BLISS ADAIR AND THE FIRST RULE OF KNITTING

A teenager finds the world is more complicated than she thought.

Sixteen-year-old Bliss Adair loves the order and predictability of math and knitting. She’s never been kissed and doesn’t really get boys. Bliss spends most of her time when not at school at String Theory, her parents’ knitting store, located just outside Toronto. One day, while ensconced in the store’s secluded window seat, Bliss overhears a whispered phone conversation by the mother of classmate Finn Nordin that appears to be about an adulterous meeting, and she is alarmed. To complicate matters further, Bliss and Finn are picked to represent their school in the grade 11 math competition run by the University of Waterloo. Bliss wonders if she should tell Finn (whom she doesn’t know well) what she overheard. Meanwhile, store regular Mrs. Bart confides to Bliss that Sydney, her pregnant 16-year-old granddaughter, will be staying with her. Might Bliss help her navigate school? Suddenly, Bliss’ orderly math-and-knitting world is turned topsy-turvy. Narrated in the first-person present tense by Bliss’ warm, authentic voice, the story is notable for its depiction of acceptance and community even as things get a bit tense. Main characters read White; others who are diverse in ethnicity and sexuality round out the ensemble. This story delivers nuggets of wisdom, a balanced outlook, and the refuge of knitting—just take it one stitch at a time.

Humorous, wise, and comforting.