The Thought Dial

Sixteen-year-old John Pulkis faces disaster: he’s got two tickets to the Doobie Brothers concert at the Vancouver Coliseum in eight days—and he’s lost them! It’s not about the money, although that was plenty—fourteen dollars, a month’s allowance. No, he needs those tickets, for only they will give him the courage to do what he otherwise cannot: ask Sue Nielsen for a date.

As a would-be astronomer, he decides to apply the scientific method: a systematic search, complete with graph paper. But as the tickets continue to elude him, his thoughts turn dark. He starts to wonder what the options are for cowards like himself, and remembers his socials teacher talking to the class about suicide. . . .

Loosely based on real-life events in Vancouver in 1975 and dedicated to the memory of an inspiring high-school teacher, The Thought Dial is a reminder that teenage life can be passionate—and the stakes can be high.