logo
Soul Machine by Jordana Globerman

Soul Machine by Jordana Globerman

CBC06-03-2025
Chloe and her older sister make souls by hand in an empty old house in the countryside. When their supply of breth — the raw material needed to make souls — runs dry, the evil MCorp tries to force them to franchise and make synthetic souls instead. Chloe sets out to the big city in hopes of finding a new source. And maybe a way to modernize their business that Lacey is so determined to keep in the past.
On a journey to find a real breth crop, untouched by MCorp's greedy hands, Chloe uncovers long-buried family secrets — and starts to question whom to trust and what reality even is.
A beautifully rendered debut, Soul Machine is at once a metaphysical science-fiction story and a nuanced exploration of big ideas: spirituality, family, consciousness, and connection, but also unscrupulous consumption, megacorporations, and how egomaniac entrepreneurs impact our lives. (From Annick Press)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Kitten's crayon chomping charming
Kitten's crayon chomping charming

Winnipeg Free Press

time19-07-2025

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Kitten's crayon chomping charming

What's a crayon good for other than drawing? Eating, of course. In writer and illustrator Marcus Cutler's latest picture book, The Crayon Stub (Putnam, 40 pages, hardcover, $25), a big cat finds all the crayons in the box gone, save one red stub. It doesn't notice the family kitten has crayon colours all over its whiskers. After a few moments of angst and a burst of hunger, creativity triumphs, and a 'totally spectacular' picture joins other drawings on the fridge. Cutler's subtle drawings add to his simple narrative. Children aged 2-5, many of whom may like to nibble on crayons, will also like this book. Buy on ● ● ● Wild rice was an abundant food source for Indigenous people before industries and governments began to control waterways by building dams. The loss of this nutritious grain contributed to the ruination of many communities. In Our Ancestors' Kitchen (Annick Press, 36 pages, hardcover, $24), Métis storyteller Willie Poll shows a modern-day girl learning about traditional foods in her grandmother's kitchen. Artist Shaikara David transports her back in time through colourful imaginings of her relatives as they gather rice in their canoes, looking 'happy, strong and well fed.' While she and her grandmother cook, the little girl is drawn further into the story of her ancestors and her rich heritage. Poll encourages parents and teachers to use this book as a starting point for all children to explore and celebrate their own cultures. Appropriate for children aged 4-7. Buy on ● ● ● Four characters — a goldfish, two plants and a spider — overcome their rivalries and personal issues to thwart a major robbery in Beth Ferr's Growing Home (Simon & Shuster, 272 pages, hardcover, $24). They put their heads (or rather, their wits) together in this clever adventure novel for children ages 8-11. An omniscient narrator explains the goings-on at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, peppering the text with sophisticated, eloquent words that are precisely decoded. The story has delightful humour, valuable life lessons and, critically, kids will learn one of the most important four-letter words. With their trademark skill, Toronto's Fan brothers capture the unique setting and ironic humour of the dialogue. And, yes, there is a typewriter. Buy on ● ● ● Every child needs a pet to overcome trauma, right? In Marie Etchell's Saving Obaachan (Red Deer, 284 pages, softcover, $15), Charlie's parents have split, he's moved to Victoria and in a new school. He becomes friends with Miyu, a girl of Japanese descent, and they discover they've each been graced by the company of Buster, a chocolate lab who mysteriously turns up where and when he's needed. When Miyu's grandmother suddenly refuses to speak or eat, Buster's magical abilities help Charlie and Miyu uncover the story of New Denver, a concentration camp for Japanese Canadians in the Second World War, shocking the children's perception of Canadian history, democracy and justice. This story about friendship and finding one's way after trauma will pull at the heartstrings of readers aged 9-12. Buy on ● ● ● Teddy Fitzroy is the contemporary version of The Hardy Boys, but this young sleuth tracks down missing animals in Stuart Gibbs' All Ears (Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, hardcover $24). In this, the ninth novel in the Fun Jungle series, Teddy is on the trail of Tansy, a missing elephant that's in great danger. But after his best friend is accused of vandalism to protect a lizard habitat, Teddy must decide where his priorities lie. Along the way, he uses deductive reasoning and instinct to unmask the bad actors and bring them to justice. Gibbs seamlessly works oodles of science and information about animals into the narrative for readers aged 9-12. Buy on Harriet Zaidman is an award-winning children's writer and reviewer. Her novel, What Friends Are For, will be released in the fall.

Influencer culture pilloried in prose
Influencer culture pilloried in prose

Winnipeg Free Press

time31-05-2025

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Influencer culture pilloried in prose

Part mystery, part satire and even part horror, second-generation Chinese-Canadian writer Liann Zhang's debut novel is a bizarre but entertaining look at the world of social media influencer culture. Julie Chan is a supermarket cashier with no friends who steals food from work to keep herself fed. One day, she receives a disturbing phone call from her estranged twin sister, Chloe, a rich influencer with followers in the millions. Sensing something is wrong, Julie travels to Chloe's New York City penthouse and finds her sister dead on the floor. As she's about to report the death to the police, Julie quickly makes the rash decision to switch places, ditching her sad, anonymous life for her twin's more comfortable and glamorous one. Julie Chan is Dead With unwitting help from Chloe's manager, Julie seamlessly continues her sister's social media life, interacting with fans, receiving lavish gifts and going to trendy parties. At first, no one in Chloe's world suspects the truth, and everyone writes off any strange behaviour as her just being '#sad' and '#grieving.' But it doesn't take long for her aunt and cousin to figure out what's going on, and Julie soon finds herself being blackmailed. In order to pay off her scheming family members, she becomes a lot more obvious with paid endorsements on her channels, while watching her numbers drop on each platform. Thankfully, Julie has her new influencer friends to cheer her up. A group of mostly indistinguishable twentysomething white women, the Belladonnas are led by Bella Marie, whose level of fame and wealth seems almost unattainable for a social media personality. But, of course, Julie soon learns her new friends may be hiding some sinister secrets. Toronto- and Vancouver-based Zhang was only 16 when she had her own brush with internet fame, gaining over 20,000 followers on a skincare-themed Instagram account. The author, who now has a degree in psychology and criminology, says this book was inspired by the fellow influencers she met through group chats. Clearly she has some strong, negative feelings from this experience, as most characters are quite unlikable — even Julie, who quickly embraces her new personality. Zhang takes some fun shots at influencer culture, and that cynical humour drives the first half of the novel. But it does get dragged down by some very predictable turns. Then a huge twist comes that makes the second half seem like a different book altogether. It quickly delves into cult-horror territory — think Rosemary's Baby or The Wicker Man but with trite self-help affirmations and beauty tips. The shift may be a bit jarring for some readers, but Zhang's cutting humour is amped up, along with the overall pace, which all leads to a ridiculous, over-the-top finale. While it has some flaws, Julie Chan is Dead is a fun, memorable debut. Hardly an influencer, Alan MacKenzie is struggling to find 600 subscribers for his YouTube channel.

Hockey romance novels are booming, and readers are bringing the cheeky spirit to NHL playoffs: ‘It's a book girl thing'
Hockey romance novels are booming, and readers are bringing the cheeky spirit to NHL playoffs: ‘It's a book girl thing'

Toronto Star

time21-05-2025

  • Toronto Star

Hockey romance novels are booming, and readers are bringing the cheeky spirit to NHL playoffs: ‘It's a book girl thing'

A few years ago, Sig Gauthier was a third-round draft pick who limped onto the Boston lineup after a near-career-ending injury in the AHL. Now, he's a two-time NHL All Star predicted to score an eight-figure contract when he's a free agent at the end of the season. He's got just one problem, and it's cheering him on in the stands wearing a bedazzled pink jersey with his name on the back: His soon-to-be-step-sister, Chloe, with whom he had a steamy encounter hours before they both realized their parents were getting married. Gauthier is not a real NHL star but the protagonist of romance author Tessa Bailey's bestselling 'Big Shots' series, which chronicles the world of hockey with the same breathless enthusiasm as any play-by-play announcer, though most of the, uh, stickhandling happens off ice.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store