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Junie
A riveting exploration of the complexity within mother-daughter relationships and the dynamic vitality of Vancouver's former Hogan's Alley neighbourhood.
1930s, Hogan's Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver's East End. Junie is a creative, observant child who moves to the alley with her mother, a jazz singer with a growing alcohol dependency. Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships with two mentors and a girl her own age, Estelle, whose resilient and entrepreneurial mother is grappling with white scrutiny and the fact that she never really wanted a child.
As Junie finds adulthood, exploring her artistic talents and burgeoning sexuality, her mother sinks further into the bottle while the thriving neighbourhood—once gushing with potential—begins to change. As her world opens, Junie intuits the opposite for the community she loves.
Told through the fascinating lens of a bright woman in an oft-disquieting world, this book is intimate and urgent—not just an unflinching look at the destruction of a vibrant community, but a celebration of the Black lives within.
1930s, Hogan's Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver's East End. Junie is a creative, observant child who moves to the alley with her mother, a jazz singer with a growing alcohol dependency. Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships with two mentors and a girl her own age, Estelle, whose resilient and entrepreneurial mother is grappling with white scrutiny and the fact that she never really wanted a child.
As Junie finds adulthood, exploring her artistic talents and burgeoning sexuality, her mother sinks further into the bottle while the thriving neighbourhood—once gushing with potential—begins to change. As her world opens, Junie intuits the opposite for the community she loves.
Told through the fascinating lens of a bright woman in an oft-disquieting world, this book is intimate and urgent—not just an unflinching look at the destruction of a vibrant community, but a celebration of the Black lives within.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2022
29 people are currently reading
993 people want to read
About the author
Chelene Knight
8 books85 followersChelene Knight is the author of the Braided Skin (Mother Tongue 2015) the memoir Dear Current Occupant, winner of the 2018 Vancouver Book Award, and long-listed for the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. Her novel, Junie (Book*hug 2022) is winner of the 2023 Vancouver Book Award, long-listed for the inaugural Carol Shields Fiction Prize and a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Prize for LGBTQ fiction. Her book of narrative nonfiction, Let It Go is forthcoming with HarperCollins Canada January 2024, and her guided journal for writers is forthcoming with House of Anansi January 2025.
Her essays have appeared in multiple Canadian and American literary journals, plus the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, and the Toronto Star.
Her work is anthologized in Making Room, Love Me True, Sustenance, The Summer Book, and Black Writers Matter, winner of the 2020 Saskatchewan Book Award. Her poem, “Welwitschia” won the 2020 CV2 Editor's Choice award. She was shortlisted for PRISM's 2021 short forms contest.
Knight was the previous managing editor at Room magazine, and the previous festival director for the Growing Room Festival in Vancouver and previously worked as a literary agent with the Transatlantic Agency. She has also worked as a professor of poetry at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia. Chelene is now founder of her own literary studio,Breathing Space Creative through which she’s launched The Forever Writers Club, a membership for writers focused on creative sustainability, and the Thrive Coaching Program.
Her essays have appeared in multiple Canadian and American literary journals, plus the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, and the Toronto Star.
Her work is anthologized in Making Room, Love Me True, Sustenance, The Summer Book, and Black Writers Matter, winner of the 2020 Saskatchewan Book Award. Her poem, “Welwitschia” won the 2020 CV2 Editor's Choice award. She was shortlisted for PRISM's 2021 short forms contest.
Knight was the previous managing editor at Room magazine, and the previous festival director for the Growing Room Festival in Vancouver and previously worked as a literary agent with the Transatlantic Agency. She has also worked as a professor of poetry at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia. Chelene is now founder of her own literary studio,Breathing Space Creative through which she’s launched The Forever Writers Club, a membership for writers focused on creative sustainability, and the Thrive Coaching Program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
August 17, 2022
serves as an exploration of the rather complicated nature of the relationship between mothers and daughters. chelene knight expertly details the want a daughter overwhelmingly feels when near her mother, the immediate defence of “she’s a different kind of mama” that shapes you in childhood, and the gradual acceptance in adulthood that whilst they will never change, the love you feel towards them, whilst darkened now, will always remain inside you.
additionally tells the story of what it means to be a black queer woman in a black and immigrant community in 1930s vancouver’s east end. witnessing a young junie begin to understand her feelings about women as opposed to men, the way her world brightens with colour as she accepts these feelings, was heartwarming. the love that enters her life, overdue from her childhood, creates a picture that is worth a thousand words.
junie is an artist. the way her world opens up with colours as she grows, which reflect in her artwork, and then in knight’s writing was masterful. the writing had a sense of lyricism attached to it. the flow, similar to the flow of the river junie once paints, felt at once both easy and soothing. beautiful is the only word that fits the words used, and sentences created, but that feels like an understatement. i fell in love with knight’s craft. i did not know of her before this, but what an introduction this was to her. i doubt she will ever read this, but if she does, i want her to truly understand just how talented she is. never have i ever read writing so beautiful, writing that so easily paints a picture of what and who it is trying to encapsulate. breathtaking at times, the writing will stay with me forever.
some of my favourite quotations, out of many highlighted pages, are as follows:
“Mama wraps her arm around me and pulls me close. She leans in and kisses me on the cheek. The sky’s stars fall into my lap. I wake with a jolt.”
“love. maybe it is honeyed and bright pink in hue. When I paint, I clench love. I hold on to the smallest piece of love and love sticks out from the bottom of my fist. Passersby try to lunge at love, try to steal love from between my small fingers. But oh, I am prepared now. I do not let go of love. I look up at the sky as the bright pink dims to purple then to midnight speckled with white. Glowing eyes. Then I go stargazing. I dip my brush in the paint. I raise my hands to the sky and let love loose.”
“i drink poetry. inhale it. I invent new colours, and I want the whole world to see them. For the first time, I can see the skyline lift above the East End. Beyond the mountains there’s a world bigger than me, and bigger than the tiny yet warm neighbourhood I’ve tethered myself to.”
“i can see my future. It’s not that far away. Maybe just behind the mountains. Or down the street. But I feel the weight of Mama’s palms pushing me into the ground, rooting me there. If I get plucked from the earth, I promise to fling seeds just past the coral ring of the setting sun.”
“The years sail by. I say again, the years sail by. One final gust sparks smoky grey as the last neon light burns out. The bristles of my brush dry into whispers. All my people tip their hats. A long goodbye whistles across the back of my neck.”
ultimately, this book is a love letter to the black lives within it; a celebration of their lives. it was an honour to be welcomed into them, and to celebrate them as they deserve.
the publication date is the 13th of september 2022. pre-order this. buy this. add it to your to-read list. request a copy. love this. share this with friends and family alike. it is worth every penny, and every minute you will spend reading it.
thank you to netgalley and book*hug press publications for the arc.
additionally tells the story of what it means to be a black queer woman in a black and immigrant community in 1930s vancouver’s east end. witnessing a young junie begin to understand her feelings about women as opposed to men, the way her world brightens with colour as she accepts these feelings, was heartwarming. the love that enters her life, overdue from her childhood, creates a picture that is worth a thousand words.
junie is an artist. the way her world opens up with colours as she grows, which reflect in her artwork, and then in knight’s writing was masterful. the writing had a sense of lyricism attached to it. the flow, similar to the flow of the river junie once paints, felt at once both easy and soothing. beautiful is the only word that fits the words used, and sentences created, but that feels like an understatement. i fell in love with knight’s craft. i did not know of her before this, but what an introduction this was to her. i doubt she will ever read this, but if she does, i want her to truly understand just how talented she is. never have i ever read writing so beautiful, writing that so easily paints a picture of what and who it is trying to encapsulate. breathtaking at times, the writing will stay with me forever.
some of my favourite quotations, out of many highlighted pages, are as follows:
“Mama wraps her arm around me and pulls me close. She leans in and kisses me on the cheek. The sky’s stars fall into my lap. I wake with a jolt.”
“love. maybe it is honeyed and bright pink in hue. When I paint, I clench love. I hold on to the smallest piece of love and love sticks out from the bottom of my fist. Passersby try to lunge at love, try to steal love from between my small fingers. But oh, I am prepared now. I do not let go of love. I look up at the sky as the bright pink dims to purple then to midnight speckled with white. Glowing eyes. Then I go stargazing. I dip my brush in the paint. I raise my hands to the sky and let love loose.”
“i drink poetry. inhale it. I invent new colours, and I want the whole world to see them. For the first time, I can see the skyline lift above the East End. Beyond the mountains there’s a world bigger than me, and bigger than the tiny yet warm neighbourhood I’ve tethered myself to.”
“i can see my future. It’s not that far away. Maybe just behind the mountains. Or down the street. But I feel the weight of Mama’s palms pushing me into the ground, rooting me there. If I get plucked from the earth, I promise to fling seeds just past the coral ring of the setting sun.”
“The years sail by. I say again, the years sail by. One final gust sparks smoky grey as the last neon light burns out. The bristles of my brush dry into whispers. All my people tip their hats. A long goodbye whistles across the back of my neck.”
ultimately, this book is a love letter to the black lives within it; a celebration of their lives. it was an honour to be welcomed into them, and to celebrate them as they deserve.
the publication date is the 13th of september 2022. pre-order this. buy this. add it to your to-read list. request a copy. love this. share this with friends and family alike. it is worth every penny, and every minute you will spend reading it.
thank you to netgalley and book*hug press publications for the arc.
September 7, 2022
Two young black teen girls, their mothers, a school teacher and bookshop owner come together in Junie by Vancouver author Chelene Knight.
The story begins when Junie and her mother Maddie move into the east end of Vancouver in an area known as Hogan’s Alley in 1933. Maddie is a singer with a sultry voice and a penchant for alcohol. Maddie carries a sketchbook with her everywhere to capture the beauty of the world around her. At school, Junie meets Estelle and they become fast friends. Estelle’s mother Faye owns one of the bars that Maddie sings at for a time. Both girls struggle with getting love from their mothers. Junie’s teacher Miss Shirley and Mr. Andrew from the bookshop play important roles in shaping Junie’s growth.
Themes of mother/daughter relationships, love, self actualization and friendship are foremost themes in this book. While Junie’s mom loves her daughter, she struggles to be a good mom and is quite narcissistic. If only she could see how special her daughter is and embrace Junie’s exceptionalism. Estelle’s mother, Faye, has decided that she didn’t really want a child and is focussed on independence and running a successful business-something uncommon for a black woman in Vancouver in the 1930s.
The setting, with its real streets and fictionalized shops and bars, felt vibrant and alive. I loved Junie’s observations of the world around her and how it inspired her artwork.
Racism and homophobia are real threats and present in the lives of the characters.
Watching the young girls grow into young women and seeing their different trajectories was absorbing and heartfelt. How they interact with each other, the choices they make and how they reconcile those actions felt interesting and realistic.
This is a relaxed yet powerful story. Thank you to @bookhug_press and @zgstories for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Junie is available September 13, 2022.
The story begins when Junie and her mother Maddie move into the east end of Vancouver in an area known as Hogan’s Alley in 1933. Maddie is a singer with a sultry voice and a penchant for alcohol. Maddie carries a sketchbook with her everywhere to capture the beauty of the world around her. At school, Junie meets Estelle and they become fast friends. Estelle’s mother Faye owns one of the bars that Maddie sings at for a time. Both girls struggle with getting love from their mothers. Junie’s teacher Miss Shirley and Mr. Andrew from the bookshop play important roles in shaping Junie’s growth.
Themes of mother/daughter relationships, love, self actualization and friendship are foremost themes in this book. While Junie’s mom loves her daughter, she struggles to be a good mom and is quite narcissistic. If only she could see how special her daughter is and embrace Junie’s exceptionalism. Estelle’s mother, Faye, has decided that she didn’t really want a child and is focussed on independence and running a successful business-something uncommon for a black woman in Vancouver in the 1930s.
The setting, with its real streets and fictionalized shops and bars, felt vibrant and alive. I loved Junie’s observations of the world around her and how it inspired her artwork.
Racism and homophobia are real threats and present in the lives of the characters.
Watching the young girls grow into young women and seeing their different trajectories was absorbing and heartfelt. How they interact with each other, the choices they make and how they reconcile those actions felt interesting and realistic.
This is a relaxed yet powerful story. Thank you to @bookhug_press and @zgstories for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Junie is available September 13, 2022.
September 14, 2022
“Junie” was a slow burn, but keeps you invested up until the very end. Following the life of Junie Lancaster, the story takes place in the 1930s and starts with Junie and her mother, Maddie, moving to Hogan's Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver's East End. From here, the author introduces us to a variety of new characters that will eventually come to shape Junie’s life in unimaginable ways. I really liked that each chapter focused on different narratives to help the reader understand the different perspectives throughout.
The dynamic between Junie and Maddie are toxic. Junie wants the love of a mother, however, Maddie’s alcohol dependency makes her mean and manipulative. If you’ve ever had a parent suffering from this disease, the author does a great job of portraying that dynamic between parent and child, and the emotional abuse that comes along with it.
As Junie comes into adulthood, I enjoyed seeing her creativity blossom and the outside forces that come together to help her realize her true potential and talent. I also loved that she finally begins to explore her sexuality that helps her find her voice to stand up for what she believes in.
This was a win for me.
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The dynamic between Junie and Maddie are toxic. Junie wants the love of a mother, however, Maddie’s alcohol dependency makes her mean and manipulative. If you’ve ever had a parent suffering from this disease, the author does a great job of portraying that dynamic between parent and child, and the emotional abuse that comes along with it.
As Junie comes into adulthood, I enjoyed seeing her creativity blossom and the outside forces that come together to help her realize her true potential and talent. I also loved that she finally begins to explore her sexuality that helps her find her voice to stand up for what she believes in.
This was a win for me.
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September 5, 2022
✨BOOK REVIEW✨
Junie
By Charlene Knight
This book,may quite possibly be one of the most beautifully woven stories that I have ever had the chance to read.
Each sentence felt like poetry to me. Knight sure knows how to create vivid and bright characters.
This book does touch on topics that some may be sensitive to such as alcoholism, questions about sexual identity, and moments of abandonment/lack of parenting issues.
It was truly a moving story, and an extremely well done piece of literature.
Junie
By Charlene Knight
This book,may quite possibly be one of the most beautifully woven stories that I have ever had the chance to read.
Each sentence felt like poetry to me. Knight sure knows how to create vivid and bright characters.
This book does touch on topics that some may be sensitive to such as alcoholism, questions about sexual identity, and moments of abandonment/lack of parenting issues.
It was truly a moving story, and an extremely well done piece of literature.
January 30, 2023
3.5* This felt more like short stories, all vivid and evocative. Getting to learn about Hogan’s Alley in the ‘30s was definitely a highlight. There was complexity in mother-daughter relationships and friendships.
January 8, 2024
I couldn't put this book down... what a wonderful character Junie is! Gives hope to anyone fighting an uphill battle, and living their best life. Simply a wonderful book.
February 20, 2023
Character driven coming of age and coming out novel featuring mother daughter relationships, friendships, and mentorships. Although the novel has dramatic and poignant moments, Knight’s writing style is subtle and understated. Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley neighbourhood setting was not as much a focus of novel as I’d expected. For me, enjoyed the reading of but don’t think it’ll be especially memorable.
January 22, 2023
3.5
Slow build, definitely character driven. Great for readers that enjoy more experimental narrative structure.
Slow build, definitely character driven. Great for readers that enjoy more experimental narrative structure.
June 18, 2022
--I have received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
This is, above all else, a book about love in all its forms, be it a child's unconditional love for a parent, the love between friends, and the romantic love shared between partners. This is a book about how love is both scary, exhilarating, and can break you when it is unrequited, but it's always there in some way. Love doesn't follow a pattern, it always involves more than one person, and it is absolutely boundless and does not have any sort of pacing: sometimes it moves fast, and sometimes it moves at a snail's pace. This translates a little too well in Junie, where the pacing is really weird at times, there's no real sense of time passing, and we have a few too many character perspectives for any one of them to really stand out or ever feel completely three dimensional. I really wish we just stayed with Junie and her perspective because it's very clear that Ms. Knight poured her heart and soul into this character and some of the most beautiful moments of writing are in Junie's segments. That said, perhaps the most perplexing parts of the book happen in her segments, too: The other perspectives end with essentially a summary of what you just read (which was a little irritating given how short the segments were), but Junie's end in first person. I have absolutely no idea why, it seems like an odd decision, but I got used to it after a while. I call the different character points of view segments because that's really what they seem to be: just a series of vignettes about things that happen that don't really connect with any of the other characters at some indiscriminate time frame. There's no real overarching story, this is more of what I call a "things happen" book: a book where a bunch of things just kind of happen with very little reaction or any real consequences for our main characters. This could be rectified by keeping the story in one or two perspectives instead of five (and the teacher's didn't need to be included at all in my opinion) so we can really get to know our characters better.
I know it seems like I hated this book, but I honestly didn't, those are just some things that stood out. The biggest thing that stood out was the writing. This book is beautifully written without being too flowery or dripping with purple prose. I also really liked the LGBT representation and how Junie just always kind of knew she was different.
Overall, this is a very pretty book in both cover and contents, it's just maybe a little overambitious in how it tells that story.
This is, above all else, a book about love in all its forms, be it a child's unconditional love for a parent, the love between friends, and the romantic love shared between partners. This is a book about how love is both scary, exhilarating, and can break you when it is unrequited, but it's always there in some way. Love doesn't follow a pattern, it always involves more than one person, and it is absolutely boundless and does not have any sort of pacing: sometimes it moves fast, and sometimes it moves at a snail's pace. This translates a little too well in Junie, where the pacing is really weird at times, there's no real sense of time passing, and we have a few too many character perspectives for any one of them to really stand out or ever feel completely three dimensional. I really wish we just stayed with Junie and her perspective because it's very clear that Ms. Knight poured her heart and soul into this character and some of the most beautiful moments of writing are in Junie's segments. That said, perhaps the most perplexing parts of the book happen in her segments, too: The other perspectives end with essentially a summary of what you just read (which was a little irritating given how short the segments were), but Junie's end in first person. I have absolutely no idea why, it seems like an odd decision, but I got used to it after a while. I call the different character points of view segments because that's really what they seem to be: just a series of vignettes about things that happen that don't really connect with any of the other characters at some indiscriminate time frame. There's no real overarching story, this is more of what I call a "things happen" book: a book where a bunch of things just kind of happen with very little reaction or any real consequences for our main characters. This could be rectified by keeping the story in one or two perspectives instead of five (and the teacher's didn't need to be included at all in my opinion) so we can really get to know our characters better.
I know it seems like I hated this book, but I honestly didn't, those are just some things that stood out. The biggest thing that stood out was the writing. This book is beautifully written without being too flowery or dripping with purple prose. I also really liked the LGBT representation and how Junie just always kind of knew she was different.
Overall, this is a very pretty book in both cover and contents, it's just maybe a little overambitious in how it tells that story.
December 16, 2022
Junie is about a young Black lesbian growing up in 1930s Canada, and whilst it shined at exploring the relationships of its characters, it was let down by an odd narrative style.
It's told in small segments from the POV of various characters, and then each segment has a small separate paragraph at the end that reflects on/ relates to the previous section (in Junie's POV these were in 1st person for some reason). The shortness of the segments meant scenes often ended abruptly and felt unfinished, and then we had some scenes/ POVs that didn't tie into any sort of overarching story and felt unnecessary. And the end parts, whilst sometimes insightful, more often felt irrelevant.
This was a shame because the story itself, and especially its characters, were compelling. Junie explores mother-daughter relationships, coming-of-age, friendships, sexuality and race beautifully and the emotional core of the story really hits home.
The narrative style might work better for others than it did me (I sense it's a YMMV matter) and if so the actual story being told here is worth a read.
It's told in small segments from the POV of various characters, and then each segment has a small separate paragraph at the end that reflects on/ relates to the previous section (in Junie's POV these were in 1st person for some reason). The shortness of the segments meant scenes often ended abruptly and felt unfinished, and then we had some scenes/ POVs that didn't tie into any sort of overarching story and felt unnecessary. And the end parts, whilst sometimes insightful, more often felt irrelevant.
This was a shame because the story itself, and especially its characters, were compelling. Junie explores mother-daughter relationships, coming-of-age, friendships, sexuality and race beautifully and the emotional core of the story really hits home.
The narrative style might work better for others than it did me (I sense it's a YMMV matter) and if so the actual story being told here is worth a read.
February 24, 2023
I found myself so frustrated by this book. The prose was well done, and there were many instances where a line made me stop in my tracks because of how much I liked it, but felt that the author more told us what was happening than showed us. For example, there is so much talk about how vibrant the neighborhood is but I didn’t feel like that was shown anywhere. And some of the chapters are titled based on the character they’re focused on but it’s written mostly in third person so that felt…unnecessary. I’m able to figure out that the chapter is focused on Estelle when the first sentence starts with her name. It’s like the author didn’t trust the reader to get what she was trying to convey so there was a lot of over-explanation.
The worst part was the dialogue - I found it thin, awkward and stilted. I’ve seen some other reviews say this was written in an experimental style and maybe that’s why I didn’t like it. I would pick up something else by this author because I did like the use of language in descriptions and things that weren’t dialogue, but this one just missed the mark for me.
The worst part was the dialogue - I found it thin, awkward and stilted. I’ve seen some other reviews say this was written in an experimental style and maybe that’s why I didn’t like it. I would pick up something else by this author because I did like the use of language in descriptions and things that weren’t dialogue, but this one just missed the mark for me.
January 11, 2024
This was probably 2.5 stars for me. There were some beautiful sentences here and there, but overall the writing felt flat, the dialogue cheesy and hard to believe. I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters. The author mentioned that she wanted readers to get a feel for the beauty and lively nature of the East End, but I walked away feeling very much disconnected from the setting. I know other people loved it, but it was a “meh” for me.
January 17, 2023
JUNIE was one of the slowest and most confusing books I read last year. The writing is unclear; I didn't know whether we were following two different timelines at once or if Junie was supposed to be a very insightful little girl in her younger days. There was an overall lack of consistency.
January 23, 2023
2.5 stars? I don’t know how to rate this novel. There’s nothing wrong but there’s nothing really right either. It was like a long short story but not so well put together. Just meh.
November 11, 2022
|| JUNIE ||
•
"I close my eyes to the wind. The East End heats. The grease-slicked puddles do nothing to deter me from hugging these streets with laughter. This is breathtaking. I am home. The trees wilt when it rains, bowing to me as I pass. I see the mountains when I close my eyes. My guide. On Sunday mornings I sip on steaming cups of black coffee folded by a ribbon of cream. I dream of standing on my fire escape wearing my favorite white lace dress with the scoop neck, the one Mama told me makes me look older than I am. On Sundays I sit out with my pad and my pens and sketch the essence of this neighborhood." ~pg.177
•
In the 1930s Hogan's Alley was a thriving Black and immigrant community in Vancouver's East End. Junie a budding young artist, moves to the alley with her mother, a singer with an alcohol dependency problem. Their relationship is complex and Junie is more the adult than the child, but she quickly finds meaning and comfort in the Alley. Forming relationships with two supportive adults and a girl her own age, who also has a complex mother but in differing ways than Junie's. As Junie comes of age her artistic talents bloom as well as her burgeoning sexuality, which strains her relationship with her ignorant mother further. As Junie's world continues to flourish and she finds the independence she craved and dreamed of the future of the community she loves and held dear will fade with the building of the Georgia Viaduct and never recover.
✍🏻
A dazzling debut exploring community, motherhood, Blackness, queerness, and complex mother-daughter relationships.
I loved this book!! It's one of thoes books you hold tight after reading it because it's so special. Knight did an impressive and beautiful job bringing this former thriving community to the page through these very real feeling characters while also exploring meaningful subject matters including thoes listed above as well as friendship, racism, and homophobia. It reminded me of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn but I loved that it centers on Blackness and a queer protagonist instead. This will go down as one of my favorites of the year and I can't wait to see what Chelene Knight does next!
Gifted to me by the publisher opinions are my own.
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
•
"I close my eyes to the wind. The East End heats. The grease-slicked puddles do nothing to deter me from hugging these streets with laughter. This is breathtaking. I am home. The trees wilt when it rains, bowing to me as I pass. I see the mountains when I close my eyes. My guide. On Sunday mornings I sip on steaming cups of black coffee folded by a ribbon of cream. I dream of standing on my fire escape wearing my favorite white lace dress with the scoop neck, the one Mama told me makes me look older than I am. On Sundays I sit out with my pad and my pens and sketch the essence of this neighborhood." ~pg.177
•
In the 1930s Hogan's Alley was a thriving Black and immigrant community in Vancouver's East End. Junie a budding young artist, moves to the alley with her mother, a singer with an alcohol dependency problem. Their relationship is complex and Junie is more the adult than the child, but she quickly finds meaning and comfort in the Alley. Forming relationships with two supportive adults and a girl her own age, who also has a complex mother but in differing ways than Junie's. As Junie comes of age her artistic talents bloom as well as her burgeoning sexuality, which strains her relationship with her ignorant mother further. As Junie's world continues to flourish and she finds the independence she craved and dreamed of the future of the community she loves and held dear will fade with the building of the Georgia Viaduct and never recover.
✍🏻
A dazzling debut exploring community, motherhood, Blackness, queerness, and complex mother-daughter relationships.
I loved this book!! It's one of thoes books you hold tight after reading it because it's so special. Knight did an impressive and beautiful job bringing this former thriving community to the page through these very real feeling characters while also exploring meaningful subject matters including thoes listed above as well as friendship, racism, and homophobia. It reminded me of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn but I loved that it centers on Blackness and a queer protagonist instead. This will go down as one of my favorites of the year and I can't wait to see what Chelene Knight does next!
Gifted to me by the publisher opinions are my own.
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
February 24, 2025
Chelene Knight’s writing is so vivid - I was transported to Vancouver’s East End. Each character came alive in these compressed vignettes that conveyed so much, and Knight Em yes each person and place with individuality and wholeness. I would like to spend more time with Junior and appreciate the ways in which she sees her world. And a big hug to Miss Shirley, too.
September 14, 2025
I give this book 3 stars because I liked it, but I didn't quite love it. I thought the descriptions were often beautiful, and the narrative kept me engaged in the main characters, but I also thought that the dialog was stilted and sometimes written like a psychologist talking, but not like real characters would speak. Having lived for years in Vancouver where the story is set, I would have liked to see the city featured more prominently rather than keeping nearly all action with just a few blocks at Hogan's Alley. I loved the poetic prose at the end of each chapter which gave the story a roundness and softness, and I wonder if Junie the character is actually the author.
February 22, 2023
4.5
Gorgeous prose in this kunstlerroman.
Gorgeous prose in this kunstlerroman.
December 4, 2023
Really good!! Loved the Vancouver setting!
Thank you to Book*hug Press for my gifted review copy!
Thank you to Book*hug Press for my gifted review copy!
August 23, 2024
A quick read about a community in a city I don’t know much about during an era I don’t know much about. Loved! My second last Canada Reads, last CR novel!!
April 6, 2023
I loved Junie! Hogan’s Alley must have been wonderful and difficult at the same time! Such interesting mother daughter relationships! A great and difficult read!
September 15, 2022
The past pulses to life in this sublime coming-of-age story!
How did the book make me feel/think?
I live in Vancouver. I have walked, driven, across, under, and around the Georgia Viaduct thousands of times, ignorant of the vibrant black community that used to lay where the viaduct is now.
I was introduced to Hogan’s alley in the fantastic book, Becoming Vancouver (Daniel Francis). Even with the introduction, I remained blind to the thriving community erased by gentrification and the displacement of those who added matchless character to the city.
Systemic racism saw to that. The city’s leaders decided moving cars in and out of the city’s core was more important than protecting a beating, thriving heart. I’m appalled.
Thanks to Junie, when I walk under the viaduct now, in the now nondescript area once known as Hogan’s Alley, the area springs to life. I can hear cheerful souls rejoicing, jazz floating through the air. The fragrance of different tickles the senses.
Chelene Knight is masterful at bringing what once was to life and reminding us of what could have been if we had only evolved. Are we evolving, even today?
In this enchanting coming-of-age story, Knight explores what it is like to be a young black girl growing up in a harsh world where her mother does not relish the role because alcohol and unreachable dreams have muddied her mind. Her mother’s unquenchable thirst for the spotlight, coupled with neglecting her daughter’s needs—turns Junie into the matriarch by default as she tries to find her way in a racist world.
Knight arouses the enormity facing Junie (including sexuality), as she has to be strong, not only for her mother but also for her best friend, whose mother, the polar opposite of Junie’s, also doesn’t relish the role of motherhood.
I walk by where Hogan’s Alley used to be once more; it pulses to life. I see Junie walk on by, smiling.
WRITTEN: 15 September 2022
How did the book make me feel/think?
I live in Vancouver. I have walked, driven, across, under, and around the Georgia Viaduct thousands of times, ignorant of the vibrant black community that used to lay where the viaduct is now.
I was introduced to Hogan’s alley in the fantastic book, Becoming Vancouver (Daniel Francis). Even with the introduction, I remained blind to the thriving community erased by gentrification and the displacement of those who added matchless character to the city.
Systemic racism saw to that. The city’s leaders decided moving cars in and out of the city’s core was more important than protecting a beating, thriving heart. I’m appalled.
Thanks to Junie, when I walk under the viaduct now, in the now nondescript area once known as Hogan’s Alley, the area springs to life. I can hear cheerful souls rejoicing, jazz floating through the air. The fragrance of different tickles the senses.
Chelene Knight is masterful at bringing what once was to life and reminding us of what could have been if we had only evolved. Are we evolving, even today?
In this enchanting coming-of-age story, Knight explores what it is like to be a young black girl growing up in a harsh world where her mother does not relish the role because alcohol and unreachable dreams have muddied her mind. Her mother’s unquenchable thirst for the spotlight, coupled with neglecting her daughter’s needs—turns Junie into the matriarch by default as she tries to find her way in a racist world.
Knight arouses the enormity facing Junie (including sexuality), as she has to be strong, not only for her mother but also for her best friend, whose mother, the polar opposite of Junie’s, also doesn’t relish the role of motherhood.
I walk by where Hogan’s Alley used to be once more; it pulses to life. I see Junie walk on by, smiling.
WRITTEN: 15 September 2022
April 14, 2024
a beautiful, poetically written, queer coming-of-age story about the complexity of mother-daughter relationships and the potency of daydreaming. set in Hogan's Alley in Vancouver in the 1930s.
a couple of fave quotes:
"I fold into a daydream. Between the gap in the grey curtains, her hands tremble down dimpled skin, stumble across its stickiness, and sail into the heat. We hold each other's gaze. She rests her head in the safe space where my neck meets my shoulder. She sighs long and steady, exhaling relief into the atmosphere."
"There's a space inside my chest that fills up with so much hurt. I want Mama to ask me questions, but she never asks me why I enjoy the sensation of my palms grazing things like the bark of trees, and why my heart pulses faster when the maple trees bow for me as I pass by."
a couple of fave quotes:
"I fold into a daydream. Between the gap in the grey curtains, her hands tremble down dimpled skin, stumble across its stickiness, and sail into the heat. We hold each other's gaze. She rests her head in the safe space where my neck meets my shoulder. She sighs long and steady, exhaling relief into the atmosphere."
"There's a space inside my chest that fills up with so much hurt. I want Mama to ask me questions, but she never asks me why I enjoy the sensation of my palms grazing things like the bark of trees, and why my heart pulses faster when the maple trees bow for me as I pass by."
December 27, 2023
Thanks to ZG Stories for an ARC to review!
It��s as much a story about the history of Hogan's Alley as it is about family, particularly the mother-daughter relationships the blurb mentions, girlhood, and some beautiful explorations of art. It’s a deceptively quick read as the chapters are short and sweet (sometimes only three pages), each ending with a short snapshot that shifts into first person, offering us a more intimate view of the different characters’ inner feelings.
While I found the prose beautiful and the story heartfelt, I just wanted more! More delving into these characters and their individual stories and much more than the brief paragraphs we go exploring their wants and desires and needs. Still a beautiful book and I’ll certainly seek out more from this author.
It��s as much a story about the history of Hogan's Alley as it is about family, particularly the mother-daughter relationships the blurb mentions, girlhood, and some beautiful explorations of art. It’s a deceptively quick read as the chapters are short and sweet (sometimes only three pages), each ending with a short snapshot that shifts into first person, offering us a more intimate view of the different characters’ inner feelings.
While I found the prose beautiful and the story heartfelt, I just wanted more! More delving into these characters and their individual stories and much more than the brief paragraphs we go exploring their wants and desires and needs. Still a beautiful book and I’ll certainly seek out more from this author.
August 14, 2023
I didn't find this setting very convincing (ie any 1930s concerns, slang, attitudes about gay people and art). I was confused when Junie left school (what would be normal in the 30s, maybe after grade 8?) and I didn't feel the neighbourhood was particularly fleshed out though the book/record/art shop sounds fun.
The style was a bit weird. I didn't see the point of having most of the chapter in the 3rd person and the last paragraph in the first person. It often repeated what we knew the character felt anyway (??).
I did think the "teen taking care of her alcoholic mom" theme was well done, though.
The style was a bit weird. I didn't see the point of having most of the chapter in the 3rd person and the last paragraph in the first person. It often repeated what we knew the character felt anyway (??).
I did think the "teen taking care of her alcoholic mom" theme was well done, though.
June 7, 2023
Fun to read but some really unbelievable historical problems. I won’t reveal them, as they are spoilers. Also, the prose was too expository for my taste. It’s a YA novel, so that’s my problem, I guess, but even YA novels can show, not tell.
January 24, 2024
I just finished reading Junie. Overall, it was a very unsatisfying read. Anti-climactic. It feels like 90% set up and very little pay off. Nothing much really happens.
Summary:
Underwhelming, anti-climactic, all set up with little pay off, the opposite of "show don't tell", one-dimensional characters effortlessly overcome oversimplified problems with tremendous luck.
Good Points:
Beautiful prose and descriptions. This was my first time encountering Chelene Knight. I am excited to read her poetry. It is like a literary postcard; a little slice of life. It feels very real in some ways. I bet it would have worked better as a short story anthology. It is very easy to just pick up and read.
Weak Points:
Feels like all set up with no pay off. She constantly introduces elements and characters that don't lead to anything. Lots of ideas are present, but do not feel fully realized. A lot of it ends up feeling like pointless filler. The entire first two parts of the book felt like she was setting the stage for action that never arrived. It does not work as a novel. It feels episodic.
SPOILER ALERT:
Here are some examples. Junie is so worried about her friend who owns the bookstore. She rushes to see him. Turns out, he forgot to lock the door.
Her teacher is organizing a woman's group. Canada just announced on the radio that they are joining the war effort! They all gather around the radio! What's going to happen? How will Chelene incorporate WW2? Nothing. Never mentioned again.
Junie is in the bathtub. Her mother's boyfriend accidentally walks in on her. Is this set up? Will anything result? No. Nothing. Never mentioned again.
At the Coal Club, a suspicious white man lurks around, making vague threats. Two empty milk jugs are outside the front door - a symbol of trouble. A coded message local businesses use to warn each other of trouble. What will result??? Nothing. Never mentioned again. The entire book is just a series of anti-climactic scenes, and ends with dozens of unresolved loose threads. What was the point of the boy with the funny homemade trousers? Or the classmate Junie saw stealing apples?
Another issue is how extremely easily characters seem to overcome difficulties. Junie is extremely lucky. She just happens to have a teacher who happens to have a friend who owns a gallery where she immediately sells two sketches her very first show AND meet the girl of her dreams. Very convenient. And as an interracial lesbian couple in the 1930's they seem to have a fairly easy time of it. The worse they face is a couple rude comments. There is no sense of how much adversity they had to overcome. Her girlfriend never seems like a real person. Very one dimensional.
The multiple character perspectives seem pointless. They are not used effectively. They are just kind of there. What was the point?
Very simple, mundane things are over-romanticized and treated as if they were monumentous. Remember that bench Junie and Estelle used to sit on outside the school? Has anyone in real life ever sat back and reminisced about the bench you used to sit on?
The prose can be extremely repetitive. Some extremely simplistic ideas are as I said above treated as if they were deep and profound when they simply aren't.
The entire thread about Estelle and her mother does not go anywhere, and feels like pointless filler. The Ms Shirley teacher character is a flat, one dimension, pointless addition.
For a book that is supposedly an exploration of a colourful, historic setting, it never felt very real to me.
The portrayal of alcoholism is not very realistic. I worked in addictions at a managed alcohol program. The challenges Junie encounters are not really that bad, despite the fact that the author treats these mundane annoyances if they were life shattering events. Her mother is verbally abusive, and makes her take out the garbage and make dinner. No physical or body abuse is mentioned. No illegal substance use. BUT her mother only gave her enough money to buy fries when Junie wanted a grilled cheese. I wonder, has Chelene ever encountered people with real problems? Does she know that during the Great Depression people actually suffered?
Very frustrating to read. While it does end after three parts, it does not conclude. Is there a sequel planned? At the end, the novel feels unfinished. It is all tell with very little show. Chelene tells us that things are the way they are, but without examples to illustrate.
I am a Canadian woman of colour. I spent 7 weeks in Vancouver working on Hastings & Main. I have worked with addictions. I did not get this book. What did I miss? Why is it getting such positive reviews?
Summary:
Underwhelming, anti-climactic, all set up with little pay off, the opposite of "show don't tell", one-dimensional characters effortlessly overcome oversimplified problems with tremendous luck.
Good Points:
Beautiful prose and descriptions. This was my first time encountering Chelene Knight. I am excited to read her poetry. It is like a literary postcard; a little slice of life. It feels very real in some ways. I bet it would have worked better as a short story anthology. It is very easy to just pick up and read.
Weak Points:
Feels like all set up with no pay off. She constantly introduces elements and characters that don't lead to anything. Lots of ideas are present, but do not feel fully realized. A lot of it ends up feeling like pointless filler. The entire first two parts of the book felt like she was setting the stage for action that never arrived. It does not work as a novel. It feels episodic.
SPOILER ALERT:
Here are some examples. Junie is so worried about her friend who owns the bookstore. She rushes to see him. Turns out, he forgot to lock the door.
Her teacher is organizing a woman's group. Canada just announced on the radio that they are joining the war effort! They all gather around the radio! What's going to happen? How will Chelene incorporate WW2? Nothing. Never mentioned again.
Junie is in the bathtub. Her mother's boyfriend accidentally walks in on her. Is this set up? Will anything result? No. Nothing. Never mentioned again.
At the Coal Club, a suspicious white man lurks around, making vague threats. Two empty milk jugs are outside the front door - a symbol of trouble. A coded message local businesses use to warn each other of trouble. What will result??? Nothing. Never mentioned again. The entire book is just a series of anti-climactic scenes, and ends with dozens of unresolved loose threads. What was the point of the boy with the funny homemade trousers? Or the classmate Junie saw stealing apples?
Another issue is how extremely easily characters seem to overcome difficulties. Junie is extremely lucky. She just happens to have a teacher who happens to have a friend who owns a gallery where she immediately sells two sketches her very first show AND meet the girl of her dreams. Very convenient. And as an interracial lesbian couple in the 1930's they seem to have a fairly easy time of it. The worse they face is a couple rude comments. There is no sense of how much adversity they had to overcome. Her girlfriend never seems like a real person. Very one dimensional.
The multiple character perspectives seem pointless. They are not used effectively. They are just kind of there. What was the point?
Very simple, mundane things are over-romanticized and treated as if they were monumentous. Remember that bench Junie and Estelle used to sit on outside the school? Has anyone in real life ever sat back and reminisced about the bench you used to sit on?
The prose can be extremely repetitive. Some extremely simplistic ideas are as I said above treated as if they were deep and profound when they simply aren't.
The entire thread about Estelle and her mother does not go anywhere, and feels like pointless filler. The Ms Shirley teacher character is a flat, one dimension, pointless addition.
For a book that is supposedly an exploration of a colourful, historic setting, it never felt very real to me.
The portrayal of alcoholism is not very realistic. I worked in addictions at a managed alcohol program. The challenges Junie encounters are not really that bad, despite the fact that the author treats these mundane annoyances if they were life shattering events. Her mother is verbally abusive, and makes her take out the garbage and make dinner. No physical or body abuse is mentioned. No illegal substance use. BUT her mother only gave her enough money to buy fries when Junie wanted a grilled cheese. I wonder, has Chelene ever encountered people with real problems? Does she know that during the Great Depression people actually suffered?
Very frustrating to read. While it does end after three parts, it does not conclude. Is there a sequel planned? At the end, the novel feels unfinished. It is all tell with very little show. Chelene tells us that things are the way they are, but without examples to illustrate.
I am a Canadian woman of colour. I spent 7 weeks in Vancouver working on Hastings & Main. I have worked with addictions. I did not get this book. What did I miss? Why is it getting such positive reviews?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2024
JUNIE by Chelene Knight 2022. iBook. 11.99.
Junie is about the black community in what was Hogan`s Alley in Vancouver in the 1930-39. I lived in Vancouver from 1969 and heard from locals memories of going to Vie`s steak house on Prior in the late 50`s and early 60`s. A lot of entertainers went there from the Cave, Issy’s and other jazzy clubs, after hours for dinner. Jimmy Hendricks lived with his grandmother mostly in the summers. Many of the black community were railway workers, conductors…etc. Sadly Hogan’s Alley disappeared with the building of the Georgia Viaduct early 1970s. There are some wonderful characters in this book and it is a good read….
“”A riveting exploration of the complexity within mother-daughter relationships and the dynamic vitality of Vancouver's former Hogan's Alley neighbourhood.
1930s, Hogan's Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver's East End. Junie is a creative, observant child who moves to the alley with her mother, a jazz singer with a growing alcohol dependency. Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships with two mentors and a girl her own age, Estelle, whose resilient and entrepreneurial mother is grappling with white scrutiny and the fact that she never really wanted a child.
As Junie finds adulthood, exploring her artistic talents and burgeoning sexuality, her mother sinks further into the bottle while the thriving neighbourhood—once gushing with potential—begins to change. As her world opens, Junie intuits the opposite for the community she loves.
Told through the fascinating lens of a bright woman in an oft-disquieting world, this book is intimate and urgent—not just an unflinching look at the destruction of a vibrant community, but a celebration of the Black lives within.””
https://evelazarus.com/tag/nora-hendrix/
https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/ab...
Junie is about the black community in what was Hogan`s Alley in Vancouver in the 1930-39. I lived in Vancouver from 1969 and heard from locals memories of going to Vie`s steak house on Prior in the late 50`s and early 60`s. A lot of entertainers went there from the Cave, Issy’s and other jazzy clubs, after hours for dinner. Jimmy Hendricks lived with his grandmother mostly in the summers. Many of the black community were railway workers, conductors…etc. Sadly Hogan’s Alley disappeared with the building of the Georgia Viaduct early 1970s. There are some wonderful characters in this book and it is a good read….
“”A riveting exploration of the complexity within mother-daughter relationships and the dynamic vitality of Vancouver's former Hogan's Alley neighbourhood.
1930s, Hogan's Alley—a thriving Black and immigrant community located in Vancouver's East End. Junie is a creative, observant child who moves to the alley with her mother, a jazz singer with a growing alcohol dependency. Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships with two mentors and a girl her own age, Estelle, whose resilient and entrepreneurial mother is grappling with white scrutiny and the fact that she never really wanted a child.
As Junie finds adulthood, exploring her artistic talents and burgeoning sexuality, her mother sinks further into the bottle while the thriving neighbourhood—once gushing with potential—begins to change. As her world opens, Junie intuits the opposite for the community she loves.
Told through the fascinating lens of a bright woman in an oft-disquieting world, this book is intimate and urgent—not just an unflinching look at the destruction of a vibrant community, but a celebration of the Black lives within.””
https://evelazarus.com/tag/nora-hendrix/
https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/ab...
July 15, 2022
Characters like Junie get under your skin. You think about them when you’re not reading, you wonder what they’d think or do in a certain situation.
Junie is a young girl growing up in the East End of Vancouver in the 1930s. Through her eyes, the reader learns about the restaurants, shops, and clubs in her neighborhood and the people who run and fill them. The community comes to life through the descriptions of the characters.
Junie and her best friend Estelle navigate the tricky time of adolescence with little help from their mothers. Estelle is often left alone as her ambitious mother, Faye, runs her successful night club on her own. Junie is often the parental figure in her relationship with her mother, Maddie, as Maddie struggles with alcoholism and continually makes poor choices. Neither situation is ideal as reflected, “Junie couldn’t decide which was worse, having your mother see everything you do and scoff, or not being seen at all.”
As the years progress, both girls come into their own. They explore sexuality, passions, and careers with each other and a host of other well-written characters. Junie in particular finds her way through painting. She sums up her difficulties with Maddie by saying: “I don’t paint my mother. I don’t know the colour or shape of loss or breathlessness.”
Coming-of-age story fans will enjoy Junie as well as readers who want to explore the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the first person notes added to the end of each chapter, but other than that it was an engaging read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Junie is a young girl growing up in the East End of Vancouver in the 1930s. Through her eyes, the reader learns about the restaurants, shops, and clubs in her neighborhood and the people who run and fill them. The community comes to life through the descriptions of the characters.
Junie and her best friend Estelle navigate the tricky time of adolescence with little help from their mothers. Estelle is often left alone as her ambitious mother, Faye, runs her successful night club on her own. Junie is often the parental figure in her relationship with her mother, Maddie, as Maddie struggles with alcoholism and continually makes poor choices. Neither situation is ideal as reflected, “Junie couldn’t decide which was worse, having your mother see everything you do and scoff, or not being seen at all.”
As the years progress, both girls come into their own. They explore sexuality, passions, and careers with each other and a host of other well-written characters. Junie in particular finds her way through painting. She sums up her difficulties with Maddie by saying: “I don’t paint my mother. I don’t know the colour or shape of loss or breathlessness.”
Coming-of-age story fans will enjoy Junie as well as readers who want to explore the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the first person notes added to the end of each chapter, but other than that it was an engaging read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
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