Meet You In the Sewer

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.

As he did in Don’t Worry About Me, I’m Just Crazy, Godfrey
demonstrates his ability to write about serious subjects while retaining
his well-known sense of humor. The book is ostensibly the product of
Torontonian JB Lunn, 13, who lives with his father and 7-year-old
sister, and who is a member of the Jaws Mob, a writing club at John
Allen Watson School. Until now, JB’s main problem has been a recurring
nightmare, which intensified three years ago (following his parents’
divorce) and left him with a profound fear of the dark. When Mr. Lunn
becomes romantically interested in Amanda Anderson, a single mother who,
with her two daughters, has moved into the apartment immediately below
the Lunns’, JB acquires a new “problem”—Erin, Amanda’s
“weird” Grade 6 daughter. JB’s father charges him with the task of
helping Erin adjust to her new school. Recognizing that middle-school
mores forbid Grade 8 males from associating with Grade 6
girls—especially those who behave in publicly embarrassing ways—JB
tries to shake the persistent and annoying Erin, who is convinced that,
since they will inevitably become stepsiblings, they should first
develop a friendship. The various happenings of the episodic plot
ultimately culminate in JB’s having to confront his fear of darkness
if he is to enter an abandoned storm sewer to rescue two friends from a
burning building.

Middle-school readers of both genders will look forward to more Jaws
Mob adventures. Recommended.