Lou (Métis/white) is spending the summer before college working at her family’s ice cream stand in her Canadian prairie town. After her mom leaves to sell beadwork on the powwow circuit, Lou’s biological father—the white man who raped Lou’s mom when she was 16—lets Lou know he’s out of prison and demands to meet her. Lou tells no one: not her mom when they text or talk; not her uncles, stressing about the business’s finances; not her best friend, Florence (white), struggling with mental health issues; not her former best friend, King (Black), back in town after living in Toronto—their reconnection offering the chance to heal a sudden split three years before. Lou’s personal, family, and community history is full of trauma rooted in the racist treatment of Indigenous people. She’s made choices she regrets, like previously trying to pass as white, and has secrets she can’t imagine telling—out of shame, out of loyalty, out of fear. At the same time, her family and friends fill her life with love, warmth, and laughter, even as those relationships are imperfect and sometimes stressful. Nuanced, complex, vividly drawn characters are among the many standout elements of this beautiful novel as Lou navigates a summer of challenges and promise; so is the wonderful discussion of Lou’s sexuality as she begins to realize she’s demisexual and finds support, help, and understanding from King as they explore the expanding boundaries of their relationship.  (Age 14 and older)

In this complex and emotionally resonant novel about a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies, debut author Jen Ferguson serves up a powerful story about rage, secrets, and all the spectrums that make up a person—and the sweetness that can still live alongside the bitterest truth. A William C. Morris Award Honor Book and a Stonewall Award Honor Book!

Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She’ll be working in her family’s ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend—whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort—and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word.

But when she gets a letter from her biological father—a man she hoped would stay behind bars for the rest of his life—Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him, no matter how much he insists.

While King’s friendship makes Lou feel safer and warmer than she would have thought possible, when her family’s business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can’t ignore her father forever.

The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.