10pm Question, The
De Goldi, KateFrankie Parsons is 12 going on an old man: an apparently sensible, talented Year 8 with a drumbeat of worrying questions steadily gaining volume in his head. Only Ma takes seriously his catalogue of persistent anxieties; only Ma listens patiently to his 10 pm 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. [Taken from book blurb.] A "Coming of Age" novel. Winner Montana NZ Book Award; Reader's Choice, NZ Post Children's and Young Adult's Book Award; Young Adult fiction.
Comments from Groups
Captivating & entertaining; lively discussion with lots of laughter. We would recommend it to all groups. Dannevirke 002.Fabulous book, we all loved Frankie and his friends Gigs and Sydney. Lively discussion about what is a`normal` family. Auckland 094Mixed discussion...felt it was another youth book. Blenheim 014Our group was divided 70/30 (70% liked it, 30% did not). Those who did not, found the pace a bit slow. Those of us who have children were keen to read it to our kids soon...We as parents, found it to be very touching and a bit sad, yet filled with hope. Takaka 001Enjoyable, easy read! Really enjoyed the characters! Extremely well written. Nelson 023 All of our members enjoyed the book - most wondered whether they would at the start! We felt that it was very clever the way the many characters were all colourful, and that we came to realise there really is no defintion for 'a normal family'. We all appreciated the fact that people live quite differently and cannot be typecast. Hamilton 026 We all enjoyed this charming and entertaining book. Kate de Goldi certainly has a very vivid and fertile imagination, and gets into the mind of a twelve year old boy. Brilliant! Matamata 003 Most of us appreciated the good portrayal of family life behind closed doors. Vivid characters - colourful and believable. Recommended for younger readers. Whangarei 004 Delightful book - we all loved it. A family full of characters, each well drawn. We enjoyed the relationship between Frankie and Gigs, and thought they were lucky to have a teacher like Mr A. The book dealt with some serious issues which were handled in a positive way. Highly recommended. Whitby 002 Much enjoyed - led to discussion on a variety of topics ie/ teachers, dysfunctional families, anxieties, agrophobia and relationships. A rewarding book. Nelson 062 Thank you - lots of good discussion generated from this one. Lots of people empathised with Frankie. We enjoyed the NZ flavour also. Dunedin 086 Enjoyed by some, not by others. Some felt Frankie's internal thought processes were rather contrived, but all enjoyed the language used and the word games etc. Not sure how teenage readers would react to it! Christchurch 176 Half and half approbation. Those who enjoyed it felt it was very sensitively written, with some profound insights into problems that evolve out of circumstances encountered early on, and see life as a journey of recognition and resolution. Those who enjoyed it less didn't identify with the anxieties (and difficulties in expressing them) that children have. They all found the discussion interesting however. Pahiatua 001
Pages
251
251
Year
2008
2008
Reviews
15-11-2022
Quite mixed opinions of this book. Some read it straight through, others found they picked it up and returned to it several times. It did lead to interesting discussions about families, illnesses, personal choices in life, etc. We all agreed that the author's style of writing was very readable.
28-03-2022
We all loved this book. It is a wonderfully written portrait of an anxious preteen, and we all recognised bits of Frankie in ourselves and people we know.
22-09-2021
Provided an enlightening discussion about different types of mental illness, which members had experienced in their extended family and amongst friends.
01-03-2019
A well written novel from a 12 year old's point of view. The story unwinds carefully along with the depth of the characters. We appreciated the insight into the family dynamics. Prompted good discussion.
20-02-2019
We all enjoyed this book. Kate de Goldi has a wonderful way with words, and draws her readers into the lives of those in this story. Frankie lived in a most understanding world. Good discussion.
20-02-2019
We LOVED this book - it made us laugh and cry, and remember our own childhood fears with more understanding.
20-02-2019
Great NZ coming of age novel. Beautifully descriptive, with compelling life-like characters. An appealing page turner.
20-02-2019
Mixed opinions. We had a great discussion and everyone liked the characters. We reminisced about our own dysfunctional families.
20-02-2019
Loved by half our group. The other half found it charming, but lacking plot and a bit slow.
20-02-2019
All thoroughly enjoyed the book, in every way. The characters, their habits, their insights and also their acceptance of things (ie. the mother's health problems) as that was how things had always been. A great read with 'real' characters.
19-02-2019
We really enjoyed the book once we got captured by the characters. At first we were sceptical but were eventually charmed. It led to good discussion as if the characters were real. It was packed with realistic motives, feelings, sentiments and anxieties.
19-02-2019
Loved it!!
12-04-2018
This book was enjoyed by all, although some found it difficult to get into initially. We felt there was excellent character development, which generated a good discussion.
20-12-2017
Challenging. Difficult to finish.