Lefty Carmichael Has a Fit

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

With A Beautiful Place on Yonge Street completing the Harper Winslow
trilogy, Trembath turns to a new adolescent male protagonist. The main
storyline, covering the period from September through November, focuses
on 15-year-old Lefty Carmichael and the impact the sudden onset of
epilepsy has on him and those closest to him, particularly his mother,
best friend Rueben, and girlfriend Penny. The straightforward plot is
almost predictable. Associating epilepsy with “something those kids in
Special Ed. Class that we always tease in the schoolyard have,” Lefty
fears having a seizure or “fit” at school and being “exposed.”
Retreating into himself, Lefty only begins reconnecting with the larger
world when Penny makes him realize, “You’ve let your seizures take
over your life.” Lefty’s first social event leads to his
“outing” by Rueben’s liquor-loosened tongue. But in the end, Lefty
realizes that with supportive family and friends he can live with
epilepsy.

As with the Harper Winslow trilogy, Lefty Carmichael Has a Fit is a
work more of character than plot. Like Harper, Lefty is a writer, and,
at one point, he says, “What I would like to do is write a collection
of little skits with people from my neighborhood,” which is exactly
what Trembath does. Like Harper’s writing group in The Tuesday Cafe,
Lefty’s poorer Edmonton neighborhood is populated by a wonderful cast
of adult “characters,” including Judith and June (75-year-old twin
sisters and neighborhood gossips) and Lefty’s mother’s friends
(illness-plagued Madeline and the opinionated Brenda). While adolescent
concerns—such as Rueben’s rocky relationship with his single-parent
father—are addressed, the book also offers teens a glimpse into the
world of adults. Recommended.