An astonishing and beautiful read that is just dripping with atmosphere.

LaBan’s debut – reminiscent of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why – compassionately illustrates the tragedy of withholding love and friendship, or worse, never having the courage to seek them out.

Tim’s first-person voice is a compelling combination of compassion and analysis, revealing his lifelong challenge of albinism, the unexpected romantic triangle he enters into, and choices that set in motion unfortunate events. . . . A playful element infuses the story as tragic themes described in English class play out in the characters' dramas, adding texture to this strong debut.

Debut novelist LaBan takes us into the private school culture as well as the heads of two charming yet very different teenage boys and their parallel love stories . . . Nonexistent parents, well-intentioned, likeable faculty on the periphery, elaborate dorm rooms with overstuffed closets, even the romantic, snow-covered campus all contribute to a setting that adds to the story’s heft and intrigue.

This novel is relatable and unusually gripping, even for an older reader - full of slings and arrows and outrageous fortune. Readers should find themselves fairly ripping through the pages to uncover the mystery of what happened, and why . . . Romantic love, hard work, loyalty, friendship, suffering: Like the great tragedies that inspired the novel, it's all here. LaBan's take on adolescent life is rendered in the sweet, intelligent tradition of John Irving, but without any of the prep-school genre's self-satisfaction. And in the end, this story is about more than personal failure (and triumph), or the nature of tragedy. It's also a story about art and how it can redeem us.

This coming-of-age story is unique in its telling and its lack of hurriedness. Laban’s heroes are meant to be cheered and pitied, and the way their stories are handled is masterful. With plot and character construction similar to those of writers like John Green, and a hearkening to stories like The Dead Poet’s Society, this novel deserves a place on most library shelves.

Even though it's only January, The Tragedy Paper is already one of my favourite reads of 2013.

This book is an intriguing, mysterious story of loneliness, heartbreak, and how you can learn from others’ mistakes.

The Tragedy Paper has the earmarks of what will one day be a true literary classic . . . LaBan brings to life a rich cast of characters, each struggling with their own definitions of a 'tragedy' and the trials of adolescence and growing up.

Escape with this mystery that will keep you searching for the answer to: what really happened? . . . This page-turner is told from Tim and Duncan's perspectives as Duncan finds the key to writing the biggest, most scandalous Tragedy Paper of all Irving School history. Trust us when we say a school assignment has never been this intense!

The story is perfect . . . the writing is simply outstanding . . . this was an absolutely gorgeous story to read.

This rich debut couldn't be further from the straightforward 20th-century American family saga it appears at first to be . . . Spanning many decades, it is an intricate portrait not only of complex family ties, but also of one quietly strong woman who heads this complicated tribe of siblings, children and friends. With each chapter narrated by one of Hattie's children, the power of Brooklyn author Ayana Mathis' novel is in its ability to create distinctive yet precise characters brimming with recognisable humanity.

The opening pages of Ayana’s debut took my breath away. I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me in quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.

As unremittingly bleak as her characters’ lives are, Mathis has not produced a grim novel: it is as much about our need for joy as it is about our struggles against bitterness. Written with elegance and remarkable poise, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is rather like its heroine – a bit withholding at times, but memorable and with a hint of something formidable glinting under the surface.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a moving story of a broken American dream.

This is an ambitious debut, already praised by Pulitzer and Orange Prize winner Marilynne Robinson and chat show host Oprah Winfrey. It is well-deserved, for this is an epic tale of struggle, oppression, love and loss, told bravely.

Mathis beautifully unfolds the heartbreaking scene of a mother watching her babies’ lives ebb away . . . Chosen for the influential Oprah’s Book Club 2.0, this ambitious debut has attracted a lot of attention.

Builds into a tense, real, multi-layered narrative of incredible emotional power. Much better than boring old Alice Walker.

Short stories aren’t usually known for boosting adrenaline levels, but Canadian author Alexander Macleod’s debut collection isn’t one for the bedside table… firmly rooted in work and family Macleod’s relaxed story-telling will make you feel anything but

Tipped as one of the best books of the year by Canadian critics…these are superbly crafted tales…MacLeod does his father proud with this debut

Both visceral and gracious in approach he delicately balances the physical stress and strain of everyday lives with mental and emotional tolls

A sharp, witty exploration of relationships, art and celebrity culture

[Sheila Heti] has an appealing restlessness, a curiosity about new forms, and an attractive freedom from pretentiousness or cant…How Should a Person Be? offers a vital and funny picture of the excitements and longueurs of trying to be a young creator in a free, late-capitalist Western City…This talented writer may well have identified a central dialectic of twenty-first-century postmodern being

Funny…odd, original, and nearly unclassifiable…Sheila Heti does know something about how many of us, right now, experience the world, and she has gotten that knowledge down on paper, in a form unlike any other novel I can think of

Playful, funny... absolutely true

Sheila's clever, openhearted commentary will draw wry smiles from readers empathetic to modern life's trials and tribulations

Amusing and original