num_pages: 383
description: Kit's Law is the passionate, well-told story of three feisty female characters struggling against imposed order and male tradition in a harsh Newfoundland outport. Lizzy is the steadfast grandmother; crazy, red-haired Josie, the mother; and Kit, the 14-year-old daughter who tells their story. Like a maritime cutter, the narrative sails along smoothly, and much of the dialogue is in the distinctive argot of that windy Atlantic island: "When it's clear like ice and ribbed on the bottom--that's the killin' frost. Your berries are dead. Good for moose and caribou pickin's. Now, there's them that picks 'em anyway, and that's why their jam is as tart as a whore's arse."  With its partridgeberry patches, moose stew, and endless cups of tea, this is quintessential Newfoundland. After Lizzy dies, the nasty local pastor wants to put Kit in an orphanage and Josie in an appropriate institution. The compassionate Doctor Hodgins becomes their staunch defender against both do-gooders and those plotting Kit's downfall. This first novel is a female coming-of-age story of the rural variety, replete with endemic poverty, good-hearted and downright evil village people, and the constant irritant of Newfoundland's raw, nasty weather. It is also the touching story of Kit's first love, and it reads like a breeze. --Mark Frutkin 
language: English
title: Kit's Law
titlecomplete: Kit's Law
characters: Reverend Robson, Josie Pitman, Dr. Hodgins and Sid., Kit Pitman, Lizzie (Nan), Shine, Kit's grandmother
genres: Fiction, Historical, Coming Of Age, Canadian Literature, Mystery, Book Club, Canada, Novels, Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 3099
places: Canada
awards: awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: ALA Alex Award
publisher: Penguin Canada