No Fixed Address
Age 11+
Personal & Social Issues: Self-Awareness & Self-Esteem Family & Home Stories Personal & Social Issues: Family Issues Humorous Stories
Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen, lives with his mother and pet gerbil Horatio, and is brilliant at memorising facts and trivia. So far, pretty normal. But Felix and his mom Astrid have a secret: they are living in a van. Astrid promises it’s only for a while until she finds a new job, and begs Felix not to breathe a word about it. So when Felix starts at a new school, he does his very best to hide the fact that most of his clothes are in storage, he only showers weekly at the community centre, and that he doesn’t have enough to eat. When his friends Dylan and Winnie ask to visit, Felix always has an excuse.
But Felix has a plan to turn his and Astrid’s lives around: he’s going to go on his favourite game show Who, What, Where, When and win the cash prize. All he needs is a little luck and a lot of brain power . . .
Susin Nielsen deftly combines humour, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference.
Creators
Susin Nielsen got her start writing for popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. Since then, she’s written for many Canadian TV shows and her young adult novels have received considerable critical acclaim. Word Nerd and My Messed-Up Life won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen won the UKLA Award, the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year and many Young Readers’ Choice Awards, while We Are All Made of Molecules was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Susin lives in Vancouver with her family and two extremely destructive cats.
Reviews
Beautifully wrought, compassionate and entertaining…A book worth giving a home to
Sunday Times, Children's Book of the Week
Susin Nielsen is fantastic at creating believable teenage voices
The Times, 'Children's Books of the Year'
A timely, funny and compassionate book with an endearing protagonist.
Sunday Independent Dublin - Best Books of 2018
Felix’s deeply engrossing and fully immersive first-person narrative of homelessness is both illuminating and heartbreaking
Kirkus, starred review
Readers will be cheering for Felix as he learns to finally let others help him. A well-written work of realism that will be a mirror to some and a window for others.
School Library Journal
Felix’s story is hard to put down and, while it doesn’t shy away from the grim reality of “accidental” homelessness, this gritty, contemporary issue is tackled with sensitivity and gentle humour.
BookTrust
This may be a story about poverty and depression, but there’s hope and humour at its heart.
The Observer
Susin Nielsen has showcased her talent for authentic, unforgettable teenage voices.
The Observer
…a moving, but funny, tale of homelessness.
Irish Times - Best YA Fiction of 2018
Susin Nielsen is warm, funny and doesn’t write like anyone else
The Bookseller
Sharply comic and sad by turns…another superb book
The Guardian
Nielsen writes about the important subjects of hidden homelessness, depression and poverty in a powerfully authentic and funny way.
Tamsin Winter
This heartbreaking, funny and soulful novel explores the trials of being one of the ‘hidden homeless’ … No Fixed Address is a humane call to remember those who live on the precipice.
Inis Reading Guide
Both painful and funny, this is a book that will have readers alternatively shouting at its central characters, and cheering them on.
LoveReading4Kids
A heartwarming and heartbreaking tale…this book is an exciting page-turner which will help young people reflect more deeply about the world in which we live.
The School Librarian
No Fixed Address tackles tough issues with endless humour and hope. A beautiful book
Maximum Pop
This is YA writing at its best
Books for Keeps
No Fixed Address is another triumph from one of my absolute favourite writers
Storytellers Inc
Susin Nielsen deftly combines humour, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society.
Absolutely Education
A special story… the power of a strong family bond, friendship, and a community are forces to be reckoned with.
Askews & Holts Library Services