In the mid 1960s the city of Halifax relocated the residents of a 100-year-old black community and razed Africville in the name of urban renewal. These churning events are explored for the first time for young adults in this novel.

Dorothy Perkyns, a Nova Scotian who has written six books for children, creates gentle 12-year-old Selina as her main character. At shops in Halifax, Selina faces stinging prejudice. At school where she is the only black student in Grade 6, she is bullied. At the houses of some friendly classmates, Selina is aware that the parents consider her neighbourhood “the filthiest place on earth.” Africville was poor in city services such as running water, but through Selina’s eyes, the reader perceives it as a neighbourhood rich with caring people. At home with her grandmother and parents, or in any Africville home, Selina felt loved, understood and “totally accepted for who she was.” Importantly, a strong spirit of community inhabits the Africville that Perkyns portrays so sensitively.

After Grandma dies, Selina and her parents move willingly to a North-End apartment, where they enjoy benefits such as hot water and an almost magical change in situation. Selina’s mother opens her own cleaning business, gaining work satisfaction and more time for her daughter. Selina mourns the passing of Africville, but quickly adjusts to the advantages of the relocation. This overly optimistic resolution seems to favour the move to supposed modernization, while the community spirit of Africville seems to vanish. If the scattered relocatees, such as the members of the Africville Genealogy Society that Perkyns mentions in the acknowledgments, had been as satisfied with the outcome as the fictional Selina, they might not have battled for decades to gain public commemoration for Africville and a national historic plaque which was finally unveiled there in 2002.