Life outside big cities might seem uneventful or insignificant. Not true. Not true. This book is Canadian grit lit. We get to discover who the characters are and who they really are in a book that considers trust, love, friendship, and a heap of mystery. Thanks to NetGalley.com for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a great book that will appeal to many people. It does a great job of deepening our understanding of what we think we know about diversity and related perceptions. Check this out!

For me the premise of this book is good, the story as well, but the writing style isn’t for me.
I feel it explores transgender identity and queer issues in general in very insightful way, but it’s a tough read for me.

This was a very thought-provoking book. I felt it explored transgender identity and queer issues in general in very respectful and unique ways. As a narrator, Meg's story was very compelling as well.

Even though the year is only half finished, I am almost certain Cardinal Divide will be favourite my book of the year.

It's told from the perspective of Meg, a middle-aged Canadian woman. She is a sober alcoholic working in a rehab centre with primarily Native clientele, which brings up her own long-standing identity issues. Adopted at age 10 after turning up on a farm with no memories, she has no idea where she comes from, if she has Native heritage or not, or why she appeared on the farm in the first place.

As the story begins, Meg's mother had recently died, and her extremely elderly father Ben summons her to his farm to tell her a secret. He was born a woman.

At its core, this is a book about identity. As Meg grapples with her own identity crisis, trying to find her birth family, she is blindsided by her father's revelation and begins to question: who really is he?
In this book, nobody is quite who they seem. Every character is deeply complex and complicated, just as real people are.

This book grapples with some extremely difficult topics from drug and alcohol addiction, the recent treatment and historical of Native Canadians by the government and society as a whole, and queer identities.

Ben's situation and identity seem to straddle the divide between modern delineated definitions of LGBTQ idenities and the reality of life for queer and gender non-conforming people throughout the 20th century. Newington's portrayal of Ben, the reaction of Meg and those around her is incredibly deft, intricate and real that I could have believed that this actually happened.

The writing is stunning and dynamic, following Meg's thoughts with stunning agility. Although sometimes chaotic, it never leaves the reader behind but rather drags you with it, urges you to keep up with the rollercoaster running all over Meg's mind.

Usually the term "page-turner" is given to thrillers, but this tumultuous journey more than earns it. I spent an entire day doing nothing but read this book and eat and I would have carried on reading while I ate if I could have. I was so drawn into the winding story and wanted so badly to find out what happened.

Overall, Cardinal Divide is a book about truths, half-truths, and truths that aren't yours to tell. Fantastic queer representation, particularly of queer middle aged and elderly people (which I feel is especially necessary), but also a heartfelt and realistic portrayal of the situation for Native people in modern Canada. Through Meg's eyes we see such a wide range of issues and in my opinion, Newington did all of them justice.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and am leaving an honest review.