Lara WilliamsonRezensionen

A warm and moving middle grade novel about a boy trying to make sense of his world. Dan just wants things to be as they were before and if he could just reconnect with his father this would happen. Life in all it's messiness conspires to prevent this from a happening. A lovely story that focuses on the fact that family is often about love, not biology.

I enjoyed this while I was reading it but the story didn't stay with me after finishing the book; good but not memorable.

Mabel loves space and knows a lot about the night sky but she has a space left in her heart from when Dad left (and hasn't been heard from since). Mabel carries around a big invisible suitcase full of worries and her big sister Topaz has too many worries of her own to help Mabel. The one chink of light is mum's new boyfriend who shares Mabel's love of the stars... but is he all he seems....?

An enjoyable read and good for approaching the subject of worries, and sharing them.½

A young student of mine recommended this to me. Her father had died when she was in third grade. This is a funny and sad story about Dan and the hope he holds for his dad who has left his family. The characters are so lovable and quirky. Big Dave is my favourite. While it might sometimes be a bit corny it is filled with love, positivity and hope. Dan reminds me of Felix from Morris Gleitzmann’s Once series. He’s a funny boy who doesn’t get his own jokes.

Dan learns that families and friends can be different and surprising in this very funny and touching story. Both boys and girls should love this.

fantastic, a humorous read about a very sad subject - death and learning to cope with it especially when it is your mum who has died. 10 year old Beckett Rumsey and his 7 year old brother Billy are left to live with their Dad when their mother dies giving birth to Billy. The family have never really come to terms with the loss. The story starts when the dad, Stephen, has left the old apartment and shifted them to a new area leaving behind an irate girlfriend, Pearl, and left with 2 boys who miss Pearl dearly. So they set us SNOOP and begin to mend the gap. All is not what it seems - a brilliant story that will make you laugh, cry and think about life around you

Becket Rumsey is all at sea.

His dad has run away with him and his brother Billy in the middle of the night. And they've left everything behind, including their almost-mum Pearl. Becket has no idea what's going on - it's a mystery.

So with the help of Billy and a snail called Brian, Becket sets out on a journey of discovery. It's not plain sailing but then what journeys ever are?

Dan Hope hasn't seen his dad for four years until the day he pops up on television as a news reader. This event spurs him to try to make contact, but the attempts are ignored - or perhaps the messages are just not getting through.

We hear about how his older sister has gone all mean and weird, and about his mother's new boyfriend. We see him struggling through school and life in a way that was hilarious and heart breaking.

Dan Hope is a wonderful naïve but still intelligent boy, sparkling with life and a sense of adventure. Written in the first person, his observations are just perfect, and I could not help but warm to the character at once. He sometimes blunders and sometimes marches headlong through a series of events that reveal things about himself and others that eventually reach to a very satisfying conclusion, if a touch bittersweet too.

A great coming of age novel, with wonderful characterisations. Thoroughly recommended.