Poster Boy
- Publisher
- Groundwood Books Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2009
- Subjects
- Siblings, General, Adolescence
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781554982202
- Publish Date
- Sep 2009
- List Price
- $9.95
Library Ordering Options
Description
Sixteen-year-old Gray Fallon's life is looking pretty good. His easygoing parents -- a university science professor and silkscreen artist -- are happy for him to entertain his friends in his suburban basement. A part-time job at the Cineplex, the occasional beer or joint, a smart, funny best friend, a hot new girlfriend -- things couldn't really be any better.
Then Gray's twelve-year-old science nerd sister, Maggie, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Gray learns that the cancer may have environmental causes and sets out to uncover the cause and make Maggie better. His research reveals that silkscreen chemicals may be responsible for Maggie's illness. His mother's subsequent breakdown and father's anger finally drive him to quit school and seek haven at an organic farm. However, there is no escaping the reality of Maggie's illness, and the climax, written with wisdom, compassion and a complete lack of easy sentimentality, is a tour de force.
About the author
Dede Crane is the author of the literary novel Sympathy, which was a finalist for the Victoria Butler Book Prize. She has also published the teen novel, The 25 Pains of Kennedy Baines. Her first published story, “Seers,” appeared in Grain magazine and was short listed for the CBC Literary Award; she has since been published in numerous literary journals. Dede has also co-edited, with author Lisa Moore, a collection of non-fiction stories about the experience of giving birth. She is currently working on a second teen novel, Poster Boy. A former professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Dede Crane has studied Buddhist psychology and psychokinetics at Naropa Institute in Colorado and the Body-Mind Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. She currently calls Victoria, B.C. home.