My Pick of the Week!

Most of Michael Poole's Rain Before Morning takes place along the rugged ocean coast
of British Columbia, around Vancouver and the islands. Although fiction, you'll enjoy learning about that area: the sea-life, habitat, boats and native Indian tribes. Interesting as all that is, however, the real vortex of this novel is the tumultuous lives of Nathan and Leah beginning in 1913. Their story is about life-risking decisions teetering us on the edge of every chapter. They are so sure of themselves and each other and their convictions that nothing is compromised. If they are not battling the elements, then it is their parents, the government, and even the Great War itself. Much is to be learned about Canada in those years, and what a treat to find such history wrapped in a love story written with such force.