Inhabiting the world of Toronto Island in vivid detail, Islanders captures the ache of isolation and belonging amidst the rare backdrop of one of Canada’s most unusual neighbourhoods.

Close-up of a book cover with the title 'ISLANDERS' and 'a novel' written at the bottom.

When teenager Theo Frith discovers the body of Dan Ranier in the harbour ice, the sudden loss jolts their close-knit community, including Theo’s mom, Yvonne, who is struggling to keep her drinking in check, and Dan’s daughter, Maxine, who is left with the senselessness of losing her dad.

Capturing the artists and eccentrics of the ferry-bound world of Toronto Island through multiple timelines and perspectives, Islanders chronicles Yvonne and Dan’s mid-life reckonings before his death, and Theo and Maxine’s coming of age in the wake of the loss that binds them.

Islanders is a tender and deeply attuned exploration of how landscapes can shape us, and the ways we carry one another across time and distance.

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“At times, Islanders is reminiscent of the work of Joan Barfoot; it is a quiet, deep exploration of ordinary human relationships, of needs, regrets, isolation, hope, and reconciliation.”

— Quill & Quire