I’ve needed something a bit light to read.
This follows a few characters. The lead is Jack, a young boy starting at a new school who has been zoning out and seeing a small girl selling matches. He meets a classmate, Lucy, who takes an interest in him and has also seen the girl. And lastly, there’s the little match girl, a character from a Hans Christian Anderson story who may not be so fictional and who wants Jack to stay with her forever.
This was a cute idea, and full of very interesting ideas. I did like the layering of diabetes into the plot, as Jack is given a natural way of talking about it with Lucy and it doesn’t feel like it’s being forced into the narrative. It’s also very Canadian at points, mostly in that Jack moved to Ontario from Quebec and there are quite a few mentions of the cultural differences between the two places.
The story is very light and best enjoyed when you don’t think about it too hard. If you do, you will find logic and plot holes. Those points aren’t really what the story is about, so I don’t think it’s a detriment. It’s a very quick and easy read, overall fun, and worth checking out.