Review by Ella Richards
Ronsdale Press, 2023
259 Pages, Paperback, $19.95 CAD, 978-1553806899
Young Adult, Ages 12+
Fiction
“Cat got your tongue?” Ben asks as I shove the Sharpie in my pocket.
“What exactly do cats do with all these tongues they seize? Do they eat them? Are cats notorious for tongue eating? Or do they just store them up somewhere, in a giant stockpile of stolen tongues?”
Ben laughs. “Ah Davis. The questions that keep you up at night.” It’s not just the questions that stop me from sleeping. It’s the stupid flashbacks. The bitch tweets. The meat envelope. But yeah, thinking about the international feline tongue-stealing conspiracy keeps me awake too.
For just about any Albertan, oil is a loaded word, but for grade-eleven student Davis, it’s an earth-shattering one.
After her home and family dog are lost in the Fort McMurray wildfires, Davis doesn’t have much else to lose. That is, until she’s faced with an online hate campaign for posting a tweet connecting Alberta’s oil sands to the fires. Now, instead of dealing with the fallout from these life-changing events, Davis is convinced to join new friends Renzi and Jae in their protest against the construction of an oil pipeline, thrusting herself headfirst back into the world of climate activism. Renzi is a self-assured, no-nonsense grade-twelve student, moved by the devastation Hurricane Maria brought to her family in Puerto Rico to make big changes, and Jae, Renzi’s closest friend, who has a passion for animal rescue, is right there with her. But with an ex-boyfriend to win back, old friends who want to silence those who speak out, and Davis and Jae’s own personal connections to the pipeline, the girls’ campaign becomes a lot messier.
Heilman tells this story through the alternating perspective of these three girls, and the insight she gives us into each of their psyches leads to heart wrenching moments of personal discovery and inner conflict. Each girl is earnest and open in their own chapters, confessing their own deepest anxieties and secrets, while still swiftly maintaining the image of ‘having it all together’ to one another. The layers of lies and pressures— from Renzi’s complicated relationship with Davis’s ex, to Jae’s burgeoning queer identity suppressed by her distant mother— build themselves into a painfully realistic and relatable recreation of the high school experience. The importance of perspective for Heilman works to make this book a true page turner. The stakes each secret holds for each character made me feel like I couldn’t put it down until all was revealed. I also appreciated the way Heilman handles the nuance of oil in Alberta, defending the radical actions of her climate warrior protagonists while also humanizing the actions of those within the oil industry.
I was initially drawn to this title, not because of main character Davis, but because of Renzi’s conflict and my own familial connections with Puerto Rico and the long-term effects of Hurricane Maria. Renzi’s passion and loyalty to her family reminded me of my family members’ resilience and constant ambition, inspiring me to stay determined in times of need. Needless to say, even though I was brought in by Renzi, I was immediately won over by Davis, Jae, and Heilman’s charming prose. Heilman manages to be witty, dry, and addictingly engaging while also tackling big, complicated topics for her young readers. The novel prioritizes the smaller scale values of empathy and self-love in order to take on the larger ones. Badass(ish) is a reminder that even the largest of actions start small— an encouraging statement for young adults feeling silenced by the climate crisis.
Ella Richards is an undergraduate student studying English Literature in UBC’s Honours Program born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. When they aren’t curled up with a good book, you can find them performing with UBC Improv, watercolouring, or experimenting in the kitchen.
YOUNG ADULTING 