The bestselling Canadian books of the week

Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and children's books from May 18-25, 2024.

Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.

Canadian fiction

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week. 

Vacationing one summer on Prince Edward Island, Lucy meets Felix in an electric, chemistry-filled night. Only one problem: Felix is her best friend Bridget's younger brother. On her annual return trips to P.E.I., Lucy vows to avoid Felix and his bed, that This Summer Will Be Different — easier said than done. When Bridget rushes home to P.E.I. in crisis a week before her wedding, Lucy can only follow and remind herself to protect her heart, but finally wonders if she really wants to do that after all. 

• Write me at the lake: How Carley Fortune reclaimed her creativity from the edge of burnout

See the full Canadian fiction list below. 

1. This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
2. Lightning Strikes the Silence by Iona Whishaw
3. Coexistence by Billy-Ray Belcourt
4. The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn & Jamie Chang
5. Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald
6. The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou
7. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
8. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
9. Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
10. Greenwood by Michael Christie

Canadian nonfiction

Fire Weather by John Vaillant is the #1 Canadian nonfiction book this week.

Fire Weather is an epic nonfiction work that examines the events surrounding the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada's oil industry and America's biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. Fire Weather explores the legacy of North American resource extraction, the impact of climate science and the symbiotic relationship between humans and combustion.

• John Vaillant's Fire Weather looks at the Fort McMurray wildfire and a 'new century of fire

See the full Canadian nonfiction list below.

1. Fire Weather by John Vaillant 
2. Closer Together by Sophie Grégoire Trudeau
3. Crosses in the Sky: Jean De Brebeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie             
4. Beneath the Surface of Things by Wade Davis
5. A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje
6. Health for All by Jane Philpott
7. Embers by Richard Wagamese
8. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
9. The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté, with Daniel Maté
10. Medicine Wheel for the Planet by Dr. Jennifer Grenz

Canadian kids

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline is the #1 Canadian kids book this week.

In the dystopian world of The Marrow Thieves, climate change has ravaged the Earth and a continent-wide hunt and slaughter of Indigenous people is underway. Wanted for their bone marrow, which contains the lost ability to dream, a group of Indigenous people seek refuge in the old lands. 

• The message Cherie Dimaline has for young Indigenous readers

See the full Canadian kids book list below.

1. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
2. Claudia and the Bad Joke by Ann M. Martin, illustrated by Arley Nopra
3. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
4. Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Kass Reich
5. Sometimes I Feel Like an Oak by Danielle Daniel, illustrated by Jackie Traverse
6. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
7. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
8. Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince, illustrated by Carla Joseph
9. Club Microbe by Elise Gravel
10. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli