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A review by paperbacksandpines
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
4.0
No Fixed Address really packed a punch. In addition to focusing on homelessness, it also featured a variety of issues that no 12 year old should be shouldering on their own.
Main character Felix is saddled with two parents who really aren't cut out to be parents. Felix's mom, Astrid, decided that her biological clock was ticking so she decided to have a baby with her gay best friend. Never mind that she couldn't even take care of herself and pay for her housing on her own but she decided that at since she was 31, she couldn't wait any longer to have a child. Astrid put her pride above the needs of her child, Felix. While he didn't have regular access to a restroom, shower, or water, Astrid advocated for lying, stealing, and mooching off others in front of Felix.
Somehow, Felix managed to rise above his crummy upbringing but all of the wrenches life was throwing at him put him in an untenable position. I definitely teared up a few times.
I would only recommend this book to the most mature middle grade readers. There were a couple of scenes that are inappropriate for middle grade readers, such as a person sitting in the library engaging in grossly inappropriate sexual behavior and another incident. Overall, unless this reader has experiences with emotional experiences to those of a similar depth explored in this book, this reading experience may either be too much or go over their head.
Main character Felix is saddled with two parents who really aren't cut out to be parents. Felix's mom, Astrid, decided that her biological clock was ticking so she decided to have a baby with her gay best friend. Never mind that she couldn't even take care of herself and pay for her housing on her own but she decided that at since she was 31, she couldn't wait any longer to have a child. Astrid put her pride above the needs of her child, Felix. While he didn't have regular access to a restroom, shower, or water, Astrid advocated for lying, stealing, and mooching off others in front of Felix.
Somehow, Felix managed to rise above his crummy upbringing but all of the wrenches life was throwing at him put him in an untenable position. I definitely teared up a few times.
I would only recommend this book to the most mature middle grade readers. There were a couple of scenes that are inappropriate for middle grade readers, such as a person sitting in the library engaging in grossly inappropriate sexual behavior and another incident. Overall, unless this reader has experiences with emotional experiences to those of a similar depth explored in this book, this reading experience may either be too much or go over their head.