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Heartache and Other Natural Shocks

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Heartache and Other Natural Shocks

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Overview

When fifteen-year-old Julia Epstein and her Anglophone family flee Montreal in October 1970, she struggles to adjust to a new life in the suburban wasteland of North York, Toronto. Next door lives Carla Cabrielli, who works her "assets" and knows how to get what she wants. Julia and Carla get on a collision course, not only for the same role in the school production of Hamlet, but also for the leading man - sword-wielding bad boy and sex magnet, Ian Slater. Heartache and Other Natural Shocks explores teen rivalry. When events take a dangerous turn, both Julia and Carla become vulnerable to deception and betrayal. Full of unexpected twist and turns, Glenda Leznoff's unique novel marks the debut of an important new voice in young-adult fiction.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770498365
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.20(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Glenda Leznoff is a writer, college professor and artist. She launched her career as a playwright; wrote for film, television and animation; became involved with magazine and non-fiction projects; and continues to write fiction and children's literature. She is currently an instructor in the Creative Writing Department at Douglas College. As a visual artist, her paintings have been shown in galleries and collections across North America. Glenda lives in Vancouver, where she gardens, dances and cooks sumptuous meals for friends and family.

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Editorial Reviews

She said, she said, with a dose of Shakespearean intrigue .... a refreshing break from contemporary teen fiction.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Told from Jules’s and Carla’s alternating viewpoints, this insightful, compassionate, and darkly humorous novel explores the agonies and ecstasies of being a teen in 1970s Canada .... Well-developed characters experiencing parental problems, jealousy, betrayal, lust, and friendship will captivate older teens.” - School Library Journal

“Glenda Leznoff sets her sexy, honest story about a love triangle between three teens against the backdrop of the early 1970s and the FLQ crisis .... Much drama ensues, but Leznoff does a great job keeping the action and dialogue realistic, both for the characters’ ages and the time period.” - Quill & Quire

“Historical fiction fans in particular will enjoy the story’s backdrop, where clippings files in the public library, record albums, and references to Canadian politics firmly set it in the 1970s. Well-developed characters, with Jules’ friend Geoff stealing the show, and the ending elevate this novel from the ordinary.” - Booklist

. Leznoff gets teen girls – their conversations, their insecurities and their deep yearning for self-worth.” - Globe and Mail

From the Publisher

10/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Political unrest in Montreal is the reason Jules's parents give when they tell her of their decision to move to the Toronto suburbs. It's the early 1970s, and the 15-year-old is heartbroken to leave her grandparents, her friends, her cousins, and everything familiar to travel with her mom and brother to a rental house, new school, and (hopefully) new friends. Dad is staying behind, trying to sell his business, but so far there are no buyers. The transfer to a new school starts out badly and gets worse as Jules and Carla, the girl who lives next door, instantly dislike each other. Unfortunately, they are in several classes together and both are attracted to another newcomer, sexy bad boy Ian. Even worse, the two girls both try out for the same part in the school play. When Jules decides to sneak back to Montreal to live with her dad, she discovers the real reason why her mother moved them to Toronto and her heart is completely broken. A school crisis finally forces Jules to gain perspective in her life and to begin healing. Told from Jules's and Carla's alternating viewpoints, this insightful, compassionate, and darkly humorous novel explores the agonies and ecstasies of being a teen in 1970s Canada. Descriptions of sexual activity and alcohol use, while common to that time period, may limit the audience to mature readers. VERDICT Well-developed characters experiencing parental problems, jealousy, betrayal, lust, and friendship will captivate older teens.—Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2015-07-27
She said, she said, with a dose of Shakespearean intrigue. Julia's cozy, stable life is upended when her parents announce that she and her brother are moving with their mother to Toronto while their father stays behind in Montreal with the family store. Carla's barreling through adolescence with an equal mix of sass and sex appeal when Jules moves in next door. Both girls are knocked for a loop when Ian, the bad boy with the come-hither eyes, rolls into town on his motorcycle. As they take turns telling the story of their disastrous grade 11 year, quiet, brainy Jules and brazen, mouthy Carla square off in the time-honored tradition of vicious high school rivalries. Their drama class's production of Hamlet sets the stage for both complications and satisfying plot twists. Jules' profound introspection and Carla's utter lack thereof make them fitting, often comic, foils for each other as the tension between them—and for each of them, with Ian—gets higher with each chapter. Along the way, the supporting characters are sweetly if somewhat broadly drawn, coming off mostly true to type. The story is grounded in the sense of place created by Leznoff's descriptions of Montreal and Toronto. Steeped in the history of the Quebecois separatist movement and 1970s fashion and pop culture, this isn't groundbreaking stuff, but it is a refreshing break from contemporary teen fiction. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

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