Family and Pride

Co-written by Tom Ryan and Robin Stevenson, When you Get the Chance is the queer teen road trip novel you never know you needed.

Cousins Talia and Mark end up in Toronto due to their grandfather’s death conveniently as Toronto Pride weekend approaches. Living on opposite coasts they have not seen each other in seven year, plus their parents just don’t get along. When their grandmother’s cottage in Muskoka needs tidying to get it ready for sale, the teenagers and Mark’s little sister end up in Muskoka together planning their escape to the city.

There is the most delightful cast of characters in this book. Grandma is a firecracker and true matriarch even if she has lost a few gears. All of the wonderful people Mark, Talia and Paige meet as they make their way from Muskoka to Toronto and then those they meet at Pride teach them each a little bit about themselves, the good and the bad. There are some hard truths thrown out and ultimately growth for the whole Tremblay family, parents included.

I loved how Robin Stevenson and Tom Ryan went back in history to share with readers things about the start of the Pride movement and the birth of the Dyke March. By adding in the old they share an appreciation of how far the movement has come and how much work there is still left to do in the world. Babs and Shirley are two of the greatest characters. They reminded me of another character I recently encountered in Tanya Boteju’s Kings, Queens and In-Betweens, the older, wiser character(s) who have paved the way and offer sage advice.

At the beginning I didn’t love Talia. I really didn’t connect with her voice, she was a bit of a know it all and was right about everything, at least to her mind. The further I got into the story the most I began to appreciate her, her strength is what made her intriguing. It was so wonderful to track her growth throughout the story and to see how she eventually opened up and began to come into herself more, began to discover the person she is becoming. 

This was a breeze of a read, full of fun and adventure and so much learning. When You Get The Chance is a fabulous summer teen read!