This is the third installment in the life and times of Harper Winslow, first-person narrator of The Tuesday Café and A Fly Named Alfred. Harper, now 16, is still a loner with a sarcastic edge to his tongue, but this time, he’s in the middle of a much more light-hearted adventure.

At a camp for writers he meets super-friendly twins Mickey and Sunny Taylor, who override his diffidence and draw him into their free-wheeling orbit. Mickey and Sunny have been home-schooled by artistic parents who talk easily about feelings. They are the antithesis of Harper’s overachieving and emotionally uptight parents. Harper is immediately smitten by the gorgeous Sunny and overjoyed when she agrees to meet him back in Edmonton once camp is over. This leads to a summer romance and Harper’s first kiss. But much more is happening to Harper than just awakening sexuality. Harper is shaken out of his emotional shell when he meets Sunny’s favourite aunt who is dying of cancer, observes the open affection in the Taylor household, and learns that Sunny and her mother have discussed whether or not Sunny and Harper are ready to “make out.” And when he realizes that even a seemingly perfect family has tensions under the surface, he has much to ponder.

The situation that drives this story is less compelling than in Harper’s previous two adventures, where dealing with a bully and atoning for arson gave an edgy tension to the wry humour. But watching the abrasive Harper explore his softer side is both touching and at times full of laugh-aloud humour. The choice of title is odd, striking a discordant note by implying that Sunny’s need to decide whether to move to Toronto to attend art school is the prime problem. Although Sunny is a delightful character, her role in the story is to act as a catalyst for Harper’s growth. Pinpointing her problem in the title creates an expectation that is never fulfilled. These caveats aside, the latest developments in Harper Winslow’s life should delight both previous fans and new recruits.