Weird Rules to Follow - by Kim Spencer (Paperback)

About the Book

In this novel for middle readers told in vignettes, Mia and her best friend, Lara, have very different experiences growing up in a northern fishing community in the 1980s.

Book Synopsis

Winner of a 2024 PNBA Book Award

Winner of the 2023 IODE Violet Downey Book Award

Winner of the 2023 Jean Little First-Novel Award

Winner of the 2023 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

Winner of the 2023 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

★"Readers will be left with a rich image of Mia's world and the family and people that surround her as well as a strong sense of how culture and class impact people's experiences. A touching exploration of identity and culture."--Kirkus Reviews

Mia knows her family is very different than her best friend's.

In the 1980s, the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert is booming. There is plenty of sockeye salmon in the nearby ocean, which means the fishermen are happy and there is plenty of work at the cannery. Eleven-year-old Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. Like most tweens, they like to hang out and compare notes on their crushes and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same cul-de-sac, Mia's life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle-class neighbor. Lara lives with her mom, her dad and her little brother in a big house, with two cars in the drive and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives--her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins. Even though their differences never seemed to matter to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how adults treat her differently, just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara's parents--they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

From the Back Cover

It's the 1980s. Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. Now in middle school, they like to compare notes on their crushes, have sleepovers and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same neighborhood in their coastal fishing town, Mia's life is very different from her friend's. Lara lives with her parents and brother in a big house with two cars in the driveway and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives--her churchgoing grandmother, party-going mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins. Even though these differences have never mattered to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how people treat her differently just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers and even Lara's parents all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.

Review Quotes

"A terrific addition to any school library. touches on themes of prejudice, racism, and the intergenerational family impacts of residential schools while being told in an approachable way for students. The characters in this book are realistic and complicated and leave the reader with lasting impressions of life in Prince Rupert in the 1980s."

-- "Indigenous Books for Schools"

★ "Readers will be left with a rich image of Mia's world and the family and people that surround her as well as a strong sense of how culture and class impact people's experiences. A touching exploration of identity and culture."-- "Kirkus Reviews, starred review"

"Recommended."-- "School Library Connection"

"Authentic and honest...Excellent for upper elementary and middle school students, either in a literature circle or independently."-- "Children's Literature"

"Easy to read but poetic and focused...This story, while fiction, rings true."-- "The Horn Book"

"Like a photo album but in text rather than in pictures...providing the reader with a layered, nuanced picture of Mia's life."-- "Booklist"

"Heartfelt and moving...Recommended."-- "CM: Canadian Review of Materials"

About the Author

Kim Spencer is a graduate of the Writers Studio at Simon Fraser University, where she focused on creative nonfiction. Her first novel, Weird Rules to Follow won the Jean Little First-Novel Award, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, an IODE Violet Downey Book Award and a Pacific Northwest Book Award. It was also a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards. Kim is from the Ts'msyen Nation in northwest BC and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.