His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay

His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay is the story of Jim.  He's a young boy living in New York City in the mid 1990's.  Every year he escapes the big city to visit family in Northern Ontario.  There he gets to spend his days with his aunt and uncle's dog exploring, fishing, swimming and wishing the summer would never end.

Jim doesn't have any friends his age but he's close to many of the adults in his life.  Close until circumstances remove them from his life.  Sadly, Jim learns early on to cope with loss.

I really enjoyed this story.  Surprisingly, this is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Hay.  I definitely need to revisit some of her past award winning books.  I enjoyed the way Hay gives such beautiful details about Northern Ontario and her love of all things Quebec.