Reading Log #9 - Tarcadia by Jonathan Campbell
March 4, 2019
Review: 3/5
Campbell, J. (2004). Tarcadia. Kentville, NS: Gaspereau Press.
Summary
Michael Chisholm is a fourteen-year-old boy in Sydney, Cape Breton, NS who lives with his parents, Rory and Gloria, and spends time with his siblings, particularly his older brother Sid. Michael and Sid build a raft with two of their friends one day, and over the course of their summer and school year, learn the ups and downs of coming-of-age. It isn’t a smooth transition as the boys quickly face tragedy against the backdrop of a coal mining town in the 1970s.
Relation
Tarcadia is a typical coming-of-age story in the vein of Stephen King’s Stand By Me, but is unique in its setting of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.Â
Appeal
The author is very keen to describe how the setting of a rural industrial town can affect the attitudes and upbringing of its central characters. It includes destinations like the tar ponds, railway yard, warehouses, docks, scrap piles, steel plant and used car lot that comprise the city of Sydney at this time.
Audience/Readership
Though not specifically written as a young adult novel, Tarcadia is appealing to young readers as it centres on the experiences of a teenage boy grappling with the realities of growing up. The content is not too frightening, but with the length of the novel reaching 247 pages, the book is recommended for readers aged 13 and up.
Filed under Atlantic Canadian book.
