Allan Stratton's favourite books of 2017 were The Marrow Thieves and Optimists Die First

Happy holidays! CBC Books asked authors to share their favourite Canadian books of 2017. We will be publishing these recommendations throughout December.

• YA novelist Allan Stratton has advice for you that works in any situation

Allan Stratton, a finalist for the 2017 Governor General's Literary Awards, chose two novels: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline and Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen.

• From Northern Cree to Drake, here's what's on Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves soundtrack

"Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves and Susin Nielsen's Optimists Die First: Just wow! The Marrow Thieves is a groundbreaking dystopia about Indigenous suffering and resistance, and our need for language, story and dreams to survive. Optimists Die First is a wrenching dramedy about a girl who blames herself for her sister's death, and the struggle to heal when grief is wrapped in guilt. I am in awe of Dimaline's brilliant premise and the reach of her imagination; equally of Nielsen's gift for expressing pain through humour and the impossible ease of her prose. Both of these books got under my skin and burrowed into my bones: I can't wait to feel what their authors do to me next."

• Susin Nielsen on exacting revenge on fictional versions of her nemeses

Allan Stratton has written several acclaimed books for young adult and middle grade readers. His latest, The Way Back Home, was a finalist for the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text.