THE OTHER SIDE OF PERFECT

A gripping story, told in two voices, about the need to belong.

Cody Stouffer, who’s white, is growing up in an unpredictable environment with an absent mother and an abusive father. He craves safety and security. Thirteen-year-old Autumn Bird, who’s Cree, lives in a wealthy Toronto neighborhood with her parents, a doctor and an artist, and she hangs with the cool group at school. One night, she finds Cody lying semiconscious on the ground near her home, unwashed and physically battered. Although she’s ignored him at school, Autumn is moved by Cody’s plight. He’s terrified of being sent back to his father, so she sneaks him into her father’s art studio. When Autumn’s parents inevitably discover his presence, they model empathy and compassion, even though Cody’s been influenced by his father’s racist attitudes toward Indigenous people and makes deeply insensitive comments, angering Autumn. As Cody tries to navigate his confusing new life, he’s unsure of whom to trust. Autumn, relying on her own instincts, is on a path to figuring out her authentic place among her friends. Florence (Cree and Scottish) and Scrimger layer their characters’ alternating voices with insightful descriptions and metaphors. Both young people display a degree of confidence and grow over the course of the book as they learn to better discern their circumstances while dealing with subtle acts of exclusion.

An evocative narrative about identity, community, and the power of nurturing relationships.