“Jael Richardson sets a new standard for social criticism through dystopian storytelling in her debut novel.”

K.J. AIELLO, Author of

The Monster and the Mirror: Mental Illness, Magic, and the Stories We Tell

 
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GUTTER CHILD: A NOVEL

Set in an imagined world in which the most vulnerable are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society, Gutter Child uncovers a nation divided into the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter. In this world, Elimina Dubois is one of only 100 babies taken from the Gutter and raised in the land of opportunity as part of a social experiment led by the Mainland government.

But when her Mainland mother dies, Elimina finds herself all alone, a teenager forced into an unfamiliar life of servitude, unsure of who she is and where she belongs.

 

TODAY I AM: 10 Stories of Belonging

This powerful collection of short stories explores what it means to find your place in the world. Centered on themes of identity, community, and resilience, this anthology features ten bold and moving stories from some of Canada’s most exciting voices in children's literature. From navigating friendships and family expectations to standing up for who you are, each story offers a unique glimpse into the many ways young people experience belonging.

Edited by Jael Richardson in her editorial debut, Today I Am is a vibrant, necessary collection that reflects the rich diversity of experiences shaping a new generation of readers.

 
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THE STONE THROWER: A DAUGHTER’S LESSONS, A FATHER’S LIFE 

At the age of thirty, Jael Ealey Richardson travelled with her father - former CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey - for the first time to a small town in southern Ohio for his fortieth high school reunion. Knowing very little about her father's past, Richardson was searching for the story behind her father's move from the projects of Portsmouth, Ohio to Canada's professional football league in the early 1970s. At the railroad tracks where her father first learned to throw with stones, Jael begins an unexpected journey into her family's past.

 

OTHER WAYS TO READ JAEL RICHARDSON