No Fixed Address

Susin Nielsen

Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen, lives with his mother and pet gerbil Horatio, and is brilliant at memorising facts and trivia. So far, pretty normal. But Felix and his mom Astrid have a secret: they are living in a van. Astrid promises it’s only for a while until she finds a new job, and begs Felix not to breathe a word about it. So when Felix starts at a new school, he does his very best to hide the fact that most of his clothes are in storage, he only showers weekly at the community centre, and that he doesn’t have enough to eat. When his friends Dylan and Winnie ask to visit, Felix always has an excuse.

But Felix has a plan to turn his and Astrid’s lives around: he’s going to go on his favourite game show Who, What, Where, When and win the cash prize. All he needs is a little luck and a lot of brain power . . .

Susin Nielsen deftly combines humour, 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.

Reviews

"Beautifully wrought, compassionate and entertaining…A book worth giving a home to"
Nicolette Jones - Sunday Times, Children's Book of the Week

"Sharply comic and sad by turns...another superb book"
Imogen Russell Williams - The Guardian

"Susin Nielsen is fantastic at creating believable teenage voices"
Alex O'Connell - The Times, 'Children's Books of the Year'

"Susin Nielsen is an amazing writer. No Fixed Address is my book of the year"
Hilary McKay

"Relatable, moving and funny. Susin Nielsen is simply wonderful"
Sarah Crossan

"Funny, charming and full of heart, this is a really special book. I defy you not to root for Felix Fredrik Knutsson!"
Lisa Williamson

"This may be a story about poverty and depression, but there's hope and humour at its heart."
Fiona Noble - The Observer

"A timely, funny and compassionate book with an endearing protagonist."
Sunday Independent Dublin - Best Books of 2018

"Felix's deeply engrossing and fully immersive first-person narrative of homelessness is both illuminating and heartbreaking"
Kirkus, starred review

"Readers will be cheering for Felix as he learns to finally let others help him. A well-written work of realism that will be a mirror to some and a window for others."
starred review - School Library Journal