The Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading is excited to present this year’s nominees for its adult program, the Evergreen Award.
"This list will take some of our Evergreen readers outside of their comfort zone, but also help them to find those little gems they may not have found on their own. This list will also appeal to young readers who may not have read Evergreen previously." — Enid Wray & Julie Wendland, Co-Chairs, Evergreen Selection Committee
Readers can submit their votes for the award through September and the winner will be announced during Ontario Public Library Week in October.
Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower by Charlie Angus
The modern search for cobalt has brought investors back to a small town in Northern Canada, a place called Cobalt. Like the demon metal, this town has a dark and turbulent history.
A Convergence of Solitudes by Anita Anand
A story of identity, connection, and forgiveness, A Convergence of Solitudes presents the lives of two families across the Partition of India, Vietnam’s Operation Babylift, and two Quebec referendums.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed.
Her First Palestinian: and Other Stories by Saeed Teebi
Saeed Teebi’s intense, engrossing stories plunge into the lives of characters grappling with their experiences as Palestinian immigrants to Canada.
Mad Honey by Katie Welch
Mad Honey immerses the reader in a search for truth bounded by the everyday magic of beekeeping, of family and of finding peace, all while asking how much we really understand the natural world.
Sea of Tranquility: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
A novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.
Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
With the perfect balance of relatable humour and intellectual ferocity, Son of Elsewhere confronts what we know about ourselves, and most important, what we’re still learning.
This is Assisted Dying: A Doctor’s Story of Empowering Patients at the End of Life by Dr. Stefanie Green
As our population confronts issues of wellness, integrity, agency and community, and how to live a connected, meaningful life, this progressive and compassionate book by a physician at the forefront of medically assisted dying offers comfort and potential relief.
Toufah: The Woman Who Inspired an African #MeToo Movement by Toufah Jallow, with Kim Pittaway
An incandescent and inspiring memoir from a courageous young woman who, after she was forced to flee to Canada from her home in The Gambia, became the first woman to publicly call the country’s dictator to account for sexual assault—launching an unprecedented protest movement in West Africa.
Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson
This book follows multiple generations of two families, one white and one Indigenous, and weaves their lives into the larger story of Canada. It is a story of villains and heroes, irony and idealism, racism and reconciliation.
