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WINNER of the Kerry Schooley Book Award
A story as magical as it is real, that asks, if you could stop and restart time for a second chance, would you?
Boy’s final year of high school is unraveling. Fast. He had it all worked out, from crushing his final exams to military school to a career in the air force. But his family’s tragic past and its complicated present have caught up to him, and his marks are slipping, jeopardizing all of his plans.
When Boy befriends Mara, a homeless man who can seemingly stop and restart time at will, he has to weigh his family’s needs and his own conscience against the potential contained within Mara’s mysterious and powerful gift. And he soon realizes the hardest truths about time: the past can’t be undone, memories are as fragile as moments, and the future rarely turns out like we think it will.
A story as magical as it is real, that asks, if you could stop and restart time for a second chance, would you?
Boy’s final year of high school is unraveling. Fast. He had it all worked out, from crushing his final exams to military school to a career in the air force. But his family’s tragic past and its complicated present have caught up to him, and his marks are slipping, jeopardizing all of his plans.
When Boy befriends Mara, a homeless man who can seemingly stop and restart time at will, he has to weigh his family’s needs and his own conscience against the potential contained within Mara’s mysterious and powerful gift. And he soon realizes the hardest truths about time: the past can’t be undone, memories are as fragile as moments, and the future rarely turns out like we think it will.
Price: $17.99
Pages: 312
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
20 October 2020
Trim Size: 8.50 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9781459745889
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
FICTION / Literary, Modern & contemporary fiction, FICTION / Coming of Age, FICTION / Magical Realism, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss
Exquisite … Boy is a perfectly compelling protagonist.
A mesmerizing coming of age story that manages to be both magical and intensely real. Boy takes readers on a journey of personal growth in the face of at-times frightening and mysterious obstacles. Pressures in Boy’s life multiply. His family and friends aren’t always there to be relied upon. His plans for the future are darkened with doubt. But for all the very real challenges — as well as those that seem to emerge from a shadowy world beyond — Boy finds always the dignity, the essential decency he needs to continue.
Boy is evocative and heartfelt, containing a spark of magic and an achingly real protagonist.
The novel is inarguably well written... the characters, complex.
Sensitive and unusual book
— Jennifer McCartney
Powerful and moving, it engages the reader with the challenge of ideas, expressed through character, choice and action.
The reflective writing is well matched to a protagonist who is so shocked by life that his story seems surreal ... Anyone who is struggling to cope with family traumas or is grieving the loss of a sibling or best friend will find solace in this deeply nuanced story about a teenager who strives to succeed and be kind, no matter what.
A mesmerizing coming of age story that manages to be both magical and intensely real. Boy takes readers on a journey of personal growth in the face of at-times frightening and mysterious obstacles. Pressures in Boy’s life multiply. His family and friends aren’t always there to be relied upon. His plans for the future are darkened with doubt. But for all the very real challenges — as well as those that seem to emerge from a shadowy world beyond — Boy finds always the dignity, the essential decency he needs to continue.
Boy is evocative and heartfelt, containing a spark of magic and an achingly real protagonist.
The novel is inarguably well written... the characters, complex.
Sensitive and unusual book
— Jennifer McCartney
Powerful and moving, it engages the reader with the challenge of ideas, expressed through character, choice and action.
The reflective writing is well matched to a protagonist who is so shocked by life that his story seems surreal ... Anyone who is struggling to cope with family traumas or is grieving the loss of a sibling or best friend will find solace in this deeply nuanced story about a teenager who strives to succeed and be kind, no matter what.
Depicts the city of Hamilton as an inherently mystical place… Boy offers readers a poignant and powerful story that captures a transformative glimpse of this city through the lens of both tragedy and mystery.
Brent van Staalduinen is the author of the novel Saints, Unexpected. He is the winner of the Bristol Short Story Prize, Fiddlehead’s Best Short Fiction Award, and the Lush Triumphant Literary Award. Brent lives in Hamilton, Ontario.