A novel by Andrew Smith
A smart page-turner with a big heart
What a propulsive read! I couldn’t put the book down. It has the man-on-man love we all crave in this post-Heated Rivalry/Heartstopper/Red, White and Royal Blue world. Its original and surprising meet-cute—a naturalist sailor with a Heathcliff-like fenman of the Don River delta—gave me all the feels. But what makes the book special—apart from its beautifully written prose—is its late-19th-century setting. For it is also the sad tale of the environmental degradation of an ever-expanding Toronto, including what was once its beating heart, its vast marshlands at Ashbridges Bay, the shelter for our protagonists and their burgeoning love.