Like GlassReview posted September 16, 2026.
Heartdrum, October 6, 2026. 322 pages.
Review written July 10, 2026, from an Advance Reader Copy.
Starred Review
A year ago, Tatum Nova Lambert's big sister, Bronwyn Moonbeam, died of a brain aneurysm in Chamonix, in the French Alps. Their father, a world-class chef, decided to open a restaurant there in her honor. Now Tatum has come to Chamonix over Spring break for the opening of the restaurant - and to get her father to come back to Toronto.
It doesn't begin well: He forgets to pick her up from the bus station. They're staying in what used to be Bronwyn's apartment, and Tatum finds Bronwyn's necklace there - the one they buried with her sister. Her father doesn't really talk with her, he grew out his beard, and Tatum's pretty sure he's drinking again.
But as Tatum explores Chamonix, she meets people who help her gain perspective. There's Beetle, the kid who pickpocketed the necklace before she confronted him and got it back. And then there's Agatha, who's training to be on the U.S. Olympic Team as a ski jumper. Agatha gets her. But how much trouble will she get into if Tatum knocks her out of her training schedule?
This isn't a gripping plot book, but it is, like all Jen Ferguson's books, nuanced and meditative and full of people you enjoy spending time with, including queer people and people with indigenous heritage.
It's also about Art and about Identity. Tatum's art teacher back home doesn't think her art is Native enough. But what does that even mean? And how does he, with settler heritage, have any right to say that?
And it's about Grief. Bronwyn was never good about answering Tatum's postcards, and Tatum's finding out all she didn't know about her sister's life.
I like the way the book comes together at the end, though I won't give away the many threads that involves. They aren't tied up in a neat bow, but Tatum got some good interior work done on her trip, and it was a pleasure to get to bear witness to it.