Some People's Children

“Bridget Canning’s Imogene Tubbs is as tender and compelling and as vivid a protagonist as you’re ever likely to meet. Some People’s Children is about the age-old struggle against fate, or in this case the chains of DNA, and the redemptive power of unconditional love. Canning writes adolescence and coming-of-age in a stark and wind-riven Newfoundland with startling veracity. Get your hands on this novel as fast as you can. It’s magnificent.” Lisa Moore, author of February and Caught

“Some People’s Children is a fierce, funny, and achingly authentic coming-of-age story about belonging, identity, and the ties that only tangle us up tighter when we try to twist free. Canning’s language is vivid, wry, and candid, delivering characters so genuine you’ll miss hanging out with them long after you’ve read the last page Leslie Vreyenhoek, author of We All Will Be Received and Ledger of the Open Hand

"I have been searching for a description of this book other than 'coming of age'... I think what is more appropriate here is coming to terms'... Imogene is tough and vulnerable and strong and soft... Bridget Canning has written a richly evocative Maritime story." Atlantic Book Reviews

"Building a fast reputation for crafting rich and layered character development, Canning's Imogene Tubbs succeeds the eponymous heroine Wanda Jaynes [The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes] as yet another soon to be classic lead..." Dillon Collins, The Newfoundland Herald

“Canning has written Imogene’s character and conditions with uncanny perception. Imogene’s high school years are conveyed with such authenticity it’s as if Canning scrupulously recorded the life of an actual teenager, warts and all, then vigorously buffed it into the polished prose that comprises the book… Canning’s first release generated all kinds of accolades. Some People’s Children is a more than worthy successor.” Denise Flint, Downhome Magazine

"This is, first and foremost, a perfectly-crafted coming-of-age story with the best qualities of that genre: it’s absolutely specific in its detail as to the time, place and experiences of its main character, yet somehow relatable to anyone who is or has been a teenager (so, like, all of us) no matter how different our experiences may have been from Imogene’s. That specificity of detail is what makes Some People’s Children such a delight to read... When a writer can capture that exact cold-plate dinner we’ve all eaten or served so many times in a few vivid words – and also recreate the horror of being picked on by high-school bullies so viscerally it almost gave me flashbacks to my own school years — that’s some brilliant writing right there. Go along with Imogene on her journey — you will not be disappointed." Trudy J. Morgan-Cole, author of A Roll of the Bones and Most Anything You Please

“Canning deftly explores how evolving identities are hampered by the toxic masculinity still prevalent throughout much of the island. She does so while infusing the narrative with tenderness, authenticity, and complexity the likes of which could be rendered only by an author fully immersed in the contradiction of struggling to be whole during times of great fracture. Not since Joel Thomas Hynes’s Down to the Dirt has a Newfoundland coming-of-age novel so relentlessly depicted the taxing challenge of surviving adolescence in rural outports. This darkly comedic novel is one of indignities, epiphanies, and hope.” Megan Gail Coles, Scotiabank Giller Prize and CBC's Canada Reads finalist

"Imogene is afraid and she is afraid to be wrong and she is afraid to learn that she herself may somehow be “wrong.” But she is also fearless, hilarious, and original, which I believe are characteristics one would expect to find high on the list of attributes for loveable, readable, unforgettable protagonists." Paul Chafe, Newfoundland Quarterly