Known for her quirky characters and sense of humor, Killham’s third title takes a different approach as it tells the story of Lucy, a confirmed atheist mother and her thirteen-year-old son Nicolas Copernicus, Nic for short. A brilliant astrophysicist, Lucy has encouraged Nic to question and learn as much as he can but the things he wonders about have no easy answers. While trying to determine how life works, Nic begins exploring Christianity for answers and some degree of comfort. Naturally, this new direction is not met with overwhelming enthusiasm by Nic’s mom who finds herself facing the toughest challenge of her life. Both must come to terms with their beliefs as they struggle with issues of life, death and enduring love.
The many questions Nic has are as funny as they are realistic, things like “Why is that kid born there and I’m here? Are they handing out pieces of paper and you open them up and either it says, Lucky you or Man, are you totally screwed? Who makes these decisions? And Why?” It is this touch of realism that carries the story, which for all its sweetness, seems to be trying just a little too hard.
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