“He was so enamoured that his mom actually had written these things. “He just loved it,” said Nielsen about reading her earlier works to son. Then things changed, he grew up and out of his mom’s work. When Nielsen began writing YA novels she had a built-in and supportive audience in her young son. 1 questions I get is ‘have you met Drake?’ I have to say ‘no,’ said Nielsen adding that she then has to explain she wrote for the really old Degrassi show not the Next Generation version with the hip-hop superstar. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The problem is they don’t have an address in the catchment area they don’t have an address at all. The month comes and goes, and the school year is upon them and Felix wants to attend a specific school. Astrid says it is just for the month of August while she finds work. Astrid loves her son but her unpredictable and hair trigger personality causes her to lose jobs, friends and homes.Īfter losing their Vancouver apartment Astrid and Felix find themselves forced to live in an old Volkswagen Westfalia van. His mother Astrid is raising Felix, a trivia whiz. Susin Nielsen did not set out to make her new novel a commentary on the current Vancouver housing crisis but it worked out that way.Īvailable now, the young adult novel No Fixed Address tells the story of bright, likable 12-year-old Felix Knuttson. The next issue of Sunrise presented by Vancouver Sun will soon be in your inbox. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

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Vancouver Sun Run: Sign up & event info.Susin Nielsen deftly combines humor, heartbreak, and hope in this moving story about people who slip through the cracks in society, and about the power of friendship and community to make all the difference. But things don't turn out the way he expects. Winning the cash prize could make everything okay again. If he does, she warns him, he'll be taken away from her and put in foster care.Īs 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.

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. So when they get evicted from their latest shabby apartment, they have to move into a van. Felix's mom, Astrid, is loving but can't seem to hold on to a job. His favorite game show is Who What Where When he even named his gerbil after the host.

Twelve-and-three-quarter-year-old Felix Knutsson has a knack for trivia. For fans of Wendelin van Draanen and Cynthia Lord, a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship, and growing up when you're one step away from homelessness.

No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen