Susan Zettell

A quirky coming-of-age novel set in post Trudeau-mania Ontario, "The Checkout Girl" tells the story of a young woman trying to reconcile her impossible dream of hockey stardom with the reality of life in a blue-collar town.

Having run out on her boyfriend in Vancouver, Kathy Rausch is working as a checkout girl in Varnum, Ontario and trying to make sense of her life. Despite well-meaning and relentless advice from her down-to-earth mother, Kathy is drifting. She's renting a room in her friend's basement, which she shares with a restless boa constrictor, and spends a lot of time stick-handling around the advances of her amorous room-mates. In her spare time, Kathy skates, practices shots, and dreams of hockey. But it takes a brutal murder to bring Kathy's life - and dreams - into focus.

"The Checkout Girl" is a tale well told, with vivid, engaging characters and a wise, quirky plot. Although the dialogue is occasionally less than believable, Zettell nevertheless creates characters you end up caring about. The author is particularly good at evoking a sense of place and time.

Overall, this is a wise, funny, enjoyable book.… (altro)