Winner of the Ruth Schwartz, Mr. Christie, and CLA young adult book awards, Martha Brooks has been a consistently exceptional writer. Now she has created a quietly astonishing work of art. This novel is a loving tribute to the big stories in little lives. It unfolds like a popular standard, punctuated by jazz riffs that make it both melodious and unpredictable.

Our main hero, in a story full of them, is 17-year-old Noreen, hard and sharp as a glass shard. We learn through flashbacks about her scarred life, alcoholic mother, jerk stepfather. But Brooks doesn’t offer explanations for Noreen. Foul-mouthed and wild, Noreen cuts classes, runs off with boys, and finally gets pregnant by a hard-bodied, soft-hearted Cree named Wesley. Without blinking, she runs away from him too. When Noreen washes up at a café in Pembina Lake, Manitoba, on a dark and stormy night, the lives of the café’s patrons are changed forever.

This is a courageous book on many levels. Brooks doesn’t soften Noreen, whose edges lend integrity and resonance to her character. Brooks also stays on the page with the stories of the other older heroes: 36-year-old Lynda, the trapped owner of the café; Mary and Dolores, in their seventies, both hugely hopeful, but hobbled by recent events; and Delbert, 55, still suffering guilt over his brother’s drowning. Like a cataclysm in each of their lives, Noreen almost kills Lynda’s dog, nearly burns down Delbert’s cottage, and practically destroys the café. In doing so, she is present at the rebirth of each person. Each character possesses his or her own mystery. They all learn to reach out in their own idiosyncratic way, even Noreen. When you finish this book, you’ll want to pick it up and start all over again.