THIRTEEN STONES

A teenage girl explores the implications of her father’s life and work amid the social and political upheaval of 1950s Canada in this installment of Warren’s Centrewood Cycle.

In October 1957, Lois Michelsen and her parents, Graham and Emily, travel from their home in Centrewood, a planned community north of Toronto, to Niagara Falls so that Graham can investigate Lois’ vision of a Native American chief and dancing warriors that she experienced during a ceremony for the unveiling of the Avro Arrow aircraft; Graham is Avro’s chief aeronautical engineer. They meet with Chief Fred King of the New Credit First Nation Reserve of the Mississaugas, who confirms that Lois’ vision was of a Mississauga chief. Graham and Fred discuss an 1805 treaty agreement which resulted in the unjust sale of Mississauga land where the Avro plant was later built. Graham later brings up the claim with his colleagues at Avro, but before any action can be taken, agents from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrive at the Michelsen home prepared to charge Lois’ parents as Communist sympathizers. Although the crisis is quickly averted, the Michelsen family faces another challenge when Eszter Molnar, the mother of Lois’ friend, Becky, asks Graham to act as executor of her estate and have her power of attorney. As the family contemplates the implications of the request, Emily continues to encourage Lois’ friendship with Mitsy Gardiner, another local girl; however, Mitsy’s troubled life leads to a tragedy that could change Lois’ life forever. Warren’s sequel to Once in a New Moon (2017) continues the story of Lois’ coming-of-age in Canada in the ’50s while expanding on the backstories and histories of significant supporting characters. Throughout, Lois continues to find her voice as an advocate for the First Nations Mississauga while dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a teenager, including coping with peer pressure. The story of Eszter’s past in Hungary and the circumstances of her immigration to Canada emerge as a compelling and multilayered subplot as her request becomes a source of concern for Graham and Emily in the second half of the novel. Mitsy, a supporting character in Once in a New Moon, is also a strong central character in this installment as Lois learns more about her friend’s family history and risky lifestyle. The book contains minor spelling inconsistencies in secondary characters’ names. Declan Callaghan, one of Mitsy’s friends, is referred to as both “Corky” and “Corkie,” and Mrs. Molnar’s first name is spelled “Ezster” and “Eszter.”

A satisfying continuation of a historical epic.