For about 30 years I lived south of the neighbourhood described in this book, but in a very different, middle-class, largely white environment. I saw people from this area every day at the Kennedy subway station or on the Morningside bus. Not so much when I commuted on the GO Train.

It is fascinating to get a real insight into the lives of so many people who live in Scarborough and similar locations. The people who survive on low-paying, insecure jobs are forced into tough lives on the margins of our society.

One thing I found odd was the constant references to the Rouge valley. The Rouge River is several kilometres further east of where this book is set. If the characters were going into the river valley beside their homes, which they no doubt were, they went down to Highland Creek. I checked Google Maps a couple times while reading the book to make sure I wasn't confused. I wasn't.