Tilt by Alan Cumyn (Groundwood Books, 2011) is a book that cannot be put down. Stan is 16 years old and has a sister Lily who is some kind of child prodigy. His father had left the family for a younger women who in turn left the father. His father arrives with Fenton, Stan's half brother in tow and the drama gets notched up a level or two. The children are all very likeable characters but I wish you could say the same thing about the parents. Stan steals the day and the reader's heart as he struggles with being 16 in a very dysfunctional family.
The parents are self absorbed and are in dire need of some parenting and while his life may seem a bit absurd there are kids who deal with crazy family situations and that is what is so believable about this story. I found I just wanted to scream at the mother and tell Stan that I know it will all work out for him in due time. By the way, I forgot to mention Janine, Stan's sort of girlfriend.
Despite hating the parent characters I really liked this book and think it has definite appeal to teenagers.Read it an you will see what I am talking about.
