The Tuesday Cafe

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.

This young-adult novel convincingly explores the strained relationship
between a 15-year-old boy and his career-obsessed parents. Harper
Winslow, the product of an unplanned pregnancy late in his parent’s
marriage, has grown up in an atmosphere of benign neglect, forever in
the shadow of “perfect-but-absent” older siblings. When Harper
starts a fire in his school and is charged with arson, the judge imposes
a sentence of community service and the writing of a 2000-word essay
titled “How I Plan to Turn My Life Around.” To help him complete the
essay, Harper’s mother enrols him in “The Tuesday Cafe,” an
evening writing class held in nearby Edmonton. Through his weekly
interactions with his six adult classmates, Harper gradually gains the
self-knowledge and confidence necessary to open a life-changing dialogue
with his parents. This fine character study is nicely complemented by
Ron Lightburn’s evocative cover art. Recommended.