The Mystery on 17th Street, a local book set in Cagayan de Oro and written by a Kagay-anon is now part of the digital catalogue of the public library of the City of New Westminster in British Columbia.
The book written by Annie Gorra, a Kagay-anon who resides in British Columbia, Canada, is set on 17th Street Nazareth and tells the story of families living on the street as seen through the eyes of a young boy named Agustin.
He recalls with nostalgia the life he lived there with his mother and father, his two friends and his neighbours, one of whom was an old irascible woman they suspected was a witch. They climbed trees, swam in rivers and learned life lessons including justice when Agustin’s father stood up to the military to save the life of a young mother.
In presenting the book for consideration to the New Westminster Public Library, Gorra said that the book will most likely be strange to most Canadians but reading about strange things is part of growing up and learning. It opens a window to learn about a culture and how people (children and adults) live their lives in other places of the world.
“I hope it will find space in the New West Public Library Catalogue,” Gorra said.
After being reviewed, it was added to the library’s digital catalogue. Alicia Dobbs of the New Westminster Public Library said in a statement:
“We are happy to include books from local authors that are relatively new, that fill a gap in our collection, and/or may be of interest to our community. After reading a bit of it I do think that the slower pace, poetic style, and themes of nostalgia and social commentary will make it most appealing to adult readers who enjoy memoir and autobiographical fiction, though perhaps some more sophisticated young readers who are looking for something out of the ordinary will find it interesting!”
The Mystery on 17th Street is also part of the digital catalogue of the Kalamazoo Public Library in Michigan, USA. The book is published by Anvil Publishing Inc in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It was a finalist in the Gintong Aklat Awards in 2018.
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