These two novellas both feature indigenous young men planning their future. In Him Standing Lucas Smoke learned carving from his grandfather and can create lifelike sculptures. When he is asked, threatened almost, to make a spirit mask for a mysterious, dark stranger he finds himself deep in a spiritual quandary. In The Next Sure Thing Cree Thunderboy's ability to pick winners at the race track leads to an offer he can't refuse.

Both novellas offer fast-paced, engaging stories and as well as this version are published separately in Rapid Reads publications, recommended for young adult readers, reluctant readers, ESL students or anyone wanting a quick well-written story.

Includes an excellent foreword by Waubgeshig Rice. ( )

A Perfect Likeness consists of two novellas with similar narrative arcs, but different atmospheres. Him Standing is a more supernatural/otherworldly story in which Lucas Smoke, a highly gifted woodcarver, is approached by a mysterious man in black who asks him to make a spirit mask. The Next Sure Thing follows Cree Thunderboy, a blues guitarist who also has a knack for picking winners at the racetrack, and this knack attracts the attention of a gangster looking to make some quick bucks. Both Lucas and Cree face significant challenges in hanging onto themselves in these tricky situations.

I devoured these novellas in the space of an afternoon. Wagamese is an excellent writer and conjures up two very different atmospheres from the same general pattern. Of the two, I preferred Him Standing, possibly because it was the first one of the two, but also because the supernatural elements were just the right amount of hair-raising for me. The Next Sure Thing was very good, but the challenges faced by Cree were a bit more down-to-earth, or at least familiar to readers of crime fiction. I found them especially familiar, if I can use that word, given my recent binge of Craig Russell’s Lennox series, which features gangsters in Glasgow. But that’s not to take away from the Wagamese novella. It was well done, as all of his work is.

This book is highly recommended, especially in the Orca Book Publishers edition with the stunning cover. It sets the mood nicely. ( )