No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 288

Publisher: Anderson

Released: 4th of October 2018 

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 . . .

What I Have to Say

This was basically an Canadian version of Slumdog Millionaire for kids. Felix is a optimistic teenager who just wants to save him and his mum  through the junior edition of his favourite game show! It's a great blend of hope, friendship and real life issues. 

Living in a van with his single mum, Astrid, Felix has a lot of struggles. I can't remember if it was stated specifically that Astrid had bipolar or if it was something that I read into it, but it definitely dealt with her going into depressive slumps and Felix having to look after her. Spending most of the time trying to hide from the questions of friends, teachers and anyone else who might report them to the authorities (something that Astrid is terrified of due to her own bad experiences in the past), Felix has to get through life and school and friendships without anyone finding out he lives out of a van. It's amazing that Nielson managed to squeeze so many real life issues into one book so completely naturally. 

I loved the bond between Felix and his friends. He had such a great friendship with Dylan that he could so easily pick up after so many years, but the best thing was how Winnie just inserted herself in the group through shear force of will. Winnie was a great character who is definitely the sort of person who everyone hates at school, but the friendship still worked once Felix and Dylan just accepted that they wouldn't be able to get away from her. She proved herself to be such a great friend to Felix and shows that the most unexpected friends can be the best. 

This is an important book and also a thrilling on. It is fun to read while still hitting the hard issues without shying away. Definitely a book to pick up this year. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Anderson for providing me with this copy for review.