Lenny's Book of Everything
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4.6 • 34 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
WINNER: 2020 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature
WINNER: 2019 QLD Literary Awards, Griffith University Young Adult Book Award
HONOUR BOOK: 2019 CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers
SHORT-LISTED: 2019 Prime Minister's Literary Award, Young Adult Fiction
NOMINATED: 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal
Lenny, small and sharp, has a younger brother Davey who won't stop growing - and at seven is as tall as a man. Raised by their mother, they have food and a roof over their heads, but not much else. The bright spot every week is the arrival of the latest issue of the Burrell's Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia. Through the encyclopedia, Lenny and Davey experience the wonders of the world - beetles, birds, quasars, quartz - and dream about a life of freedom and adventure. But as Davey's health deteriorates, Lenny realises that some wonders can't be named.
A big-hearted novel about loving and letting go by a bestselling and multi-award-winning author.
'A gorgeous, heartbreaking and heartwarming book.' RJ Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder
'Such a big heart and not a beat out of place.' Melina Marchetta, author of Looking For Alibrandi
'This bittersweet tale about heartbreak and healing has a sense of whimsy that never feels forced. Foxlee's writing is brimming with perfectly constructed moments that merge into a truly sensational, heart-wrenching read. This is the kind of book that makes a reader feel grateful it exists. 5/5 stars.' Books+Publishing
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Curious, practical narrator Lenny Spink lives in a small apartment in an Ohio suburb with her lovable younger brother, Davey, who can't seem to stop growing, and their single mother, who frets endlessly about his ever-increasing size and how she will afford clothes that fit him. With their father MIA and the smarmy Mr. King worming his way into their mother's life, Lenny and Davey find joy and inspiration in the weekly arrival of new sections for the build-it-at-home encyclopedia set they've won. But even as they dream of exploring the world pictured in those colorful pages, it becomes increasingly clear that Davey's puzzling growth spurts may be dangerous. Though Davey's character at times lacks depth and some may be bothered by the illness-as-literary-construct, Foxlee (A Most Magical Girl) surrounds him with characters who are as endearing as they are flawed: the fiercely protective Lenny, whose sharp tongue belies her longing for stable relationships, and Mrs. Gaspar, their meddlesome but doting neighbor. Themes of family and forgiveness are front and center, but the heart of this story and the magic of it is the devotion of these two siblings who together navigate the harsh realities of life and loss. Ages 8 12.
Customer Reviews
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
100% would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading and would definitely read the book again.
Heart Breakingly Beautiful
It shattered my heart over and over again, but I re-read it for it tenderness, love and heart. Karen Foxlee, When somebody re reads a book 20 times, you know you have done something right. I felt for Lenny and Davey, I laughed when it was funny and cried my heart out when it was bitterly sad. ♥️ TOP 5 BOOKS OF 2019 A MUST READ ♥️