New Releases by Vicki Grant

Letters from beyond the grave and a green velvet dress reveal a secret about Yardley''s beloved grandmother; for fans of The Parker Inheritance and The List of Things That Will Not Change and ages 10 and up. It''s always hard to lose a friend, but for Yardley O''Hanlon it''s devastating. Her best friend is her wild and wonderful grandmother Gidge. They''re two fashionable peas in a quirky little pod. They spend all their time together sewing and crafting and creating beautiful things — until Gidge dies, and Yardley loses her for good. Or does she? Yardley isn''t convinced. Gidge was a big believer in reincarnation. She promised she''d never leave Yardley, and Gidge always kept her promises. So when a stylish older woman walks into the Over Easy Vintage Emporium where Yardley is helping out, Yardley is sure it''s her grandmother, back from the dead. But her happiness doesn''t last long, as the woman runs away in terror and no one else believes she was Gidge reincarnated. It''s only with the help of a beautiful green velvet dress, a series of letters from "the other side" and an irritating twelve-year-old buttinsky named Harris that Yardley discovers there''s more to the mystery woman — and Gidge — than she ever imagined.

The perfect after-school job turns deadly for teens working as "simulated patients" at the local med school. Everyone has something to hide and no one is safe in this contemporary YA thriller that exposes the dark reality of #MeToo in the world of medicine, for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson. It seemed like a cool part-time program -- being a "simulated" patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose -- but each has a reason why they can''t tell the truth. Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren''t the only people pretending to be something they''re not . . .

Quid Pro Quo is a high-stakes, fast-moving legal thriller about real people, and funny ones at that. Cyril MacIntyre''s mother is an ex-street kid who dragged her son to all her law-school classes, then proceeded to get kidnapped. That aside, Cyril''s life isn’t too different from that of other thirteen-year-olds. He has all the usual adolescent issues to deal with: parent problems, self-esteem problems, skin and hair problems, and girl problems. But he has legal problems too. And he''s got to solve them if he wants to save his mother''s life. Quid Pro Quo won the Arthur Ellis Award and the cbc Young Canada Reads 2009 award. It has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe and the Ann Connor Brimer. This 2018 edition has been updated with a new cover.

After a big fight with his wife, Rupert''s grandfather, known to everyone as Gump, packs up and moves into Gentle Breezes Nudist Community for Active Seniors. Thirteen-year-old Rupert is sent in to talk some sense into him. While he''s there, Rupert accidentally lets Gump''s dog, Wayne, escape. Gump is frantic. Wayne is blind and tends to panic. Rupert and his grandfather set out to search the woods, and soon they are lost too. Aside from an apron, Gump is butt naked, and without his phone, Rupert feels naked too. The only way they are going to get out of this mess is by working together.

Inspired by the real psychology study popularized by the New York Times and its "Modern Love" column, this contemporary YA is perfect for fans of Eleanor and Park. Two random strangers. Two secrets. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love. Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for joining the university psychology study that asks the simple question: Can love be engineered? The study consists of 36 questions, ranging from "What is your most terrible memory?" to "When did you last sing to yourself?" By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they''ve laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back and driven each other almost crazy. They''ve also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love? Told in the language of modern romance -- texting, Q&A, IM -- and punctuated by Paul''s sketches, this clever high-concept YA is full of humor and heart. As soon as you''ve finished reading, you''ll be searching for your own stranger to ask the 36 questions. Maybe you''ll even fall in love. Rights have sold in 19 territories!

Embarrassed by your brother? Estranged from your uncle? Then you might need some help from Almost Family Surrogate Agency. Cam Redden and his dad are rent-a-relatives, available for hire to anyone looking to upgrade. Cam’s job is all about being whoever other people want him to be. Then two new clients come along. Albertina is an old lady with a big mouth, a bigger wig and a serious mission. Raylene is a beautiful girl with a nose ring, a wonky eye and a painful secret. Now to get to the bottom of the tragic mysteries that fuel them both, Cam may finally have to be himself.

Dot, whose name reflects her stature, has always had big dreams—but her dreams have to be put on hold while she searches for the truth about her parents. She gets a job as a seamstress at a lakeside resort in rural Ontario and falls hard for Eddie, a charming local boy who is equal parts helpful and distracting as Dot investigates her past. Searching for answers to questions about her birth, Dot learns more than she ever wanted to about the terrible effects of war, the legacy of deceit—and the enduring nature of love. Part of the SECRETS—a series of seven linked novels that can be read in any order.

In early June, 1964, the Benevolent Home for Necessitous Girls burns to the ground and its vulnerable residents are thrust out into the world. The orphans, who know no other home, find their lives changed in an instant. Arrangements are made for the youngest residents, but the seven oldest girls are sent on their way with little more than a clue or two to their past and the hope of learning about the families they have never known. On their own for the first time in their lives, they are about to experience the world in ways they never imagined. Bestselling authors Kelley Armstrong, Vicki Grant, Marthe Jocelyn, Kathy Kacer, Norah McClintock, Teresa Toten and Eric Walters teamed up to create this series of linked YA novels. Readers can discover all seven Secrets in any order in this thrilling collection. This collection includes the seven following titles: The Unquiet Past Small Bones A Big Dose of Lucky Stones on a Grave My Life Before Me Shattered Glass Innocent

Mick decides that his long-term relationship with Jade is finally over. After ending it, he realizes the hardest part will be saying goodbye to her little brother, Gavin, who suffers from severe migraines. Mick''s friends suspect that Jade''s constant calls for help are just too convenient to be real. What are the chances Gavin would relapse every time Mick is out with someone new? Mick admits they''re not very good—but he''s seen the boy. A four-year-old can''t fake an illness like that. Turns out both Mick and his friends are right.

Betsy’s life is officially over: Dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her best friend. . . . How is she ever going to show her face again? Determined to avoid everyone and everything from her previous life, Betsy stumbles into an unusual café and an even more unusual girl. Dolores Morris—a mouthy, green-haired outsider Betsy can’t quite remember from school—talks her into starting a cleaning service. Before she knows it, Betsy is down on her knees, dressed like a dust bunny, scrubbing strangers’ toilets It’s a long way for the most popular girl in school to have fallen. But Betsy finds comfort in the wine bottles and prescriptions and other dirty secrets she finds hidden in her clients’ homes. She also finds love with a client’s son, friendship with Dolores and a liberated sense of herself. Her new life soon falls apart, though, when valuables begin to go missing from some of the homes she and Dolores have been cleaning. Betsy discovers the hard way that not all dirty secrets can just be swept under the rug.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Dan Hogg is thrilled when his uncle offers him some work at a food fair, because he wants money to hire a professional trainer to help him with his scrawny physique. Dan''s excitement vanishes when he learns that the job is dressing up in a hotdog costume and handing out samples. Every dark cloud has its silver lining, Dan discovers, when he, or rather Frank Lee Better, his mascot persona, gains the attention of a pretty girl named Brooke. The attention is great until Dan finds himself under attack from Cupcake Katie and a mysterious guy with a strange interest in Brooke. It''s not until he''s huddling in a bathroom in nothing but his tight white underwear that Dan begins to suspect Brooke''s attention might be too good to be true. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Robin has everything a girl could ever want. Thanks toher mother—the internationally beloved talk show hostMimi Schwartz—she’s got the money, the means and the connectionsto live a life others only dream of. So why, then, doesRobin choose to spend her days alone in a dark room, watchingendless reruns of You, You and Mimi? It’s only the bizarre discovery of an old high-school ringthat propels her to action. Robin follows the ring’s mystery fromNew York City to a tiny Nova Scotian fishing village, where sheat last finds love, the truth of her own background—and theshocking secret that helped make her mother a star.

When Paddy discovers that the man he thought was his father isn''t, he struggles to put his life back together.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

When her father disappears, Ria is forced to decide if she really knew him.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

The game of Nicky Nicky Nine Doors seemed harmless enough when they started, but Emery and Richard discover there are serious consequences to scaring your neighbors.

When his lawyer mother takes on the case of a college custodian accused of murdering a scientist, Cyril finds that certain facts in the case don''t add up.

When Chris finds a wallet, he decides to take on someone else''s identity.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

A school field trip to a heritage farm turns dangerous when an escaped convict appears on the scene.

Frances works the night shift at a local convenience store, dividing her time between restocking shelves and working on her art. Her routine is broken one night when Devin comes into the store. He claims to be the son of a famous local artist and offers her advice on her drawings. Although he seems to know way too much about her, Frances decides, against the advice of her boyfriend, that he is odd but harmless. By the time she realizes the danger she is in, Devin is completely obsessed with her and convinced that if he can''t have her, no one will. Frances will be forced to use all her strength to escape from Devin. Also available in Spanish.

This Teaching Guide provides age-appropriate discussion questions and lessons about literary devices, relevant vocabulary, grammar points and more.

Telly Mercer is shy and quiet, used to living in the shadow of her older sister, Bess. Then she finds herself on the set of a puppet show, staying out of the way of her overstressed aunt Kathleen. One evening she makes a surprising discovery that launches her on an adventure with an unpredictable and angry puppet.

Just who would choose to march around the Citadel Hill wearing a kilt, in the middle of winter? This book tells you why, 150 years ago, British soldiers preferred the icy breezes of Halifax to the palm trees and sunshine of the Bahamas. This is the first history book to explain how rank-and-file soldiers lived on 12 cents a day and an endless diet of boiled beef and bread. It exposes the officers'' antics: they had so much status and fun, they fell flat on their faces after dinner.