Welcome to the first day of Vaughan Public Library’s inaugural on-line book club Vaughan Reads! Over the next weeks join us here as well as on Facebook and Twitter as we open the discussion of  The Tale-Teller by Susan Glickman.

Prepare yourself to meet young Esther Brandeau.  Sailing into New France in 1738 disguised a boy and without proper identification, she promptly attracts the attention of the colony’s administration. Swiftly uncovered as a girl, questions remain:  exactly who is this mysterious visitor who captivates her hosts with fantastical tales? Tropical islands, shipwrecks, being raised by apes, pirate attacks and runaway slaves are but a few of the stories Esther tantalizingly teases out for her enthusiastic but suspicious audience (and for we the reader as well) in her adopted New World home. What is she hiding?

Is there a life inNew Francefor this headstrong, independent young woman within this highly regimented world where men have the final say in any decision and the Catholic Church is the very centre of the community? And how would the colony react if they were to learn that Esther is secretly Jewish – a forbidden religion in this part of the world?

Culminating with an author visit by Susan Glickman at the Bathurst Clark Resource Library on Sunday December 8^th, Vaughan Public Libraries will serve up lots of food for thought (and maybe even a hot chocolate recipe or two!) about The Tale-Teller.  Be sure to check this blog often for frequent updates, probing questions and thoughtful commentary about this wonderfully inventive novel.  Be part of the discussion online about Esther; the indomitable heroine who refused to let herself be confined by the physical world or defined by the limitations of the day.

Visit the library and check out the Vaughan Reads display where you will find book club details and copies of The Tale-Teller as well as other reading suggestions such as The Deception of Livvy Higgs by Donna Morrissey and The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. If you see the green Vaughan Reads banner on the book covers you  know you’re in the right place! If e-books are more your thing, there are also digital copies available for downloading.

In order to give as many on-line book club participants as possible access to the book, the loan period for the Vaughan Reads copies of The Tale-Teller is two weeks with no renewals or request list. We look forward to hearing from you soon!