No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen

A middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness.

Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. His favorite game show is Who What Where When; he even named his gerbil after the host. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Astrid swears him to secrecy. He can't tell anyone about their living arrangement, not even Dylan and Winnie, his best friends at his new school. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care.

As their circumstances go from bad to worse, Felix gets a chance to audition for a junior edition of Who What Where When, and he's determined to earn a spot on the show. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. But things don't turn out the way he expects. . . .

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published September 11, 2018

 by Tundra Books

4.5/5 stars

This is my first time reading, Canadian author Susan Nelson, I will definitely be back for more. No Fixed Address is a heartwarming story about 12 year-old Felix and his mother, they suddenly find themselves homeless or almost since they are living in a van.

I really like Felix, he is smart, caring, kinda quirky while dealing alot with a lot of stuff that he shouldn’t be. His mother tries, she’s a complicated character and though I felt her love for her son she just has issues.

No Fixed Address pulls at the heart strings as it deals with the stigma attached to poverty and homelessness, while being a strong story involving friendship, family, and hope. The author’s writing style made this for an addicting read that only took me a couple days to finish. It is a great book to open up discussions while also showing a good side of human nature.

This book was part of my 2025 reading off my shelf challenge and is booked #8.

Review: The Takeaway Men by Meryl Ain

With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin

sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp.

In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War.

Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows.

As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers. But it soon becomes clear that those memories will be more difficult and painful to uncover than they could have anticipated.

Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.

Paperback, 244 pages

Expected publication: August 4th 2020

by Sparkpress

3/5 stars

For the Lubinski's arriving in the USA was a fresh and new start.  A time to put the past behind them, as well as try to forget. I haven't read a book like this one in a while.  For Aron and Dyta (Judy) along with twin daughters crossing the ocean is the perfect opportunity.  As the girls get older they learn about the Holocaust, witness things and begin to question their parents. I love the cover and feel it reflects twins with different personalities and looks.

The author definitely researched a lot for this book. There is a wide cast of characters in these 244 pages with lives linked by friendship, the past and their faith.  Touching on a lot of different subjects aside from WW2 made it hard to feel a connection to the players here.  Very much a telling book verses a show.

Like I said the author painted a picture of life in the '50s and '60s in terms of mental illness and women's roles. A new perspective of healing after a horrible time in history.

My thanks to iRead Book Tours for an advanced print copy in exchange for an honest review.