- Miles Franklin Literary Award 2003 · Shortlist
Of a Boy
Of a Boy
Sonya Hartnett (born 1968)
English editions
Written in EnglishWhat the Birds See
Walker Books · United Kingdom · 2003 · 195 pages
Of a Boy
Viking · Australia · 29 March 2002 · 188 pages
What the Birds See
Candlewick Press · United States · 1 February 2003 · 200 pages
What the Birds See
Candlewick Press · United States · 25 September 2007 · Paperback · 208 pages
Of a Boy
Penguin · Australia · 27 August 2014 · Paperback · 208 pages
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Adrian is nine, and it is 1977. His mother was judged unfit to look after him and his father does not want him, so he has been placed with his grandmother, who feels too worn out to bring up a child, and his uncle Rory, who has hidden from the world since a car accident in which a friend died. Adrian loves drawing and wants a dog; he is frightened of quicksand, tidal waves and sea monsters, and of being left behind. At school he holds on to his single friend, Clinton. Three children from a nearby suburb went to the shop for ice creams and have not been seen since, and when a new family arrives in the house opposite, its oldest girl, Nicole, pulls him into her obsession with finding them.
AI-generated summary
About the book
- Form
- Novel
- Genres
- Coming of age, Family (assigned by AI)
- Set in
- Australia, 1977
- First published
- 2002
- Author's age
- 34 when first published
- ISBN
-
9780670040261 (Viking, Australia)
9780763620929 (Candlewick Press, United States)
9780744590937 (Walker Books, United Kingdom)
9780763636807 (Candlewick Press, United States)
9780143571759 (Penguin, Australia)
- More
- Wikidata