Through young adult fiction, Moacyr Scliar tells us about the problems smoking can cause to our health and our relationships with others. The author draws on his knowledge as a doctor to craft a story that teaches about smoking without making moral judgments.
It’s the father who smokes in the story, not the teenager, which is a different approach than other books on the subject, which generally portray the teenager as the “problem” person in the family. This way, young readers can ask questions about smoking without feeling intimidated.
The protagonist, Sérgio, is a teenager who lives in the country with his mother after his parents split up. But his mother falls in love again and decides to remarry. Sergio doesn’t like the idea very much, but he comes to terms with it and decides to go live in the capital with his father, a very private man who he actually didn’t know very well. Among the things the boy didn’t know was that his father smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, and Sergio hated cigarettes.
The biggest task facing the young protagonist is figuring out how to help his father recognize and face his addiction.
