About this ebook
for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature–Text
Dads can
be such a drag
Life has been a struggle for Toby Goodman. Her mother died by suicide
five years ago, and her father left their small town before Toby was born. Now
a teenager living on her grandparents’ dairy farm, Toby has trouble letting
people in. She keeps even her closest friend, the brash but endearing Trisha,
at arm’s length, and recently ended her first relationship, with Trisha’s
burnout brother, Mike. Convinced that she is destined to follow her mother’s
path, Toby creates a plan to escape her pain.
But after learning the news that her father is coming home and
finally wants to meet her, Toby must face the truth of her family’s story. Not
only is her father gay, but he’s also a world-famous female impersonator—and a
self-absorbed, temperamental man-child who is ill-prepared to be a real parent.
When Toby’s careful plans go awry, she is forced to rebuild the
life she thought she knew from the ground up. While she may not follow an
expected path, through the support of a quirky but lovable circle of friends
and family, Toby may finally be able to put together the many different pieces
that make up her past, her present and her future.
About the author
BRIAN FRANCIS is the author of two previous novels. His most recent, Natural Order, was selected by the Toronto Star, the Georgia Straight and Kobo as a Best Book of the Year. His first novel, Fruit, was a Canada Reads finalist and was selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers title. Brian Francis lives in Toronto.