Eight Days

Fourteen-year-old Sami has a shock when she learns that the mother who she thought had passed away years ago has actually just died and her recovering alcoholic grandfather insists on taking Sami to Chicago to retrieve her mother’s ashes. On this eight-day journey from Toronto to Chicago and home again, Sami struggles to discover who she is and where she belongs. This engaging Canadian novel can be used in literature circles or as a read-aloud and deals with issues of self-esteem, personal identity, death, drugs, alcoholism, racism, and family secrets in a supportive, compassionate manner.