Safe Harbour

Harbour Mandrayke is a 14-year-old girl. When readers meet her, she is living on her own in a tent in a ravine in Toronto with only a few weeks supply of canned tuna and crackers, her dog, Tuff, a cell phone, some cash – for emergencies, a credit card and a reading list provided by her father. Before this, Harbour had been living on a boat with her father, never staying long enough in one place to make friends or put down any roots. Her father had sent her to Toronto saying he would be there shortly. To readers, it becomes obvious early on that Harbour’s father is not coming. He does not telephone her, as promised, and readers definitely know something is up when Harbour’s credit card is declined.

Living on the street is challenging. Fortunately, Harbour befriends Lise who is street savvy and takes Harbour under her wing. Lise is wise as to whom one should and should not trust. Brandon falls into the untrustworthy category, and, for a while, readers are concerned that Harbour will fall into his hands. Lise wants Harbour to come to stay at the homeless shelter with her, but Harbour’s dog, Tuff, would not be welcome, and Harbour refuses to be separated from her beloved pet. To complicate matters, Harbour’s father has told her that a government agency is looking for Harbour and Tuff as the animal has a microchip embedded in the skin that holds sensitive information which should not fall into the hands of the authorities. This information foreshadows the revelation that Harbour’s father suffered from schizophrenia.

Safe Harbour is a page-turner. The most astute young reader may see some of the plot twists coming, but that does not make the plot any less attention-grabbing. In spite of some of the challenging issues (homelessness, street predators, mental illness, child abandonment and the dangers Mother Nature presents to the homeless), Kilbourne manages to keep a naiveté and innocence to this work, making it more suitable for a younger audience than one might initially suspect.

The book wraps up a bit too neatly: Lise answers Harbour’s phone and discovers her father is deceased, tipping off authorities that Harbour is in Toronto. This leads to Harbour’s aunt (her mother’s sister who lives in Toronto) putting up missing person’s posters bearing Harbour’s name and pre-school likeness. After hearing rumors of a girl living in a tent in a ravine near her home, Aunt Jacquie discovers Harbour and Tuff. Readers also learn the house Harbour fantasizes about calling her home is the very house owned by Jacquie. Lise and Aunt Jacquie hit it off, Harbour goes to a special school, and Lise also starts back to school and “cleans-up” her appearance (cutting off the dreadlocks, softening the eye makeup and removing eyebrow piercings).

The upbeat neat ending to the plot makes Safe Harbour an accessible, life-affirming read while still drawing attention to homelessness and mental illness. The people are well-drawn by Kilbourne who uses engaging passages to illustrate the characters’ behaviours and actions. Kilbourne excels at describing the shelters and hangouts of the homeless.

Kilbourne’s realistic drama will be a welcome addition to public and school libraries alike.