Here for a Good Time

By: Kim Spencer

Narrated by: Elle Jackson

A poignant coming-of-age YA featuring an Indigenous teen girl grappling with the effects of intergenerational trauma while navigating school, family and young love, by the bestselling author of Weird Rules to Follow.

It is 1990. Morgan has lived all her life in the small fishing town of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia. Ever since her mom took off when she was ten, Morgan has kept an eye on her dad, a commercial fisherman who works hard and occasionally parties even harder. After struggling to keep up and find a place at a public high school, Morgan's best friend Skye convinces her to attend an alternate school.

There, she meets Nate. Both cute and intelligent, Nate introduces her to a wider worldview, including music, movies and books, and becomes a lifeline after an unimaginable tragedy strikes. In the aftermath, Morgan learns hard truths about her mother's painful past and the resulting intergenerational effects of that trauma, and as she struggles to come to terms with her new reality, an unexpected development offers a chance of a fresh start, with love and forgiveness at its core.

Critic reviews

"Gitxaała Nation author Spencer (I Won’t Feel This Way Forever) deploys frank, realistic portrayals of residential schools, sexual violence, and suicide in this emotionally raw novel about a white and Indigenous teen in 1990 British Columbia struggling to navigate shifting relationships upon uncovering harsh truths about her family’s past. . . . Short chapters and breezy language relay this somber rumination on family and its influence on finding one’s place in the world." —Publishers Weekly

"Spencer writes with sincerity about a 'fictionalized Indigenous community,' examining how intergenerational trauma from residential schools affected families. The short, easily digestible chapters sustain an effective pace, and Morgan is a realistically drawn teen with conflicting emotions, desires, and needs. A moving rendition of growing up in tumultuous times and circumstances." —Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will understand Morgan’s highs and lows, sympathize when life is hard, and cheer her on when she makes lemonade out of lemons. . . . A great historical fiction addition for libraries needing more books for reluctant readers." —School Library Journal

"A look into a life marred by tragedies, both her own and bigger, more consequential ones she's still trying to fully understand." —Booklist