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Is friendship supposed to feel like walking over the falls?
Brenda is afraid of heights, being in the dark, and dog poop. Then she meets daring, rule-breaking Maureen and realizes their friendship is a bit like walking a tightrope — exciting but dangerous. Maureen encourages Brenda to use fire escapes, sleep outside in a tent, and walk through strange backyards.
Their friendship strains when Maureen makes fun of Harvey, Brenda's special needs neighbour. It strains even further when Maureen borrows Gran's bracelet and lies about returning it. Suddenly, Brenda realizes she has to be as brave as The Great Blondin, the man who walked across the falls, to get it back.
Jennifer Maruno forces her characters to walk the tightrope between right and wrong in order to escape loneliness. Compelling.
1960s Niagara Falls is vividly portrayed in this charming story of two utterly different girls struggling toward friendship.
Readers at any age may see themselves on the pages of this superb historical fiction novel — I know I did. Times have changed, styles have changed, even the expectations placed on children’s behaviour have changed, but children’s hopes, needs, and dreams never do … Until Niagara Falls proves it.
Jennifer Maruno is a long-time educator and author. Her debut novel, When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Award and the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers Choice Award. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.
