of_a_boy_hartnett
2004 Longlist

Of a Boy

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ABOUT
THE BOOK

The Metfords have not been lost or abandoned – they have been made to disappear. They have not run away – they have been lifted up and carried. They’ve been taken somewhere as distant as Jupiter. Adrian has never thought that an ordinary child, a kid like himself or Clinton or that freckle-nosed girl, might be of interest to anyone excepting family and friends, that an ordinary child could be worth taking or wanting, a desirable thing.
The year is 1977, and Adrian is nine. He lives with his grandmother and his uncle Rory; his best friend is Clinton Tull. He loves to draw and he wants a dog; he’s afraid of quicksand, shopping centres and self-combustion. Adrian watches his suburban world, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not, for instance, know why three neighbourhood children might set out to buy ice-cream and never come back home. . .

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Sonya
Hartnett

Sonya Hartnett’s work has won numerous Australian and international literary prizes and has been published around the world. Uniquely, she is acclaimed for her stories for adults, young adults and children. Her accolades include the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Of a Boy, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Thursday’s Child, and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Surrender. Hartnett is also the first Australian recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Sonya Hartnett’s work has won numerous Australian and international literary prizes and has been published around the world. Uniquely, she is acclaimed for her stories for adults, young adults and children. Her accolades include the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Of a Boy, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for Thursday’s Child, and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Surrender. Hartnett is also the first Australian recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
Australia
Original Language
English
Publisher
Penguin Books Australia

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