September 15, 2019
Fourteen-year-old Harbour Mandrayke, a home-schooled teen from Florida, spends the summer waiting in Toronto for her father to arrive on his sailboat. Harbour, whose Canadian mother is deceased, and her trusty furry companion, Tuff Stuff, live by their wits, camping in a ravine. She's armed with her dad's quirky summer reading list and the resources of the local library. However, Harbour's father is weeks late from his scheduled arrival date, and her credit card has been declined. Deeply in denial, Harbour meets Lise Roberts, a street-wise 16-year-old with locs, eyebrow rings, and a beautiful smile, who knows how to navigate the Toronto streets and shelters. Lise's expertise comes in handy as winter approaches and Harbour's damp, cold tent makes daily life nearly impossible. Harbour's study of philosophical greats like Paramahansa Yogananda helps her learn to read people and build the patience and resolve to endure the harshest winter she's ever experienced while dependent on the whims of strangers. Trust issues and dark family secrets threaten to shake Harbour and Lise's budding friendship in this gritty, highly engaging, realistic mystery that captures the harsh realities of homeless teens in crisis. This plot-driven novel with well-drawn characters will pull readers into a devastating tale of intrigue and redemption. Fans of Homecoming by Cynthia Voight (1981) and Roam by C.H. Armstrong (2019) will appreciate this book. Characters are assumed white. An intriguing story with broad appeal. (Mystery. 12-16)
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October 11, 2019
Gr 7 Up-Ever since her mother died when she was young, Harbour Mandrayke and her father have been living on their sailboat, until her father sends her away to await his arrival with the boat to begin their lives anew. Now, Harbour is camping out in a ravine in a park in Toronto. As time passes, Harbour begins to have doubts about her father's impending arrival; he never gave an exact date and there are reasons that a sailboat could be delayed. As more and more time passes and Harbour befriends another homeless teen, Lise, she begins to open up about her life, as well as some of her father's worrying conspiracy theories and the true reason he wanted them to move to Toronto. Part mystery and part realistic fiction, this novel presents the reader with a classic unreliable narrator. Harbour's past and the realities of her present are revealed a little bit at a time throughout the story. Readers are not sure which "facts" she presents are actual memory and truth, and which are fictions created by her absent father. VERDICT A unique and educational read that presents a new look at homelessness and mental illness. A must-purchase in areas where homelessness, especially teen homelessness, is a prevalent issue. -Sara Brunkhorst, Glenview Public Library, IL
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