Suzanne Sutherland (When We Were Good, Three O'Clock Press) is a bookish sort. A former bookseller, current editorial assistant at a children's publisher—and now debut author—she seemed a natural fit for an episode of Shelf Exposure!

The gist: We invite writers to revisit their bookshelves to uncover previously hidden themes. From there, we enter a lightning round, during which participants are thrown a host of requests, their only task to hold up a book that satisfies each request.

Bring out your books! Show us your goods! Expose your shelf!

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About When We Were Good: The year 2000 isn’t starting out too well for Toronto high school senior Katherine Boatman. Not only has her oldest friend ditched her for yet another boyfriend, her beloved grandmother died on New Year’s Eve leaving a void of goodness in her life that Katherine’s not sure how to fill. While overwhelmed with sadness and self-doubt, Katherine unexpectedly finds new love, both for Toronto's underground music scene and for her would-be saviour: a straight edge, loud mouth misfit named Marie. As Katherine seeks comfort in jagged guitars, mind-reading poets and honest conversations, she struggles to figure out not only what she and Marie might mean to each other, but also what it truly means to be good.

Suzanne Sutherland is a Toronto-based writer. Her short fiction has appeared in various magazines and literary journals such as Descant and Steel Bananas, and she is the co-founder of the Toronto Zine Library. When We Were Good is her first book.

Find Suzanne Sutherland at her online home, and on Twitter as @sutherlandsuz.