Haunting historical novel

Danielle Daniel penned her first adult novel, Daughters of the Deer, after finding inspiration in her ancestors.

“Daughters of the Deer was inspired by stories passed down through my Francophone family of a remarkable 17th-century Algonquin ancestor, Marie, who married a French soldier near what is now Trois-Rivières. She and Pierre had seven children, and many descendants. But it was the story of their daughter Jeanne that hooked my heart and wouldn’t let go. Jeanne, half French, half Algonquin, was murdered as a young woman by two settlers,” says Daniel. “I wanted to find out more—and there were existing trial records—but no matter how much I dug into [historic] sources, I felt like what had happened ... was out of my reach.”

Daniel continues, “I decided that the only option I had was to imagine my way into these lives and write their story as a novel, a hard journey that took me over eight years. Through more careful research and deep imagining, I travelled back nearly 400 years in order to witness the lives of one of the earliest families in which Indigenous culture and French colonialism collided.

“With Daughters of the Deer, I want to honour these women whose lives changed forever due to the settlers who took their homeland as their own, with consequences that live on and on.”

Daughters of the Deer (Item 1610653; 3/8) is available now in most Costco warehouses.

Also in the warehouse
Digger and his fellow big trucks love to spend their days digging, pushing and shoving. But in these two picture books by author and illustrator Joseph Kuefler, their routine is disrupted—by a flower and then a duckling.

Intended for ages 4 to 8 years, each book features bold graphics and moving messages about the environment and the meaning of family.

The Digger and the Flower and The Digger and the Duckling (Item 1669966) are available now in most Costco warehouses.—AL