2016 SYRCA Snow Willow Award — Shortlisted

It’s the best summer of Dani’s life, until the bottom falls out.

Dani’s mother is getting married – again – because that’s what she does, and while she and her new husband jet around Europe for six weeks, seventeen-year-old Dani is sent to stay with an uncle she didn’t know she had in a small community in Cariboo country she didn’t know existed. It promises to be the summer from hell. But Dani’s uncle turns out to be an okay guy. In fact, Dani really likes him. And she finds romance, too.

Suddenly, a summer that had doom written all over it turns into one of the best times of Dani’s life. Until the bottom falls out. In a story about relationships and about how bad things happen to good people, Dani discovers that sometimes the only villain is life itself.

After nearly 30 years as a published author, Kristin has written more biographies of herself than she cares to remember. And she has run out of new ways to describe the same old life. Besides, she doesn't think of herself in terms of her birthplace, education, and work history. What she'd really like people to know about her is that she loves to dance. She loves to laugh. She loves to learn. Crossword puzzles relax her. Waiting frustrates her. She likes spending time by herself. And, like the heroine in her new book Closer to Far Away, she has a family that gives her strength. Her books include Cheat, Girls Like Me, The Druid and the Dragon, and Alibi. Kristin lives in Campbell River, British Columbia.

Kristin Butcher's profile page

• Short-listed, SYRCA Snow Willow Award

Readers will be impressed and engaged by Dani’s resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit. She brings people together and creates opportunities for the community of Farrow, actions which, in turn, help take the edge of her grief.

Canadian Materials magazine

Truths I Learned from Sam . . . is a sensitive, compelling story about a 17-year-old who finds meaning in her life in an unexpected place.

The Winnipeg Free Press

What I particularly enjoyed about this novel was its depiction of love. It does not sugar coat it, but presents it in its most raw form. This is both crushing and beautiful. By showcasing how love is rarely a fairy tale ending it removes the all-too-common “True Love” delusion, hopefully helping to facilitate healthy and long lasting relationships. This has definitely filled a gaping hole in our popular fiction in recent literature, and does so in a beautiful way.

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Told with a teen's characteristically exaggerated narrative, the story - while certainly not happy ever after - offers much to smile over. Truths I Learned from Sam will also be a good introduction to this Canadian author's worthy list of more than 20 titles for young people.

Butcher’s depiction of life in rural BC shows a remarkable acumen, if not lived experience.

Truths I Learned From Sam is a fine coming of age tale, not to be missed.

Midwest Book Review

The heart of the novel is Dani’s relationship with Sam. Butcher handles the pair’s growing bond gently and convincingly, while showing compassion and understanding for her teenage protagonist.

Quill & Quire