After over a century of violence and amidst rapidly approaching gentrification, an old hotel and its tenants remain in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside—but for how long?

Hotel Blue has stood, tall and proud, housing its tenants, at the corner of Hastings and Jackson, in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, for over a century. But after decades of neglect and amidst rapid gentrification, the Blue—and its tenants—face an uncertain future. In this novel-in-stories, we uncover the history of Hotel Blue and come to understand the plight of its tenants, as they fight for its future. We meet a spunky poh-poh, a brave heiress, a young man who dares to hope, and a self-professed “old-timer” demanding answers. A testament to the intimacy of neighbourhood and the power of community, these stories are ruminations on what it means to be home, to belong, and to remain, in the face of forces threatening to displace.