What Canadian books are popular right now? Check out this week's bestsellers

Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and children's books from April 27 to May 3, 2025.

Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores. 

Canadian fiction

The Cost of a Hostage by Iona Whishaw is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week. 

In the Cost of a Hostage, Lane's quiet August morning is jolted when two shocking cases unfold — she receives news that her brother-in-law, Bob, is missing in Mexico, while her husband, Inspector Darling, is confronted by a frantic mother reporting her son's kidnapping. While the couple searches for Bob, the kidnapper and child are found, making it seem like the case is solved — until another body is discovered. 

• Thomas King, Linwood Barclay, Iona Whishaw, H.N. Khan shortlisted for crime writing awards

Iona Whishaw is a Vancouver-based author and former teacher and social worker. She has published works of short fiction, poetry, the children's book Henry and the Cow Problem and the Lane Winslow Mystery series.

See the full Canadian fiction list below: 

1. The Cost of a Hostage by Iona Whishaw  
2. The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
3. Finding Flora by Elinor Florence
4. The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
5. Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
6. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
7. On Isabella Street by Genevieve Graham
8. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
9. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
10. Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang

Canadian nonfiction

Value(s) by Mark Carney is the #1 Canadian nonfiction book this week.

Values is a book by the former Bank of Canada governor and current prime minister Mark Carney. Published in 2021, Values looks at the "fault lines" that divide contemporary society — racial, geographical, cultural and economic — and argues that they all stem from the same thing: a crisis of values. In the book, Carney offers a vision of a "more humane society" and a map toward getting there.

• Mark Carney is inspired by the normal, everyday heroes

See the full Canadian nonfiction list below: 

1. Value(s) by Mark Carney 
2. Try Hard by Max Kerman 
3. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
4. Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson 
5. A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer
6. Ally is a Verb by Rose LeMay
7. The Essential Cottage Cookbook by Andrea Buckett
8. Tahini Baby by Eden Grinshpan
9. How to Survive a Bear Attack by Claire Cameron
10.  Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre by Mark Bourrie

Canadian kids 

Mallory and the Trouble with Twins by Arley Nopra is the #1 Canadian kids' book this week. 

In Mallory and the Trouble with Twins, Mallory is confident in her babysitting skills — after all, she's taken care of her seven younger siblings for years. But when she starts watching the Arnold twins, Marilyn and Carolyn, she quickly realizes they're more trouble than she expected! The twins play tricks, act spoiled and make her job a nightmare! Still, as a responsible member of the Baby-Sitters Club, Mallory refuses to give up.

• Amid Baby-Sitters Club revival, fans hail influence of Asian-American character Claudia

See the full kids list below:

1. Mallory and the Trouble with Twins by Arley Nopra
2. Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Kass Reich
3. The Great Dinosaur Sleepover by Lindsay Bailey, illustrated by Joe Bluhm
4. Shark Girl by Kate Beaton
5. The Land Knows Me by Leigh Joseph, illustrated by Natalie Schnitter
6. The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
7. Paws: Hazel Has Her Hands Full by Nathan Fairbairn, illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn
8. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
9. Making Bank: Money Skills for Real Life by Shannon Lee Simmons
10. Together, a Forest by Roz MacLean