I very much enjoyed the story of Maggie Dillon, a quiet, woodsy girl abandoned mysteriously by her mother in the early 1970s in rural British Columbia. Maggie and her sister Jenny (sweet, sunnny, popular) make due with tempermental and mean-spirited Bea, waiting for their mother to return. But when Jenny finds herself pregnant and shipped off to an unwed mothers' home in Vancouver, Maggie decides to stop waiting for things to happen and take charge of her life.

Frances Greenslade knows how to write about nature. Her descriptions of the BC woods are breathtaking and vibrant. On the woodsy scale I'm about a 7 out of 10, but this book made me feel like a 10. I'm disappointed this book did not make it on this year's Canada Reads list, as it is both beautiful and super regional.

This qualifies as a poignant coming of age story (my favourite kind!) and a teenager could definitely read and enjoy this. Maggie is likable and it is heartbreaking when her cat is taken away and when she discovers what happens to her mother (somewhat farfetched and sensational, but affecting nonetheless). But Maggie is made of stronger stuff and has made a good friend in Vern, a kind-hearted boy from her adopted village who turns into something more.

Fans of The God of Animals, The Patron Saint of Liars, and Tell the Wolves I'm Home will enjoy this rich, moving story. I look forward to Greenslade's next book.