Some of My Fave Novels

I'm going to talk about some of my favourite novels that are set in the Canadian farming country.

1. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
Plot: Mr. and Mrs. Morrison die in a car accident, leaving behind four children. Luke is the oldest of all at 18, and Matt is second at 17, Kate at 7 and Bo at 2. One part of the story is partly about how they survive on their own. The other part of the story is about Kate and how she lives through adulthood living inside a bubble, and how she comes to realize this truth.
Setting: Crow Lake, a fictional town in northern Ontario located north of North Bay. It's very north, but not as north as Sioux Lookout ;)
Canadian Farming Country: I loved the descriptions about all the living things living in the pond near the children's home. The road that connects the town, Crow Lake, to the rest of the world southward is also a memorable image because Kate describes it as a one-way street. It doesn't allow you to travel northward because nobody ever had the desire to any further north than they already were.
Online Review: I think this is a lovely
REVIEW, one of the best I've read about a book I really like (and there are hardly any)

2. Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Plot: I don't remember much of the plot, and I have a feeling there wasn't much of a plot at all. The story was riveting all the same because there is a mystery death of a young town-girl to solve. Beth Weekes, 15, is the narrator.
Setting: Rural British Columbia. For some reason, I remembered it being set in the prairies, but after researching it on the net, it's confirmed to be BC.
Canadian Farming Country: What I love about the setting is not just the descriptions of the field, but rather the descriptions of what people have to do to make a living on the farm. There is work to be done in the field, and work to be done in the barns and in the home. It's so different from living in the city, which is probably what attracts me to these stories.

3. The Winter Helen Dropped By by W.P. Kinsella
Plot: A young boy befriends a Sioux woman, and a very moving friendship develops.
Setting: Manitoba or Saskatchewan, I can't remember.
Canadian Farming Country: Don't remember much except for a river that is described according to the seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. A lot of action takes place on or near the river. I guess it's the metaphorical boundary between childhood and adulthood. If you stay within the boundary, life still seems like a fantasy, and the dangers that threaten the idyllic life of a child is merely a threat.