Kiki and Jacques

Kiki and Jacques considers whether two young people who seem very different can become friends. Twelve-year-old Jacques is grieving his mother’s death while his father is unemployed and his grandmother’s bridal shop may close. The story is set in a declining U.S. mill town first settled by French Canadians, where the arrival of Somali refugees raises new issues in the community. Family hardship, loss, and changing community life shape the circumstances around the characters.