The first English edition of the popular young adult novel Les fantômes de Spiritwood, originally published in French by Éditions de la nouvelle plume, translated by the author

One summer night, Ethan and four friends are heading north of Spiritwood, Saskatchewan, for a weekend of camping to watch the northern lights, but their car swerves off the road and ends up in the ditch. The teenagers head back to Spiritwood on foot, but a severe thunderstorm strikes before they reach the town, forcing them to break into an abandoned country school to take shelter. After exchanging scary stories for a while, they fall asleep. When they wake a few hours later, the storm is over and the sky is filled with bright-coloured northern lights.

Ethan recounts the legend of the northern lights. "Those lights are produced by the spirits of the departed. It's a sign that they want to communicate with the living. To establish contact, we just have to whistle at them." Then, Ethan produces a spirit whistle that he had bought at Wanuskewin, and he starts to whistle at the sky.

Moments later, weird things begin to happen...

Born and raised in Québec, Martine Noël-Maw has made Saskatchewan her home since 1993. In 2001, inspired by the enchanting landscape and the rich history of this often undervalued province, she left a successful career in communications and human resources to plunge headfirst into writing. Since then, her books have multiplied and her stories for adults and youth have earned her many honours, including two Saskatchewan Book Awards (Amélia et les papillons and Dans le pli des collines, 2e édition). She lives in Regina with her longtime husband, best buddy and greatest supporter Tim Maw.

Martine Noël-Maw's profile page

• Winner, Willa Award for Historical Fiction
• Short-listed, Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction