Six Impossible Things
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4.2 • 5개의 평가
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- US$7.99
출판사 설명
In this charming story of one guy's efforts to get it together when his life is falling apart, award-winning author Fiona Wood introduces an irresistible voice and a delightfully awkward character who is impossible to forget.
1. Kiss Estelle.
2. Get a job.
3. Cheer my mother up.
4. Try not to be a complete nerd/loser.
5. Talk to my father when he calls.
6. Figure out how to be good.
Nerd-boy Dan Cereill is not quite coping with a whole heap of problems, including a reversal of family fortune, moving, new-school hell, a mother with a failing wedding cake business, a just-out gay dad, and a massive crush on Estelle, the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now he's narrowed it down to just six impossible things....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fourteen-year-old Dan finds out just how quickly life can change when his father moves out after announcing that he's bankrupt and gay. Dan and his jobless mother move into a malodorous Victorian house they have inherited from an aunt, where things go from bad to worse. Attending public school is a nightmare for "private school refugee" Dan, and his mother can't get her wedding cake business off the ground because she keeps talking brides out of getting married. In the depth of his misery, Dan creates a list of six "impossible" desires he wants to fulfill, including getting a job, not being a "complete nerd/loser," and reconnecting with his father. At the top of his list is to "kiss Estelle," his new next-door neighbor and secret crush. With sensitivity and humor, Wood (Wildlife) traces the roller-coaster life of a boy in the midst of significant upheaval. Dan's honesty, smarts, and earnest efforts to do good may not earn him any popularity points at school, but they will win readers' affection and admiration. Ages 12 up.
사용자 리뷰
Fiona Wood is one of those authors who simply gets it.
AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall 5 Narration 5 Story 5
Fiona Wood is one of those authors who simply gets it. Her ability to present the mistakes, social awkwardness, concerns, fears and even joys that everyone can relate to from growing up. Not that everyone’s story is the same, but the ability to present characters that are understandable and compelling, whether or not you agree with their choices, makes this book very readable (or an easy listen). Using a male perspective and narrator for this story just increase the intrigue and unique quality of this story.
Dan has had a fairly easy go of life until this year, and then everything went pear shaped. His father has up and declared himself gay, just before the bankruptcy of his business. Creditors have taken over the family home, turfing Dan, his mother and Howard the dog, He’s got to leave his private school and friends, and of course, the humiliation. Fortunately for Dan and his mother, her aunt Adelaide has left them her very large, very strange museum of a house.
Quite a bit to deal with, either as an adult or a teen, but Dan manages to muddle through after a few very rough chapters. He’s smart, he’s caring and has a sense of humor that is both age appropriate and quite advanced for his tender years. Oh and did I mention the girl next door who is the focus of his very simple affections? Yeah, Dan was adorable and compelling, wonderfully complex character who is desperately trying to pull himself together and adjust his behavior to fit the new circumstances.
Narration for this story is provided by David Atlas, and the use of a male narrator for the young teenaged Daniel works beautifully, without sounding too mature or disintegrating into the juvenile. He uses tone and delivery to present Dan’s words, his keen observations and moments to great effect, the story is a pleasure to listen to.
All of the characters are wonderfully drawn, from Dan’s mother who is also trying to find her way along a path so very different from the one she envisioned. Then there is Howard the dog: like most dogs he’s pretty malleable, but it is his “psychotherapist’s demeanor’ that is intriguing, and the recipient of Dan’s innermost thoughts as he works through his world. Using a list of Six Impossible Things that need immediate action to set his world to rights, the story builds to present a wonderful tale of overcoming the obstacles that life tosses at you with humor, support and a perspective that is far more adult than a boy of 14 is expected to have. A wonderful read or listen.
I received an audiobook copy of the title from Hachette Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility