Initially I was apprehensive about Nikolski, written by Nicholas Dickner, because it was translated from French. Translations can go one of two ways and I was worried that a lot would be lost in translation. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the translator, Lazer Lederhendler, transformed the French writing into eloquent English. This was very impressive because there are several plays on words as well as witty banter.

The story itself is more of a character journey than a standard plot-based story (as many of these Canada Reads books seem to be). I loved all the little details that would crop up later as well as the decisions of these unique and surprising young characters.

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