In Search of Sam

Gr 7 Up—In a field of palpitating hearts and dystopian societies, this realistic novel is a refreshing change. Eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster is not deeply troubled, her stepfather is not a monster, she has a wonderful relationship with her parents, and no one is bullying her. Instead, the story focuses on the death of the biological father she barely knew and the inheritance he left her. Dani, by choice, meets with her father's attorney alone to receive her inheritance, and then goes on a bit of a road trip through British Columbia in which she begins to discover her paternal roots and manages to save a dying town with the help of her entrepreneurial stepfather. Butcher adeptly creates a feel-good story that has the flavor of Jonathan Friesen's Jerk, California (Speak, 2008), sans the angst. This follow-up to Truths I Learned from Sam (Dudurn, 2013) can easily stand on its own, but Butcher's overreliance on clichés and pat plotlines may get tiresome.