Review by Evelyn Hussey
Orca Books Publishers, May 14 2024
193 pages, paperback, $14.95 CAD, 9781459836679
Middle Grade, ages 9-12
Contemporary Realism, Fiction
There’s something I don’t talk about with Billy — what Mama takes at night is not really medicine. The bottle label says Canadian Rye Whisky and it smells like burning candles and cloves. I find the empty whisky bottles under the kitchen sink before she takes them away. Whisky makes my mother sleepy and often very, very sad. So I lie awake, listening to the tap drip, missing Mama and hating Mama at the same time, and all those feelings make a hard, knotted tangle in my chest.
When Addie and Billy’s mom leaves them with a note reading “Gone for a little adventure” and a few days’ worth of food, Addie knows it is her job to take care of her brother. Life hasn’t been easy for the children, as they are always struggling with lack of food or not having new clothes or books like the other kids at school. When Addie finds out there’s a surfing contest and the prize is a lot of money, she knows she has to compete. Will Addie be able to win the competition? And will winning make her mother come back?
Eleven-year-old Addie and her little brother, Billy, live in a little cabin in the small town of Cedarveil on Vancouver Island with their mother. Their mother is a little different from most other moms: she loves to surf, doesn’t have a stable job, and often drinks alcohol to quiet her mood. Still, Addie and Billy love their mother, who always finds a way to keep them entertained despite their lack of food, often telling them crazy stories from her past. Sometimes though, their mother disappears, leaving Addie in charge of Billy for however long she’s gone. When she leaves one morning, Addie must take care of Billy without letting anyone find out their mother has left them, while also fending off their landlord and dealing with bullies at school. When Addie sees a poster advertising a surfing contest in a local shop, she decides to enter for the opportunity to earn some much-needed money and to show her mother that she can surf for real. As she begins to prepare for the competition, Addie struggles with her feelings towards her mother: how can she just leave them? And will she ever come back?
Addie’s voice is very compelling, and she explains her life as an eleven-year-old in a beautiful way. She’s fiercely protective of her brother Billy and is also incredibly practical, having been forced to grow up at such a young age. The descriptions and sensory detail in this book are so honest and real that I was entirely transported into Addie’s world while reading. Manzer does an amazing job at writing about a girl who has experienced things kids should never have to experience in a very age-appropriate way. I had so much empathy for Addie, all her emotions felt so real and justified. I thought the difficult subject matter in this story was also handled with care and respect — Addie’s mother struggles with alcoholism and depression and this causes the family to live in food insecure conditions. As readers, we are torn alongside Addie between her love for her mother and her anger at having to fend for herself.
Overall, this book was an incredibly well-written and beautiful portrait of a girl facing difficult problems. I recommend it to any reader who enjoys realistic fiction.
Evelyn Hussey is a BA Psychology student minoring in Creative Writing at UBC. She loves reading memoirs/creative nonfiction as well as realistic fiction. When she is not reading or writing she spends her time rock climbing, binging true crime content, or with her beloved dog, Dipsea.
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