Imogene Tubbs has never met her father, and raised by her grandmother, she only sees her mother sporadically. But as she grows older, she learns that many people in her small, rural town believe her father is Cecil Jesso, the local drug dealer—a man both feared and ridiculed. Weaving through a maze of gossip, community, and the complications of family, Some People’s Children is a revealing and liberating novel about the way others look at us and the power of self-discovery.
Reviews
“Bridget Canning’s Imogene Tubbs is as tender and compelling and as vivid a protagonist as you’re ever likely to meet. Some People’s Children is about the age-old struggle against fate, or in this case the chains of DNA, and the redemptive power of unconditional love. Canning writes adolescence and coming-of-age in a stark and wind-riven Newfoundland with startling veracity. Get your hands on this novel as fast as you can. It’s magnificent.” – Lisa Moore, author of February and Caught
“Some People’s Children is a fierce, funny, and achingly authentic coming-of-age story about belonging, identity, and the ties that only tangle us up tighter when we try to twist free. Canning’s language is vivid, wry, and candid, delivering characters so genuine you’ll miss hanging out with them long after you’ve read the last page.” – Leslie Vryenhoek, author of We All Will Be Received and Ledger of the Open Hand
“I have been searching for a description of this book other than ‘coming of age’… I think what is more appropriate here is coming to terms’… Imogene is tough and vulnerable and strong and soft… Bridget Canning has written a richly evocative Maritime story.” – Atlantic Book Reviews
“Canning has crafted a crew of complicated people who are realistic in their flaws, routines, and idiosyncrasies.” – Gemma Marr, The Miramichi Reader
