Jeremy Stone, the new young adult novel from acclaimed author Lesley Choyce, is told in free verse format. After moving from a residential school to a new school in a new community, Jeremy, a First Nations teenage boy is trying to find out where he fits in the world. He soon meets Caitlan, an intense girl who tells him about another boy – a boyfriend of hers – who has committed suicide. Jeremy isn’t sure whether he has much to offer Caitlan, given his own uncertainties, but he is solid and supportive towards his new friend. A lot of the support comes from Old Man, the spirit of Jeremy’s dead grandfather, with whom he has frequent illuminating conversations. In fact, Jeremy has frequent contact with the spirit world – his grandfather, Jenson, the suicide, as well as a childhood friend of Jeremy’s, Jimmy Falcon. Each of these spirits help Jeremy find his way through a quagmire of bullying and racial taunts toward a more stable future.
Author
Lesley Choyce is a novelist and poet living at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia. He is the author of more than 80 books for adults, teens and children. He teaches in the English Department and Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award. Lesley Choyce was born in New Jersey in 1951 and moved to Canada in 1978 and became a citizen. His YA novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands.
