In the first book in Julie Lawson’s Goldstone trilogy, a goldstone pendant sustained a motherless girl growing up in a mining town. In this book – the trilogy’s second – the setting moves to Victoria and time advances two generations. Its central character is Jo, not quite 12, intense, competitive, imaginative. At school she has a reputation as someone who doesn’t let truth stand in the way of a good story. In an era – the 1950s – that rewards herd behaviour, someone like Jo has a tough time. But her parents and even her pesky little brother are loving and forbearing. She also has a wonderful extended family: grandparents who provide a rich Swedish legacy that includes language, customs, and spicy meatballs.

When Jo’s older best friend suddenly seems much more interested in boys and Elvis Presley, Jo is lucky to find a new soulmate, an English boy newly arrived in Canada. Their friendship allows Lawson to explore the need for acceptance and boy-girl relationships.

Into all this comes a bombshell that shatters Jo’s world. Here the cover notes are justifiably discreet: when Jo learns she is adopted (I’m revealing this only because booksellers and librarians should know it), it comes as a shock to the reader as well. As Jo responds by rejecting the familial love she so badly needs, adrift from everything that has anchored her, she too finds the goldstone pendant.

Lawson’s new book can be enjoyed independently from its prequel, although that means missing the pleasure of re-meeting old friends. While not as rich historically as Goldstone, Turns on a Dime does a good job of conveying a time of a generation ago; and although some things have changed in 40 years (Elvis is dead, the Spice Girls live) Lawson’s readers will have little trouble understanding Jo’s dilemmas.