Think of all the worst parts of puberty — all the moments you partially miss or brood about because they've shaped who you are today. Think of those moments, and push the timeline forward — dating, your first horrific situation at work, an early 30s crisis. Add an Indian-Canadian household in the '90s and a Halifax backdrop, and you have a recipe for Nina. At the age of 14, she muses about her English teacher looking like Jason Bateman on The Hogan Family and goes through a Fairuza Balk phase with her best friend Amy. She also messages pedophiles in private chat rooms in search of sexual validation, and a traumatic event reshapes her forever, fracturing her into pieces that follow her throughout her life. Shashi Bhat's The Most Precious Substance on Earth is a cathartic, witty and unfiltered lens into the life of ordinary and sweet Nina, navigating her identity. Following ...