boy: a novel

A story as magical as it is real, that asks, if you could stop and restart time for a second chance, would you?

Boy’s final year of high school is unraveling. Fast. He had it all worked out, from crushing his final exams to military school to a career in the air force. But his family’s tragic past and its complicated present have caught up to him, and his marks are slipping, jeopardizing all of his plans.

When Boy befriends Mara, a homeless man who can seemingly stop and restart time at will, he has to weigh his family’s needs and his own conscience against the potential contained within Mara’s mysterious and powerful gift. And he soon realizes the hardest truths about time: the past can’t be undone, memories are as fragile as moments, and the future rarely turns out like we think it will.

“Exquisite....Boy is a perfectly compelling protagonist.”

— Miriam Toews, author of Fight Night and Women Talking

“BOY is evocative and heartfelt, containing a spark of magic and an achingly real protagonist..”

— Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife

“A mesmerizing coming of age story that manages to be both magical and intensely real. BOY takes readers on a journey of personal growth in the face of at-times frightening and mysterious obstacles.”

— Timothy Taylor, author of The Rule of Stevens

“The real magic comes, though, in the contemplation of the what-ifs. And the acknowledgement that nothing, for any of us, Boy and reader, will ever be the same.”

— Read the full review at the Hamilton Review of Books.

“Anyone who is struggling to cope with family traumas or is grieving the loss of a sibling or best friend will find solace in this deeply nuanced story about a teenager who strives to succeed and be kind, no matter what.”

— Read the full review at youngadulting.ca.