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10 P.M. Question, The

de Goldi, Kate

Frankie Parsons has a rather large, quirky family. Their small daily rituals, their funny habits — even their smells are part of Frankie's safe and richly coloured haven. In year 8, when he's twelve years old, Frankie's view of his world begins to change. There's a new arrival at school — a dreadlocked girl called Sydney who becomes perplexingly fascinating to him. She even starts to draw him away from his best friend, Gigs. Yet this inquisitive new friend disturbs with her Questions; she says what she means. Frankie's an intelligent boy; he's fascinated by any number of topics: he loves wordplay and his COD (Concise Oxford Dictionary), and is something of an expert on birdlife. Yet he's increasingly feeling anxious about everything. He has a list of Contagious Infectious Diseases and a bird flu kit. He worries about the probability of earthquakes, terrorism and global warming. He worries that blowing a sustained forte on the trombone may trigger a brain haemorrhage, but most worrying to him is Ma.

Runner up in the 2009 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, Fiction category.

Winner of the 2009 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, Readers' choice category.

Winner of the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards — Book of the Year and Young Adult Fiction category

The 10 PM Question is a brilliantly funny, poetic and tender novel. While highly entertaining, it also explores difficult terrain; that of preparing children for a complicated and often frightening world. Combining wrenching emotional moments with playful energy Kate De Goldi has written a pitch perfect, exceptional story for readers of all ages.

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