Scarborough is a section or Toronto known for its diverse population and recent immigrants. Here we read about a teacher in a child care center and the families she serves through the course of just one year. Laura, the neglected child who dies in a fire along with her drunken father. Bing, the gifted Philippino boy who can belt Whitney Houston songs at the spring talent show. Johnny, who at age 3 is still nonverbal and is diagnosed with autism and and his mother, who with almost no resources or support, finds a way to reach him to communicate. He wants crackers, not apples! The book will break your heart. And now that some of those kids are approaching 18-20, I wonder what's become of them? ( )

Scarborough
This is an easy to read, extremely well written and moving story about a variety of low income people who work or live near the Rouge public school in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto.
The stories are told through the children and the adults, focusing on a few in each group.
We witness the daily struggles of people who live in the shelter system, public housing or owners of mildly successful salons and restaurants within the catchment area. The voices are of those living on the margins. In particular, Sylvie and Bing are loved by strong mothers who overcome many obstacles (public transit, low pay and sexual harassment) to provide for their beloved kids. Hina, a new literacy program facilitator at the school cares deeply about her charges and breaks the rules to ensure that her students get something to eat. Her struggles with the program director is a great display of white privilege. Hina is a role model for the children and mothers .
The story is poignant, well told, optimistic and pulls no punches in revealing the underbelly of society’s homeless and poor. ( )

Earlier this month, the long list for Canada Reads was announced. For those who are not familiar, each year, a long list is released and then is narrowed down to 5 books for all of Canada to read. Each book for one week is defended by a celebrity and is narrowed down to 1 book for all of Canada to read. It really is a fantastic concept and is fun to watch as people argue about why a book is relevant and needs to be read.

One of the books on the long list this year was Scarborough and it was one of the 7 books I purchased out of the 10 announced that seemed interesting. Let me assure you, my hope after reading this book is this not only needs to be on the shortlist, but might be the winner this year (granted, I have not read all of them yet).

Scarborough is an impoverished neighborhood east of Toronto. It is where immigrants often wind up and is a diverse group of people living together outside of the big city. That is about the only Canadian centric piece of information needed as the rest of the book could be applied to any neighborhood like Scarborough.

The book is told through several eyes, children and adults, and focuses in on the school where all of these children go to school. There are also a series of email exchanges between the protagonist teacher, Ms. Hina and the school administration as racism and Islamiphobia rears its head.

There is so much in this book, it is almost impossible to cover in a tiny review. There is racism told through the eyes of on of the fathers, poverty as many of the kids go without food, neglect as one child is often left alone to fend for herself, sexuality as one child discovers his orientation, and just plain old everyday school life.

The kids pick on one another as classism comes into play in their teases. There is the hiddenness of poverty as one girl brings a lunch bag, but it is never filled. There is a little bit of everything and there is a gut punch within the book that just ups the ante.

This is not a heartwarming, the teacher will make good in all of these kids lives type of book. This is a real look at the cycle of poverty and race as individuals try to make the best out of situation where there are so many things working against them. This is definitely one to read.

I gave this one 5 stars. ( )

This is a novel written as a series of voices or monologues of people living mainly on the edges of poverty in Scarborough, a large borough or city within Toronto. There are some continuing voices, mainly the children and their parents who attend one particular Scarborough school and the adjacent literacy centre it hosts, along with the teacher who runs it. Although we meet other peripheral characters, whose voices and experiences round out the cast of characters and perspectives of this community, the main narrative is about the children at this literacy centre. Together they represent a checklist of ethnicities and social challenges, from autism and addictions to white supremacism and trans/homophobia, all underpinned by the unrelenting grind of poverty.

Notwithstanding the sense that the author is on a mission to show us all these challenges, there are still lovely moments of humour, warmth, and empathy. The rage at the injustices is palpable and no doubt justified, but at times her contempt for both the structural inequities and the individual villains who perpetuate or enact them comes at the expense of the writing, where she's setting up straw men to knock them down.

Nonetheless, it sheds light and love on a very hidden and underserved community in Toronto. ( )

I held off writing my review of this book until the Canada Reads debates were over. I realized this book was the underdog and that Five Little Indians by Michelle Good was the favourite but I did think it was the book all of Canada should read. Yes, the residential school system was horrendous and has impacted generations of First Nations people but poverty probably impacts even more people in Canada. This book is set in one suburb of one city but could probably be replicated in all the major cities in Canada. I just hope that the attention the book has received through Canada Reads will cause many people to pick it up and then think about its message.

There are many characters in this book but the main ones are Ms. Hina, an educator who is hired to run a literacy program in a school in Scarborough., Laura, a young girl whose mother abandons her to be raised by her racist, alcoholic father, Cory, Bing, a gay Filipino boy being raised by his mother in a housing project and Sylvie, Bing's friend who lives with her mother, disabled father and autistic brother in a shelter.All of the children spend time in Ms Hina's drop-in centre, often being fed by her because there is never enough food in their own homes. Ms Hina comes into conflict with her supervisor for feeding the children but she keeps on doing so. And she helps in other ways. Even former skinhead Cory is treated with kindness by Ms Hina and Cory really needs help because he has no idea how to parent. We see how the community comes together to support each other. This is especially so when Ms Hina finally has had enough from her supervisor and gets her union rep involved. The community backs Ms Hina to the max and soon the supervisor is history. Yes these individuals still have challenges but they also know where they can turn for help.

The beauty of Canada Reads is to bring attention to books that would have slipped through the cracks otherwise. I try to read lots of Canadian literature but I had not heard of this book before it made the Canada Reads list. So, thank goodness for CBC and Canada Reads. ( )