Some of My Best Friends by Tajja Isen (grades 10+)

In this debut series of essays, Tajja Isen tackles topics from colour-blind casting in the animation industry to the literary industry's pursuit of diversity to the false illusion of progress that social media justice results in when it comes to addressing racism. At times both darkly comic, sharply observant, and necessarily tragic, Some of My Best Friends combines Isen's lived experiences as a voice actor and a person of colour with critiques about what society says, values, and does and the obliviousness and hypocrisy behind those messages and actions.

Tajja Isen is a Gemini Award winning Canadian voice actor whose credits range from The Berenstain Bears, Time Warp Trio, and the titular character in Atomic Betty. As a younger actress, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work in The Berenstain Bears and won for her role in Jane and the Dragon. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Catapult magazine.