Tarcaia

Years ago, an old friend from university knew talented Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia artist and children's book writer Lindee Climo (http://lindeeclimo.com) Lindee's husband is writer Jonathan Campbell from the small Canadian east coast island, Cape Breton, where I grew up. He was kind enough to send me a copy of his first novel, Tarcadia. This book is a definite must read. It will brew up fond nostalgia for those few of us who long for glimpses of our secret treasure island and is sure to capture the imagination of those who are strangers to our little corner of the world. 

The Chisholms are a rollicking, unpredictable family living in the north end of Sydney, Nova Scotia. At the start of the summer, fourteen-year-old Michael, his older brother Sidney and two of their friends build a raft on the tar ponds. It seems the ideal start to the holidays. But over the course of one summer, Michael’s family gradually stops making sense. He has always been more than willing to call his parents by their first names and is generally supportive of Rory and Gloria’s "democratic" style of parenting, until suddenly faced with changes he can’t swallow. But it is his brother Sid’s reaction that will bring about the greatest change of all.