Nish: North and South
by Isabelle Picard
Scholastic Canada, 2023
ISBN 978-1-4431-9723-6 (sc)
$14.99, 304 pp, ages 10 – 14
scholastic.ca
Aimed at intermediate-aged readers, this work was written by Wendake author Isabelle Picard and translated by Kateri Aubin Dubois. It takes place primarily in the northern Quebec community of Matime-Kush-Lac-John, where Innu twins Eloise and Leon deal with a seriously ill father and a neighbour who has mysteriously disappeared. The twins occasionally wish to live in a more urban southern locale. However, both fear the loss of friends and their deep connections to their home community. Over the course of the story, a budding romance begins for Eloise (who shows a flair for investigative journalism), and Leon emerges as an increasingly skilled hockey player. Topics that are sensitively dealt with include underage drinking and the lack of opportunities for youth in many northern communities, but above all, the author has created a series of realistic characters who have normal dreams and fears that would be familiar to young adolescents no matter where they are from.
Classroom Connections: Picard has covered a number of bases with what at first appears to be a simple mystery novel. The storytelling alternates between the twins, and they gradually learn historical facts about residential schools, rapacious resource extraction, and Indigenous history in various parts of Quebec. A suitable choice for a literature circle, teachers could encourage readers to compare and contrast the twins’ personal connections to the student’s current region or homeland or share their particular passions and interests.
Review by George Sheppard.
This review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2024 issue.
