Something Special

I have a very special cover reveal! A book that is very dear to me has been picked up by PJ Our Way and will be sent out to readers in June. 

Why so special? It was originally published by my oldest friend in the world, Morri Mostow, by her independent press, Fictive Press, when traditional publishers passed on it. We were delighted when it was shortlisted for the National Jewish Book Awards – the first time any of my books had made that short list despite the many honours many of them had received. 

Sadly, Fictive Press closed a few years ago. However, a short time ago, PJ Library got in touch to say they would like to publish it.

Set in 1882 Arizona, Tuscon Jo features the spunky character, Josephine, a young woman unafraid to push the boundaries. When her father runs for mayor and wants her to behave like a perfect young lady, she would rather ride horses and defy her father by wearing trousers. In the process, she questions what freedom means. Does one person's freedom mean another person loses theirs? Can freedom mean equality? And does being Jewish mean you have less freedom than others? A rollicking Western ride with lots of fun and some tough questions thrown in. Tuscon Jo is also an excellent book for teaching civics in today's complex world. 

Pancouver article calls A Storm Unleashed a gripping novel

Thank you to Charlie Smith at Pancouver for such a thoughtful article about my latest Holocaust novel for middle grades, A Storm Unleashed, and my new picture book, Kai and the Golem, in advance of my appearance at the 41st annual Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival that runs from February 21 to 26, 2026: 

In A Storm Unleashed, Winnipeg writer Carol Matas wanted to show how dehumanizing language can portend calamitous events. The gripping novel revolves around a 12-year-old girl named Mia living in Berlin from 1933 to 1935. Her father is a Jewish veterinarian and her non-Jewish mother died shortly after Mia was born.

“I felt like I wanted to explore fascism and describe it to young people, almost like an immunization,” Matas tells Pancouver over Zoom from her home in Manitoba. 

“If you can get young people to think about what it means to live in a dictatorship or an autocracy, then maybe they won’t be so keen to go there,” she continues. “Maybe they will also, as they grow older, see the signs when they are developing.”

The novel also addresses antisemitism, a topic that Matas has written about in many other books. In A Storm Unleashed, she writes about how teachers and others in Nazi Germany became so swept up by Hitler’s rhetoric and lies that they embraced these ideas as their own, stigmatizing Jewish children like Mia. 

[Kai and the Golem] features illustrations by Elisa Vavouri and is about a child who thinks an entity is wrecking his day for no good reason. Kai eventually befriends this entity, names him Pete, and is better able to cope as a result.

Read the full article.