Join us as we meeting online with Joseph Kakwinokanasum to discuss his book My Indian Summer.

All books discussed at Islington Reads are available for purchase at A Novel Spot Bookshop. A limited number are available from the church library. Please contact Anne Marriott at anne.marriott@gmail.com if you need to borrow a copy of the book.

Fall 2022 Young Adult Selection – Top Grade: Canlit for the Classroom

Three kohkums, a man named Crow, two best friends, and a drug dealer . . . twelve-year-old Hunter may be getting out of Red Rock sooner than he hoped.

For Hunter Frank, the summer of ’79 begins with his mother returning home only to collect the last two months’ welfare cheques, leaving her three “fucking half-breeds” to fend for themselves. When his older sister escapes their northern BC town and his brother goes to fight forest fires, Hunter is on his own, with occasional care coming from a trio of elders—his kohkums—and companionship from his two best friends.

It’s been a good summer for the young entrepreneur, but the cash in the purple Crown Royal bag hidden in his mattress still isn’t enough to fund his escape from his monstrous mother and the town of Red Rock. As the Labour Day weekend arrives, so does a new friend with old wisdom and a business opportunity that might be just a boy at the crossroads needs. My Indian Summer is the story of a journey to understanding that some villains are also victims, and that while reconciliation may not be possible, survival is.