Showing results by author "Heather Birrell" in All Categories

High school English teacher Elise loves teaching Shakespeare. She is also very pregnant. She’s trapped in a classroom with her Grade 12 students during a lockdown. Anthony, the cause of the lockdown, is roaming the halls with a knife in search of some solace, consumed by thoughts of his best friend Samantha, who is in peril. Maria, the school's counselor, is second-guessing her decision to turn him in.

BriannaSusannaAlana is named for the three sisters who tell the story. Brianna is the youngest, six years old; Susanna is 10; and Alana is nearly 13. When a murder is committed in the apartment block nearby, the three sisters are forced to consider their world in a new way. Each sister tells her story of the day the murder, each story weaves through her sisters, touching down on remembrances and imaginings.

The recipient of the Journey Prize and Edna Staebler Award, Heather Birrell made a splash in the literary world with her first collection, I Know You Are But What Am I? In Mad Hope, Birrell employs her keen insight into the human condition to present tales featuring a complex array of characters, including a gay man caring for a friend and a science teacher faced with a shocking request.