Sisters of the Spruce

An enthralling story of female adventure, friendship and resilience, set against the majestic landscape of a WWI-era logging camp on Haida Gwaii. This novel has been praised by Lynne Kutsukake (author of The Translation of Love) as a "refreshing new take on the adventure story, unlike anything you have read before."

Family secrets surface when two sisters travel to Hong Kong to care for their ill father. According to Kirkus Reviews, "Shimotakahara displays virtuosity in this subtle deconstruction of one family's tainted origins," and Library Journal predicts "fans of literary historical fiction will enjoy this compelling story."

A daughter's search for her mother reveals her family's past in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. In a starred review, Booklist lauds this novel as "personal and entrancing," and the National Post claims "Shimotakahara joins a rank of garlanded Canadian authors." 

Winner of the Canada-Japan Literary Prize. The award jury deemed this book an "ambitious and noteworthy debut," and Emma Donoghue (author of Room) described it as an "engrossing and charming memoir about getting back to basics: home truths, family, and the life-altering, life-saving power of books."