2021-05-27
Sixteen-year-old Tyler couch surfs with friends, but what happens when he’s out of places to go?
Though his life seems great on the outside, Victoria, British Columbia, teen Tyler fears being at home. His father, a respected doctor, has a drinking problem and constantly berates him while his mother is depressed and doesn’t leave her bed. Tyler often spends the night on the couch at his girlfriend Lucy’s house, until her parents decide he’s overstayed his welcome. He’s not permitted to sleep at his friend Simon’s apartment; the family, for whom money is tight, is not inclined to share their scarce resources with someone they perceive as rich and not in need of help. No one understands the cause of Tyler’s food insecurity and hygiene issues. As Tyler works to get through one day at a time, he falls deeper into trouble, but an ultimately hopeful ending redeems his story. The portrayal of Tyler’s reluctance to ask for help feels realistic, and his inability to articulate the verbal abuse he endures at home is heartbreaking. With emotional first-person narration and dialogue-heavy prose, this short book will be fodder for reluctant readers. Tyler, his family, and Lucy default to White; Simon is Asian, and there is diversity in the supporting cast.
A thought-provoking problem novel about a teen’s journey to find a safe place to call home. (Fiction. 12-16)
