★ “Readers will be left with a rich image of Mia’s world and the family and people that surround her as well as a strong sense of how culture and class impact people’s experiences. A touching exploration of identity and culture.”— Kirkus Reviews Mia knows her family is very different than her best friend's. In the 1980s, the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert is booming. There is plenty of sockeye salmon in the nearby ocean, which means the fishermen are happy and there is plenty of work at the cannery. Eleven-year-old Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. Like most tweens, they like to hang out and compare notes on their crushes and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same cul-de-sac, Mia’s life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle-class neighbor. Lara lives with her mom, her dad and her little brother in a big house, with two cars in the drive and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives—her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins. Even though their differences never seemed to matter to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how adults treat her differently, just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara’s parents—they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. AWARDS   2023 USBBY Outstanding International Books List commendation   2023 BC & Yukon Book Prize — Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize short-listed   2023 IODE Violet Downey Book Award short-listed   2023 Bank Street College of Education Children's Book Committee Best Children's Books of the Year commendation   2023 Indigenous Voices Award short-listed   2024 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award short-listed   2024 Red Cedar Book Award   2023 CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens commendation   2023 IODE Violet Downey Book Award winner   2023 Chocolate Lily Book Awards short-listed   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Jean Little First-Novel Award   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award   2023 BC and Yukon Book Prizes - Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize short-listed   2023 The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award winner   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Jean Little First-Novel Award winner   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People winner   2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award winner   2023 United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List (OIB) commendation   2023 Indigenous Voices Awards (IVA) - Published prose in English short-listed   2024 Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards   2023 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens commendation   2023 The Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGBooks) - Young People’s Literature Text   2024 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Pacific Northwest Book Awards short-listed   2024 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Pacific Northwest Book Awards joint winner