Muskoka

Muskoka
By Mike Grandmaison
Published by Key Porter
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Get ready for a long-weekend of barbeques, canoeing, hiking, swimming and campfires with this gorgeous coffee-table book. It is a beautiful and stunning photographic portrait of one of Canada's vacation wonderlands.

For this book, Mike Grandmaison, an award-winning Canadian photographer, has turned his photographic eye to the summer playground of Ontario's cottage haven, Muskoka.

Muskoka means “land of the red earth” and this area of Ontario stretches from the eastern wilderness of Algonquin Park to the western shores of Georgian Bay Islands.

Featured in this text are images of forest's rugged beauty, clear, pristine lakes and settlements of the photographer's favourite cottage destinations. Each photo is crisp, clean, and contains colours and hues of all shades from the natural world, from the orange skies of a late-august sunset to the clean, blue water on a hot summer's day.

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Love Struck

Love Struck
By Chantel Simmons
Published by Key Porter Books
Reviewed by Lisa Tran

Poppy Ross leads a seemingly perfect life. She's a successful career woman, working as an image consultant and is married to her devoted husband, Parker.

All of that quickly changes however, when Poppy discovers Parker is having an affair. Before she can confront him, he is conveniently struck by lightning and loses his memory. In an attempt to save her marriage, Poppy remakes herself in the mistress' image.

Poppy's question to become Parker's perfect woman has hilarious and disastrous results. Her misadventures mirror many of the inner struggles shared by women everywhere. Love Struck is a tale of love, loss, friendship, mischief, determining one's self-worth, and many “She did what?!” moments.

You will laugh and you will cry and then laugh some more.

If you enjoy the likes of Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Weiner, you will surely love Chantel Simmons' sophomore title, Love Struck.

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An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People

An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People:
I have Lived Here Since the World Began
By Arthur J. Ray
Published by Key Porter Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach and Lisa Tran

This illustrated text chronicles the history of Canada's Native People, from their first contact with settlers to their current land claims. The book includes many black and white photographs, aboriginal paintings, and maps throughout the text to help enhance the reader's understanding of native history.

Canada's Natives have lived on the land since the Ice Age and were accomplished traders, artisans, farmers and hunters long before the first Europeans reached the shores. The contact between Aboriginals and European explorers was, at first, a period of growth and opportunity. But the extremely different cultures soon clashed.

From the Native People's settlement in Canada 12,000 years ago to the events that we now see on our evening news and in newspapers, An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People is a text that encapsulates the detailed history of one of our founding groups of people.

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Wildflowers of Fogo Island and Change Islands

Wildflowers of Fogo Island and Change Islands
By Todd Boland
Published by Key Porter Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Wildflowers of Fogo Island and Change Islands is the perfect book for nature enthusiasts and vacation-lovers who are lacking the funds to go very far from home this summer.

Be prepared to take an adventure through the heart of floral beauty in Newfoundland and Labrador. This book will take you closer than you've ever been before to the colours, textures, and fragrances of the province's shores.


Fogo Island and Change Islands hold the majority of the province's unique and natural wonders. The environment is a horticulturalists' dream, which has amazing plants from coniferous plants like juniper, to exotic varieties of herbaceous flowers.

The islands have more than 200 native species of plant life and Wildflowers neatly organizes each one, along with a wealth of information and detailed images. This book is a guide that explains each plant's habitat, characteristics, and common names. It even provides information on historical, medicinal, and culinary uses.

So to get away from home for a bit, crack open this book, and explore the natural world of Newfoundland and Labrador's Fogo Island and Change Islands.

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