ReView: Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez

In order to fully understand a community, we first need to understand those who live in it. In a culturally diverse neighborhood like Scarborough, this means a plethora of different experiences and voices. And from the first opening pages of Scarborough, author Catherine Hernandez expertly does just that.

Through a number of diverse voices and experiences, Hernandez opens the door to understanding the people of communities like Scarborough (which exist all over Canada). Our big cities are often the ones who tell their stories the loudest, but we can learn the most from those whose voices come from outside big urban centers.

Scarborough, the novel, is mainly told through rotating perspectives of three different children growing up in the Scarborough neighborhood; Bing, Laura and Sylvie. Each of them are dealing with their own struggles and battles, whether it be with identity, racism, familial issues or abuse.  By reading this story told from the point of view of the children, we are reminded of how alone we can feel when we are going through something and much of a difference the community around us can make in either fighting against or supporting us. This feeling can be even stronger for children.

Their stories are tied together by other perspectives, including their families, as well as Ms. Hina, who runs a program at the school the kids all attend which gives them a sense of normalcy and a home away from home. They’re treated as unique and cherished individuals, not as broken pieces which don’t fit into the puzzle that is considered “the norm.”

A briskly paced read, Hernandez manages to tell us everything we need to know in order to understand the complexities of living in this space. The characters feel less like fictional characters and more like real, breathing people you might just walk past on the street.  Hernandez manages to be both sympathetic AND unflinching, making you understand and feel for the characters while never shying away from their shortcomings or mistakes.

Scarborough tells important stories which are often overlooked, and it does so in a way that feels like Scarborough itself: gritty, raw and rough around the edges, but never without hope and resilience.