by Carol Birch
First published 2011
Judy has sworn off men and their complications. She lives in Kinnaird Buildings, a crumbling tenement in Waterloo that once housed respectable families. Now the blackened walls shelter drifters, thieves, and addicts who have learned to ignore the sounds of violence echoing through the halls. Judy wants to keep her head down and stay out of trouble, but Jimmy Raffo keeps circling back into her life with his charm and unpredictable ways. Down the hall, Loretta wages her own daily battle against poverty and the harsh realities of their neighborhood. Both women try to build something meaningful from the fragments of their broken circumstances. The building's residents live on the margins, patching together whatever stability they can find. Judy must decide whether to let Jimmy back in or protect the fragile peace she has created for herself.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, urban, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Kinnaird Buildings, Waterloo
Period: contemporary
256 pages · Paperback · Little, Brown
Content warnings: violence