Here for a Good Time

Gitxaała Nation author Spencer (I Won’t Feel This Way Forever) deploys frank, realistic portrayals of residential schools, sexual violence, and suicide in this emotionally raw novel about a white and Indigenous teen in 1990 British Columbia struggling to navigate shifting relationships upon uncovering harsh truths about her family’s past. Ever since her mother deserted the family when Morgan was 10, Morgan has felt adrift, often skipping class for months at a time and staying out late drinking with friends before eventually dropping out of high school. Now 16, Morgan lives on Kaien Island with her father, a commercial fisherman and—when not at sea on a gig—consummate fellow partier. “Other than the occasional house party, things are usually pretty tame at home. Boring even,” Morgan asserts. After her best friend encourages Morgan to enroll in Kaien Island Alternate School, she agrees, and soon encounters charismatic classmate Nate, who becomes an integral anchoring figure in Morgan’s life when tragedy strikes. Short chapters and breezy language relay this somber rumination on family and its influence on finding one’s place in the world. Ages 14–up. Agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Literary. (Mar.)