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Description
2018 Red Maple Award — Shortlisted • 2017 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award — Winner, Young Adult Category •
CCBC’s Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2016)
When a First Nations teen rescues a fish-hawk from a tailings pond in Alberta’s oil sands, he has no idea that soon they will both be fighting for their lives.
As a cross-country runner, Adam aims to win gold in the upcoming provincial championship. But when he is diagnosed with leukemia, he finds himself in a different race, one that he can’t afford to lose. He reclaims the name Hawk, given to him by his grandfather, and begins to fight, for his life and for the land of his ancestors and the creatures that inhabit it. With a little help from his grandfather and his friends, he might just succeed.
When a First Nations teen rescues a fish-hawk from a tailings pond in Alberta’s oil sands, he has no idea that soon they will both be fighting for their lives.
As a cross-country runner, Adam aims to win gold in the upcoming provincial championship. But when he is diagnosed with leukemia, he finds himself in a different race, one that he can’t afford to lose. He reclaims the name Hawk, given to him by his grandfather, and begins to fight, for his life and for the land of his ancestors and the creatures that inhabit it. With a little help from his grandfather and his friends, he might just succeed.
Author Bio
Jennifer Dance is an award-winning and bestselling author, playwright, and composer. She is also caregiver for her second life partner, who is journeying through the decline of Alzheimer’s. Jennifer lives on a small farm in Stouffville, Ontario.
Prizes
- Red Maple AwardShort-listed 2018
- CCBC's Best Books for Kids and Teens (Fall 2016)Commended 2016
- Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing AwardWinner 2017
Review Quotes
Because Hawk takes place in the here-and-now, in a Canadian setting that has been in the news, it will have a strong impact and possibly stir readers to some type of action. Jennifer Dance is to be congratulated on this courageous, radical novel.
— Canadian Materials Magazine
The tapestry Jennifer has woven is a brilliant representation of the ongoing tragedy in Northern Alberta today. It’s a story that young people need to hear, and it gives me hope!
Jennifer Dance is a skillful and intelligent writer with a heart large enough to care for all of the environment, animals and humans who are suffering as we speak. I am awed by the power of her words that make all my senses wake up and take notice of every detail she shares. Somewhere, someone is showing her the way to bring some kind of justice to this situation.
— Josie Norton, Teacher-Librarian, York Region District School Board
With its soaring writing and readable plot, Jennifer Dance’s Hawk breathes new life into an important subject for middle grade readers. Hawk simultaneously dazzles and educates. Topical and hard to put down, this is a great choice for young Canadian readers.
— Melissa Bell, Librarian, Richmond Hill Public Library
A powerful presentation of what can happen to a people, a land, its natural inhabitants, and to individuals as a result of the upheaval of the natural balance of the area. The rich visual imagery that Dance has created...is breathtaking...this is a novel that needs to be on school curriculum.
— Resource Links
Biographical note
Jennifer Dance has a passion for equality and justice. Her previous novels for young people are Paint and Red
Wolf, which was nominated for the Silver Birch and MYRCA awards. An avid environmentalist, Jennifer lives on a small farm in Stouffville, Ontario.
