year-old Starr and her parents, her peers, the police, and the Garden Disciples and the Cedar Grove King Lords are jaw-dropping. THUG is one of those rare books I pick up, open to a page, and lose myself in the dialogue every time.

By Angie Thomas,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The Hate U Give as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Now a major motion picture, starring Amandla Stenberg

No. 1 New York Times bestseller

Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize * Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best * National Book Award Longlist * British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year * Teen Vogue Best YA Book of the Year

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a…


Book cover of Trickster Drift

Maureen Ulrich Why did I love this book?

Trickster Drift is Book Two in the Trickster trilogy. (Side Note: I loved the entire trilogy, but Book Two is my favourite.) Trickster Drift is an edgy blend of the supernatural, Indigenous lore, and substance abuse. The characters, particularly Jared’s mother Maggie (who is literally a witch) are memorable, and the dialogue is smart and funny. I have to be careful of spoilers, so I’ll just say that Jared’s conversations in his aunt’s Vancouver apartment with a certain individual wearing a bathrobe are not to be missed. Robinson juggles a number of characters (something I have to contend with in my hockey books), and she does it very well.   

By Eden Robinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Trickster Drift as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Following the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted Son of a Trickster comes Trickster Drift, the second book in Eden Robinson's captivating Trickster trilogy.

In an effort to keep all forms of magic at bay, Jared, 17, has quit drugs and drinking. But his troubles are not over: now he's being stalked by David, his mom's ex--a preppy, khaki-wearing psycho with a proclivity for rib-breaking. And his mother, Maggie, a living, breathing badass as well as a witch, can't protect him like she used to because he's moved away from Kitimat to Vancouver for school.
     Even though he's got a year of sobriety…


Book cover of Hunted

Maureen Ulrich Why did I love this book?

It might seem strange for me to recommend the Amber Fang series seeing as how the main character is a librarian/vampire/assassin. But remember, I am recommending teen books with snappy dialogue. Amber’s repartee with her victims—folks who generally deserve to be turned into Amber’s next meal—is witty and laced with librarianisms, like, “You’re so 900.” Arthur also knows how to walk that fine line between being gory enough for young horror fans and sedate enough for—you guessed it—high school librarians.

By Arthur Slade,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hunted as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Amber Fang enjoys life's simple pleasures. A perfect evening for her includes a good book, a glass of wine and, of course, a great meal, preferably straight from the jugular.


Raised to eat ethically, Amber dines only on delicious cold-blooded killers. But confirming that her chosen victims deserve to die takes time. And patience. So it's a good thing Amber is studying to be a librarian. Her extraordinary research skills help her hunt down her prey, seek out other vampires and stay on the trail of her mother, who has been missing for over two years now. But one day…


Book cover of You Don't Have to Die in the End

Maureen Ulrich Why did I love this book?

You Don’t Have to Die in the End is just the sort of book I’d hand to a student who struggled with finding anything relatable. Eugenia Grimm could be down to her last chance when she is sent to Reason’s Wait, a facility for troubled teens. Because of her troubled past, she has programmed herself to lock horns with any adult who tries to cross—or help—her. I cringed during her tempestuous exchanges with social workers, staff, and fellow “inmates”—hoping one of them would find a way to save this bitter, angry girl from herself. Spoiler alert: As Daher’s title suggests, Eugenia’s train wreck of a life is salvaged in the end.

By Anita Daher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You Don't Have to Die in the End as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Eugenia Grimm is a tough girl living in a tough town at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. She drinks and fights and pushes against expectations. She is also hurting. After her father died by suicide on her eighth birthday, her older brothers drifted away and her mother up and left when she turned 14, Eugenia has not made the best choices. After a last-straw violent incident and faced with the possibility of incarceration, she is sentenced to time at an Intensive Support and Supervision Program located at a remote mountain ranch. There, she begins to makeconnections, explore difficult truths,…


Book cover of Julia Vanishes

Maureen Ulrich Why did I love this book?

Julia Vanishes, Book One in the Witch’s Child series, is fantasy sprinkled liberally with strong female characters. One of those characters is most certainly Julia. She is deeply flawed, has a mysterious past, and makes a living as a thief, so she’s a bit of an anti-hero. Julia also has a talent for making herself unseen—but this talent is evolving and expanding in ways that are quite frightening. Although Egan’s world-building and plotting are brilliant, what I love most are Julia’s interactions with characters like her lover Wyn (the ultimate bad boy), the mysterious Mrs. Och, and most especially Pia the assassin. Dialogue fraught with tension and humor hurtled me from one chapter to the next.

By Catherine Egan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Julia Vanishes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

"An exciting novel with magic and serial killers.... One of the hottest books coming out."—Hypable.com

Fans of Marie Lu, Leigh Bardugo, and Kristin Cashore will be captivated by this stunning first book in a must-have new fantasy trilogy about a spy who can vanish at will and who discovers that monsters, mystery, and magic are also lurking—just out of sight.

Julia has the unusual ability to be . . . unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people's senses.

It's a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But…


Explore my book 😀

Power Plays

By Maureen Ulrich,

Book cover of Power Plays

What is my book about?

Jessie McIntyre, fourteen, is new to Estevan Junior High, and she’s having trouble fitting in. By signing her up with the local girl's hockey team, her parents hope to give her a fresh start and help her make new friends, but bullies can be found everywhere—including the dressing room. Power Plays is a gritty tale sprinkled with humour, heart-pounding hockey action, life lessons, and positive female role models.

“Ulrich demonstrates that there are many ways to succeed in relationships without resorting to any sort of bullying. She stresses the importance of accepting and celebrating the differences between people rather than using them as an excuse for malicious behaviour. This is an excellent novel which provides lots of action, a little romance, and a great deal to think about.” - CM Magazine
Book cover of The Hate U Give
Book cover of Trickster Drift
Book cover of Hunted

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Not So Little Things

By Kyle Ann Robertson,

Book cover of Not So Little Things

Kyle Ann Robertson Author Of White Picket Fences

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Kyle's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Not So Little Things by Kyle Ann Robertson unravels the meticulously crafted life of Tina, an artist engrossed in the intricate world of historically accurate miniatures. As she dutifully honors her deceased father's desire for her to follow in his artistic and historical footsteps, Tina's controlled existence is shaken by the emergence of long-buried secrets when she takes a commission to build a replica of Jake Martin’s family mansion.

Robertson navigates the delicate balance between Tina's devotion to her father's wishes and the disruptions caused by revelations from the past. The novel beautifully explores the complexity of familial expectations and…

Not So Little Things

By Kyle Ann Robertson,

What is this book about?

Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion. Raised by her loving, wheelchair-bound Aunt Liddy, her father's sister, 33 year old Tina has become a miniature room artist and cherishes the control she has over her life in Northeast Georgia as she works hard to please her beloved dead father's wishes of following in his footsteps in art and…


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