Of Things Not Seen

"In his first young adult novel ... Aker deals powerfully with the theme of physical abuse ... and he renders the dynamics that allow abuse to continue within a family with great credibility.... Highly recommended."
CM Magazine
"With a keen eye for detail, [Aker] describes the painful expose of persistent violence.... Of Things Not Seen is indeed frighteningly credible."
Atlantic Books Today
"In Of Things Not Seen, Aker ... peels away a thin veneer of pastoral charm to reveal brutal generational violence toward women and children and endemic racism.... Aker distills the community and family dynamics, which allow abuse to thrive, into a credible and riveting plot."
The Chronicle Herald
read a complete review of the novel
"Aker's intensity of characterization provides a multifaceted glimpse of the pressures facing a male teen.... This YA novel has one of the best starts of any I have read. I find that reading the first page and a half ... aloud to students elicits a most powerful reaction. As I read, their eyes grow larger and they lean forward, an indication of their involvement. Everyone wants to read this book."
The Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

SYNOPSIS

Grade eleven should be easy for a sixteen-year-old who is a talented writer, but Ben Corbett is desperately struggling to keep his life together. For nine years, he has hidden a secret from his classmates, his teachers, his neighbours, from everyone but his girlfriend, Ann. Now a chance of a lifetime threatens to ruin everything.
Q&A

RECOGNITION

  • Winner of Atlantic Canada's 1996 Ann Connor Brimer Award
  • Winner of the Canadian Authors Association 1996 Lilla Stirling Award
  • Received a starred selection in the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Our Choice Magazine
  • Included in the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Read Canada's Best recommended booklist
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