Stephen Fair

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.

A new young-adult novel from Tim Wynne-Jones is a much anticipated
event, and Stephen Fair will not disappoint Wynne-Jones fans. A prologue
alerts readers that what is to come is not typical adolescent reading
fare.

Once the Fair family had consisted of five

people—parents Doug and Brenda, brothers Marcus and Stephen, and their
much younger sister, Toni—but now two are gone. The first to abandon
the Ark, as the Fair home was called, was Doug; shortly thereafter, he
was followed by Marcus, only 15. At the story opens, four years have
passed since Marcus’s leaving. Steven, who is now 15 and having
recurring, frightening dreams similar to those Marcus experienced prior
to his disappearance, wonders if “he had inherited his brother’s
nightmare.”

Readers who initially may categorize Stephen Fair as another “family
problems novel” will quickly discover that it is actually a most
intriguing mystery, with Brenda seemingly positioned at its centre.
Teens’ desire to learn what possibly dark secret Brenda is hiding will
pull them through the novel so quickly that they may not pause
sufficiently to enjoy Wynne-Jones’s superb use of language and his
wonderful turns of phrase. The climactic point, which reveals the family
secret, brings readers only partial emotional release for its contents
completely disorient Steven. The epilogue will satisfy those adolescents
who demand closure to a story. A strong cast of supporting characters,
especially the members of the neighboring Skye family, provides an
appropriate counterpoint. Highly recommended.