Seeing Stars

Carol L. MacKay is a children’s librarian living in Bawlf, Alberta.

Alex Isaacson’s life is complicated. In fact, it’s downright weird.
His mother is a telephone psychic who, for the past 12 years, has spent
every waking (and sleeping) moment in bed. His Uncle Barnard is a
twitchy oddball who has a fascination for frogs. Alex doesn’t know
much about his father, except that he disappeared around the same time
his mother took to bed. As Alex points out, “You probably don’t have
to be Einstein to guess these two facts were connected.”

Gary Barwin’s first novel for young adults is a quirky tale of a
15-year-old’s search for answers about his past. The author has a
knack for creating believable and entertaining dialogue, and his main
character, Alex, is a witty, likeable protagonist. Barwin is playful in
his use of language, and the story brims with puns, irony, and wordplay.
He sets his story in familiar, but fictional territory: Kensington,
Ontario, and the towns of One Hill and Samson, Alberta. For the most
part, the strange, out-of-step characters and the unusual sequence of
events work beautifully together. The introduction of the Bouncing
Men—a group of individuals who find peace through trampolines and
meditation—threatens to push the story’s entire credibility over the
edge, but the tale quickly rebounds to a satisfying conclusion.
Recommended.