A Walk in the Park

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Fourteen-year-old Terra has just moved to Calgary from Ottawa. The
problems she’s having adjusting to a new school and making new friends
are compounded by the news that her birth mother is in town and would
like to meet her.

At first, only Blaine, Paula, and Pete seem friendly. Wanting to be
“one of the gang,” Terra experiments with smoking; but, thanks to
her nervous stomach, shoplifting and drugs are a different matter. When
Blaine, abandoned by Paula and Pete, nearly dies of an overdose and is
saved by the quick-thinking Terra and her lab partner, Glenn, Terra
knows that this is not the crowd she wants to hang out with. Thankfully,
what develops is an alternative. Glenn definitely seems interested in
being Terra’s friend (or more), and Kaitlin and her friends begin to
include Terra in their “doings.”

Told partly in diary format, A Walk in the Park touches on a variety of
issues relevant to teens. Examples are drugs, adoption, non-traditional
and blended families, bullying, and fitting in. Terra learns that life
is not always “a walk in the park,” but that sometimes it is better
to confront reality than imagine the worst. With its hint of romance and
a satisfying ending, this young-adult novel is sure to be a hit with
readers. Recommended.