Angel Square

In 1945 in Ottawa's Lowertown, Tommy, also known as The Shadow, and two of his friends, one French Canadian, one Irish, try to find out who attacked the father of their Jewish friend Sammy.

It's 1945 and Tommy lives in the tough multi-ethnic neighborhood of Lowertown, Ottawa, where someone who hates Jewish people has attacked his best friend's father. Adopting the persona of his favorite radio hero, Tommy, aka. "The Shadow," teams up with friends "Killer" Bodnoff and CoCo Laframboise to find out who did it, but soon realizes that the quest will lead them straight to Angel Square - a fearsome battleground where Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish kids fight each other daily. Still, if Tommy can find the culprit, he's convinced Mr. Rosenberg will recover and his pal Sammy will return from the faraway town where his dad is hospitalized. And could it be that, in the process, Tommy will also manage to impress the girl of his dreams, Margot Lane? In the course of his search, Tommy learns about the forces that divide communities, as well as those that unite them.

Publishers Weekly

Tommy, alias ``Lamont Cranston, the Shadow,'' and his friends Killer Bodnoff and CoCo Laframboise try to discover the man who assaulted Sammy Rosenberg's father. Tommy and Sammy are best friends, but in Lowertown, Ottawa, religion is what matters. Tommy is sure that if he finds Mr. Rosenberg's assailant, Mr. Rosenberg will recover and Sammy will return from Toronto (where his father is hospitalized); further, Tommy would be able to impress the girl of his dreams, Margot Lane. Although the message of tolerance here is heavy-handedthere are many fights between the differing faiths, and Tommy's mentally handicapped sister Pamela has been the victim of a nasty prankreaders may enjoy the more amusing dilemmas in Tommy's life, and will be reassured by the touching reunion of Tommy and Sammy on Christmas Day. (9-11)