This book has garnered lots of attention thanks to winning the annual Canadian book debate, Canada Reads. It probably helped that the defender was Heather O'Neill, a well-regarded Canadian writer, but it was up against some tough competition. So I was anxious to read the book when it became available from my public library.

At one point this book was referred to as being magical realism which made me twitch a little since I frequently have problems relating to books of magical realism. Fortunately, the magical elements of the story (a fairy, buildings that reconstruct after demolition, vegetables that revert to seed and so on) aren't important to the story and I enjoyed them. In this book Detroit never became part of the United States and remained a French-speaking city in Canada. But like the real Detroit it suffered from urban decay, pollution and extensive drug use. Gloria, a widow, has come to Fort Detroit to look for her grandchildren after her daughter, Judith, was murdered. Cassandra and Mathilda called in the murder but then they disappeared. Someone saw them heading to Rouge Park with full backpacks but there's been no sightin of them since. Gloria starts to get to know the people of the neighbourhood, especially her neighbour, Eunice. She finds that people help one another here which is good since the government seems to have abandoned them. Soon there is information about a band of children living in the forest in Rouge Park and Gloria reaches out to them hoping they will have news of her granddaughters. These are feral children who either are orphaned or running from abuse. They have a rough kind of community with older children looking out for the younger and everyone scrounging for food or other useful items. They don't want anything to do with the adults but when an emergency comes along some of them are sheltered and cared for by those adults. This results in a truce which will have an impact on everyone in the community.

There's a hopeful message here. Together, with good will, people can overcome adversity and find solutions. We need that kind of messaging now. ( )

In this speculative novel, Detroit is an independent, French-speaking entity. Urban decay has led to run down homes, few services and little employment. Children have taken refuge in the forest, banding together to secure safety and shelter. When our protagonist, Gloria, arrives following the murder of her daughter, she finds her granddaughters missing and goes into the forest to find them. This is a grim story, but there is a hopefulness in the way so many characters persevere and band together to support each other.

It's well written, and the characters are reasonably well developed. Just not my cup of tea. ( )