What is it about?
Bobby Nusku is nearly
alone in the world. He spends his nights meticulously archiving the
traces his long-absent mother left behind. He spends his days plotting
with his only friend, Sunny, trying to contrive ways to protect himself
from neighborhood bullies and an abusive father. But the stories they
tell and the realities they live are painfully far apart, and when Sunny
is forced to move away, Bobby fears he has no one else to turn to.
Then
Bobby encounters two outcasts like himself: Rosa, a girl with a red
tricycle who collects names in her notebook and whose disability invites
the scorn of the same bullies that haunt Bobby; and Val, her mother, a
lonely divorcee who cleans the towns mobile library for work.
They connect deeply, filling the gaps in each others lives,
but the bond between the older woman and young boy also draws the
towns suspicion and outrage, as rumors begin to fly about the
nature of their relationship. Val loses her job, Bobby is beaten
severely by his father, and, with worse sure to follow, they abscond
with Rosa in their sixteen-wheel bookmobile, embarking on a picaresque
adventure that comes to rival those in the classic books that fill their
library on wheels.
Who is it for?
Young adults and older
Genre?
Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Is it any good?
This book has left a lasting impression on me, so much so that if it is on the recalls in work I will not send it back, I also rave about it so much that I have a lady coming into work who I recommended it to for her bookclub and now every time she is flying out she will come and find me for more recommendations. I usually struggle to write reviews about books I have read more than a few weeks ago, I found this one effortless, if that doesn't tell you something I don't know what will.
It was the cover of the book that first drew me to this book, the cover is so pretty and its a book about books, you all probably know how I feel about that by now. When I read the synopsis I was so intregued I bought it without a moment of hesitation. From the instant that you meet the main characters of this book you feel for them, which helps with going through the emotions with the characters throughout the book, the good the bad and the ugly.
I found the way in which the book began with the ending really interesting, the way David Whitehouse cleverly structured this book making it impossible to put down until you reach the ending for how they managed to get themselves in that situation. I also loved that this book was not predictable in any way shape or form.
Was the ending satisfactory?
Very much so, it broke my heart on both a sweet way and a sad way. I knew sort of what was coming because the first chapter of the book begins with the beginning of the end but I would never have guessed the outcome.
Would I recommend the book?
I would and I do and I have been for about a year now
Read it if you like:
I can't think of anything else like it so far, it truly is one of a kind.
