First published 2020
The protagonist never wanted to leave Trinidad for Canada. After her hospitalization for depression, her mother decides the move is their only choice. Now she lives with an estranged aunt she hardly knows, trying to manage her mental health struggles in an unfamiliar country. Canada feels alien to her. People don't greet each other on the street. Nobody walks anywhere. The bus rides stretch endlessly and fill with noise. She misses Trinidad desperately, where her best friend continues attending school and Sunday church services just like she used to do. She wants to return to what she calls "home home." Yet this new place slowly reveals unexpected gifts. Her aunt's family offers love without conditions. New friendships become possible. A brighter future takes shape on the horizon. She cannot see these possibilities yet, but Canada might become a true home if she finds the strength to face her own truth.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, mental-health, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Canada, Trinidad
Period: 21st-century
160 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness