Debut novels about war, urban underground among finalists for Amazon award

Writer, poet and past soldier Benjamin Hertwig is among six finalists for the $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.Edmonton’s Hertwig made the list for “Juiceboxers,” about four young soldiers serving in Afghanistan, while Quebec’s Valérie Bah is in the running for the speculative comedy “Subterrane,” in which queer and Black characters are sidelined by urban prosperity.
Vancouver-based Myriam Lacroix is a finalist for the genre-bending “How It