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The 10PM Question ISBN: 9781877460203 Release: 09-2008 Reprinted 4 times since 1st Publication Subject: Fiction - Crossover Format: Paperback with Gatefolds RRP: NZ$29.99 Download Resource Kit for teachers |
Frankie Parsons is twelve going on old man: an apparently sensible, talented Year 8 with a drumbeat of worrying questions steadily gaining volume in his head:
Are the smoke alarm batteries flat?
Does the cat, and therefore the rest of the family,
have worms?
Will bird flu strike and ruin life as we know it?
Is the kidney-shaped spot on his chest actually
a galloping cancer?
Most of the significant people in Frankie’s world – his father, his brother and sister, his great-aunts, his best friend Gigs – seem gloriously untroubled by worry. Only Ma takes seriously his catalogue of persistent anxieties; only Ma listens patiently to his 10 p.m. queries.
But of course, it is Ma who is the cause of the most worrying question of all, the one that Frankie can never bring himself to ask.
Then the new girl arrives at school and has questions of her own: relentless, unavoidable questions.
So begins the unravelling of Frankie Parson’s carefully controlled world. So begins the painful business of fronting up to the unpalatable: the ultimate 10 p.m. question.
The 10PM Question is a novel which defies all age categories. It does so with a sparkling wit and an operatic cast of characters so delightful and maddening they become dear to us.
A tender, beautifully told and endearing story. By the end, you’ll wish you had a Frankie Parsons of your own.
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Endorsements...
'In Kate de Goldi’s sensitive, vital and hilarious novel,
Frankie and the reader walk hand in hand through pages that gleam with hope and humour, towards a closer
understanding not only of sad endings in books but also the unsolvable problems of real life.'
'A truly special book. Kate de Goldi's dazzling writing will break your heart and make you wonder,
marvel and laugh all at once. A gorgeous, deeply imagined story.' - Barbara Murison, Around the Bookshops 'I could not put this novel down. I found myself devouring it and when I reached the end wanted to hold it close and begin the reading journey again.' - Reading Time Magazine, Vol. 52, No. 4 'The 10PM Question is as perfect as a good novel gets.' - Ernie Tucker, Choice for English 'Words and their capacity for escape, for deliverance and for joyful expression are celebrated through the characters in this book.' - Rachel Hawthorne, English in Aotearoa 'The 10PM Question is brilliant - one of the best New Zealand novels I have read for a long time - tender and laugh-out-loud funny. An inspired gem. What a joy!' - Carol Beu, Women's Bookshop 'If you want a large dose of De Goldi [insight, wisdom, compassion, humour, intelligence, skill], read this book. If you want to read a book that is already a modern classic, read this book... Oh do, do, do, do, do, do, do read this book' - Mary McCallum's Blog ‘The 10PM Question is fabulous. I think you should all go out and buy it right now and then come home, get into bed and read it.’ - Kim Hill |
Winner of the Readers Choice Award - Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2009
Runner-up in the Fiction category - Montana New Zealand Book Awards 2009
Shortlisted in the Nielson BookData NZ Bookseller's Choice Award 2009
Finalist in the LIANZA Children's Book Awards - Esther Glen Award (Fiction) 2009
Winner of the Book of the Year Award - NZ Post Childrens and Young Adults' Book Awards 2009
Winner of the Young Adult Fiction category - NZ Post Childrens and Young Adults' Book Awards 2009
CLFNZ Notable Books List 2009
