At the beginning of this debut novel from Toronto’s Anna Kerz, young Jeremy has just moved with his mother from rural Nova Scotia to Toronto after the death of his father. Details of that tragedy are revealed slowly, but we find out right away that Jeremy is haunted by a terrifying nightmare, and is holding back a guilty secret about what happened in Nova Scotia – one he won’t talk about even to his mother.

While Jeremy struggles with his past, he must also navigate the emotional challenges of a new school and a new city. Kerz’s past life as a teacher shines through in every classroom scene – especially those involving Aaron, one of Jeremy’s classmates. When Jeremy gets stuck with Aaron as his partner for a project involving mealworms, the story really comes alive. Aaron’s ADHD-type behavioural problems are described with such accuracy that he jumps right off the page, just as he jumps around the classroom.

Aaron annoys everyone, including Jeremy and their miraculously patient teacher, Mr. Collins. Yet readers may welcome his appearances, because Kerz doesn’t depict her other characters with the same vividness. The adults in the story are two-dimensional, and even Jeremy could use a more fully developed dark side. Nor is the pat ending completely satisfying.

But there is real, raw talent here, evident in the character of Aaron, and in the depiction of classroom life. The Mealworm Diaries is hopefully a step on the way to better things for Kerz.