Eight Days

About this book

How do you face a heartbreaking past?

One day at a time.

Or as Aggie says, one crisis at a time.

In Teresa Toten’s compelling new novel Eight Days, Samantha finds out that the mother she thought had died years ago has actually just passed away. Added to this charged secret is her recovering alcoholic grandfather’s strange behaviour and sudden insistence that he take Sami back to Chicago to retrieve her mother’s body.

Luckily, Sami’s beloved neighbour and surrogate mother figure, Aggie, insists on coming on the road trip, bringing along her quirky sense of humour and fantastic wig collection.

The eight-day journey takes us from Toronto to Chicago and back again, as Sami, an American living with her grandfather in a Muslim-dominated apartment complex in Toronto, struggles to find out who she is and where she belongs.

Infused with warmth and love, even as family struggles and secrets are torn open, Eight Days is ultimately about forgiveness and strength in community. It is truly a novel for our times.

Reviews

A note from the author:

“Eight Days is a journey book about a teen girl who is hungry for family and has felt “other” her entire life. Over the course of an eight-day car trip to and from Chicago, Sami finds her voice as she pieces together who she is and where she belongs. Although some of the days are dark, they are woven with shards of humour and light, for ultimately, this journey is one of love.” — Teresa Toten