With the synopsis focused on Blair’s arrival to Trudeau High I had expected The Bad Luck Nickel to be a more conventional story. Instead we’re thrown into the middle of conflict, Blair not only already in the band but the other members blowing off a show to get back at him. It’s an interesting place to start. The beginning took me a moment to orient myself but I do appreciate the choice. The book’s greatest strength lies with its characters’ relationships – a tangled and delicate web wrought with all the turmoil and overwhelm of teenagerdom. 

Even so, I do find myself disappointed that Marco’s complexity isn’t reflected in his sister. Not long after her introduction she says another girl ‘has nothing of substance’ which only served to highlight her own lack. And that isn’t confined to her. Vicky’s characterisation is also boy and addiction focused. Done well, in my opinon, but overall more simplistic than the boys. I would unfortunately say the same for Bianca, and especially Rainbow. But it was also disappointing when this was the case for its antagonists who were very flat and one dimensional and that difference was stark and ill-fitting in the face of its complicated and complex cast. 

There’s a willingness to deal with complicated subjects to varying degrees of success. Parental abandonment is handled well. Grief. Girls who date grown men not so much. And even less Blair’s relationship with Rainbow. At least there’s some aspersion cast on the grown men. The fire storm that falls on Blair was conspicuously missing mention of that. While not always tense, however, I really liked its portrayal of addiction. The weakening of the effectiveness and subsequent need to increase the dose to maintain its effectiveness. Both the reckoning with the effects and the support extended to the girls. I do feel it wrapped up too neatly though. 

In the narrative there were moments which were skipped over and then related back. These were some of the tenser moments and this undercut them. But mostly I enjoyed the shape of the story. Sprinkling interviews through it kept focus without pulling too far from its main cast and provided intrigue. It also contributed to the fantastic and fascinating representation of Blair as both focus and outsider. 

Thanks to iRead Book Tours and Matthew Leslie. I leave this review voluntarily.