'Mom used to be a stripper." How's that for an opener that grabs you? In chapter one of Deborah Ellis' bewitching new novel, 11-year-old Khyber takes the opportunity to introduce her family. And as the opening line amply proves, she doesn't waste any time beating around the bush. Her mother used to be a stripper; her father walked out on them years ago; and her twin brothers, David and Daniel, are autistic. There! Doesn't that go to show that a family with a stripper for a mom will stay "screwed up forever?"
Hardly. Put away those handkerchiefs, you won't be needing them. This isn't a sentimental tearjerker about welfare families and their inevitable spiral downward. It's about Khyber knowing that there could be no better family than the one she has already -- and making all those who think otherwise look like a bunch of jerks.