Heartache And Other Natural Shocks

(Hardback)

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Description

When 15-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 Toronto. Next door lives Carla Cabrielli, who seems to Julia impossibly cool and impossibly adept at getting 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. Issues of the main characters mental health are sensitively handled; a topic increasingly being discussed in the YA genre.

Reviews

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


Told from Juless and Carlas 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 storys 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


. Leznoffgetsteen girls their conversations, their insecurities and their deep yearning for self-worth.-Globe and Mail

Author Bio

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.