Pajama Press

Pajama Press is very proud to announce that author Sylvia Gunnery has been chosen to participate in the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2018 Tour.

The TD Canadian Children’s Book Week is organized by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) in partnership with the Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada, and is sponsored by TD Bank. Book Week “is the single most important national event celebrating Canadian children’s books and the importance of reading. Each May, over 400 readings are given to over 28,000 children, teens and adults in roughly 175 communities across the country as [organizers] make every possible effort to reach children in more remote regions and communities” (https://bookweek.ca/).

The Book Week Tour theme for 2018 is Bring Books to Life. Sylvia will be touring the BC Interior from Saturday, May 5 to Saturday, May 12, hosting workshops and giving presentations at local schools and libraries. In her most recent novel, Sylvia tells the stories of three sisters navigating the difficult roads of adolescence, loss, shame, and fear for the future. Peopled with chance encounters warmed with fireside heart-to-hearts, Road Signs That Say West is a compelling ride through real life. See below for details regarding Sylvia’s scheduled events.

Pajama Press extends our congratulations to Sylvia Gunnery. Our sincerest thanks go to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada and the TD Bank for their commitment to Canadian publishing and their support of children’s literacy.

Schedule of Events

Saturday, May 6

• Kamloops Writers Group — 1:00–2:00 pm

Monday, May 7

• Aberdeen Elementary — 8:30–9:30 am
• AE Port Perry Elementary — 10:30–11:30 am
• Dufferin Elementary — 1:30–2:30 pm
• Writing/Art Kamloops Art Gallery — 4:00–5:00 pm

Tuesday, May 8

• South Sa-Hali Elementary  — 8:30–9:30 am
• South Sa-Hali Elementary — 9:35–10:35 am
• Juniper Ridge Elementary — 11:00–12:00 pm
• Marion Schilling Elementary — 1:30–2:30 pm

Wednesday, May 9

• Lloyd George Elementary — 8:30–9:30 am
• Lloyd George Elementary — 9:35–10:35 am
• Dallas Elementary — 11:00–12:00 pm
• Haldane Elementary — 1:30–2:30 pm
• Kamloops Art Gallery — 4:00–5:00 pm

Thursday, May 10

• Carlin School — 9:00–10:00 am
• Hillcrest Elementary– 11:00–12:00 pm
• Salmon Arm Public Library Okanagan Regional Library — 1:00–2:00 pm

Friday, May 11

• Willowstone Academy — 8:50–9:50 am
• Quigley Elementary — 10:20–11:10 am
• Oyama Traditional School — 1:15–2:15 pm

“…Sylvia Gunnery is able to show that the path through life has many bumps and turns along the way. She illustrates that, with good travel companions, the journey to healing and self-discovery can be very rewarding. Gunnery is sensitive, empathetic and insightful with these characters as they explore their paths.

Young teens will easily identify with the characters as they enjoy a youthful summer trip. They may also relate to the secrets the characters disclose, navigating who to trust, and the bonds of siblings and true friendship. It is an engaging story about what it means to let go of the past and align yourself with the path to your own journey in life.”
—Christie O’Sullivan

Read the full review on page 37 of the Fall 2017 issue of Canadian Children’s BookNews

“The road trip scenario is an irresistible plot line, forcing the three sisters to interact (haven’t we all been trapped in cars with those we may or may not like?) while they experience life and meet new people of all backgrounds and take in the diversity of places that make up Canada. Road Signs That Say West could be a travel commentary of places east to west (I found myself looking up information about Glooscap, Weyburn, and more) but it’s really a story of family, a real family, of siblings with secrets, weaknesses, strengths and ambitions that they may or may not share. The baggage that the girls take with them is far greater than their back stories and drives them to behave in complex and justifiable ways….young adult readers will appreciate the three different personalities Sylvia Gunnery has created as well as her story which takes the three to new places in their relationships within a colourful national landscape.”

Click here to read the full review

“This is a quiet book, a literary book, and a difficult story to cram between two plain paper covers. A sisterly Bildungsroman is both vast and deep; it covers the happenings over a summer, but also the tendencies of a lifetime thus far, in a way. The narrative is more a series of observations from inside the mind of each girl, and isn’t always seamless. The ‘head-hopping’ can be frustrating for a reader seeking a typical narrative with a rising narrative arc, and this book might be more appropriate to an older reader. I think it crosses over well into being an adult read.

Things happen in this novel, and yet, not much does. It’s a road trip; there are long silences, periods of silent anger, spontaneous, giddy parties with strangers, and a lot of examining internal thoughts….

The novel ends with trailing threads, and for some, the end will seem jarring. But, a road is a constant, just as the narrative of sisterhood and the process of growing, maturing, and separating is a common experience, in many ways. This constantly shifting narrative means that some things aren’t resolved in this novel – bitterness remains bitter ‘til the end, losses still pain, good times are ephemeral. The road goes on, but the one thing that remains is sisterhood. Despite everything, these girls will always be related.

Conclusion: Definitely not for the common crowd, this novel is made up of the pauses between growing pains, and will find its audience among those who have wished to draw closer to their families and see them as complex and enigmatic human beings, instead of the familiar souls they’ve always known. Perfect for people transitioning through stages of life, and wondering what more is out there.”

Click here to read the full review

“What starts out as a daring cross-Canada romp evolves into an important journey of discovery, personal and philosophical, with important and realistic results….

Author Sylvia Gunnery has portrayed this trip as a portrait of Canada’s better self; the onethat sees youth as something to be treasured and travel as something with purpose rather than a simple means to a destination. The people the three sisters meet on their journey are believable and real and that added dimension gives the narrative much more depth than initially expected.”

Thematic Links: Travel; Canada; Sisterhood; Conduct of Life; Adolescence; Sexual Politics
—Lesley Little

Read the full review on page 24 of the June 2017 issue of Resource Links

“Despite the weight of the themes Road Signs is funny and full of heart, with skillful depiction of the hooks and barbs of sibling rivalry.”

Read the full review on page 64 of the Spring 2017 issue of Atlantic Books Today

“As soon as I read the book description, I was pulled to the storyline about three sisters who take a road trip. In my family we are three sisters and I like stories that center on sisterhood. I liked that the trip was across Canada from Nova Scotia to Vancouver, including a stopover in my city of Montreal….

The best part of the novel was how the sisters experienced life together and grew closer by the end of the trip, although it was in subtle ways.”

Click here to read the full review

“I often wonder if I was brave enough to simply get in the car and drive, if I would have had the adventures sisters Hanna, Claire and Megan had in Road Signs That Say West.

That is not to say their adventures were far-fetched or unlikely, because they certainly were not, I just feel as though I am bit more like Megan – practical and responsible (but less grouchy) or Claire, up for adventure, but who likely wouldn’t do it on her own, then say Hanna, who is spontaneous and free spirited.”

Click here to read the full review

“…In Sylvia Gunnery’s novel Road Signs That Say West, Hanna persuades her younger sisters, Megan and Claire, to join her on a parent-free road trip across Canada….With a cast of interesting yet believable characters, Road Signs That Say West gives a realistic look into the lives and relationships of three very different yet inextricably linked sisters.

Road Signs That Say West is a novel that will absolutely find its way to the shelves of the junior high library I run. In a YA world full of fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopian fiction, I have a large number of readers looking for what we call people stories: complex stories about realistic characters and their lives. The sisters in this story are believable and familiar without the author’s resorting to clichés….

Road Signs That Say West reads quickly and cleanly, with simple yet engaging language. It’s broken up into sections; there are smaller passages within the chapters, and 6-8 chapters within each of the three parts. This structure makes the novel manageable for struggling readers without affecting the flow of the story or making it choppy….

On a personal note, there are few things I enjoy more than seeing my hometown mentioned in works of literature. Gunnery’s novel opens with a fitting quote from Islander Catherine McLellan’s song ‘Lines on the Road’. A few chapters in, there is a reference to the university in Charlottetown. A reader in Southern Manitoba will recognize the name Pinawa, and one in Saskatchewan might recognize Weyburn. Baddeck, Edmundston, Jasper, and Mount Robson are among the other places named as the girls travel west across Canada. The mentions of various cities and landmarks across the country is a perfect way to draw readers into the story.

Highly Recommended.”
—Allison Giggey

Click here to read the full review