Bernice and the Wild Waters
Bernice Normandin is who I am. What’s bigger than a name?
Book Two in the Shining Waters Series, following Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold—winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. It’s the fall of 1914, and Bernice and her family are moving from the lighthouse in their small corner of Georgian Bay to the mainland for the school year. But this time is different. When they return to town, Bernice and her family will use a different last name.
An Indian Agent has been spotted in town, and some of the local children have gone missing. Not all children, only Indigenous children, like Bernice and her siblings. Mom thinks that if they go by a different name, they’ll be safe. But Bernice doesn’t want to change her name. She’ll always be a Normandin! When Bernice’s cousins go missing, the danger is suddenly all too real. But if her cousins are lost, Bernice is going to help find them.
Praise & Recognition
Details
Publication Date: September 22, 2026
Reading Age: 9 - 12
Genre: Middle Grade
Product Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
ISBN: 978-1-77260-477-1
Weight: 200
About the Author
Jessica Outram
An award-winning author, poet laureate emeritus, and experienced educator, Jessica Outram is the author of Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold, and the forthcoming sequel, Bernice and the Wild Waters, as well as the poetry collection The Thing with Feathers. Jessica's work explores place, memory, and the quiet forces that shape a life. Her writing is attentive to history and landscape, often circling questions of belonging, identity, and voice, inspired by the layered histories of Georgian Bay. She's a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with roots in the Georgian Bay Métis community.
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