Rate this book

The 10 PM Question (2010)

by Kate De Goldi(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0763649392 (ISBN13: 9780763649395)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Candlewick Press

review 1: The opening chapters take it a little slowly as we are introduced to 12 year old Frankie and his dad, Uncle George, mum,sister and brother. Oh, and his best friend, Gig, and newcomer, Sydney. And the Aunts. Frankie suffers from anxiety. Every spot or scratch is a fatal disease, and the world is going to end. Most anxious, though, is his mother who hasn't left the house in nine years. Frankie constantly takes the burden on his shoulders of doing chores to help out his mum and he even doesn't attend school camp, because who would make sure mum was alright? Frankie is witty and understands he has a problem. His 10pm question is when he visits his mum at night to check on his current worry. Although he is anxious, he has good friends in Gig and Sydney. Sydney comes f... morerom an unusual background. It seems her mum lives off the favours that various wealthy men can provide. Sydney, too, feels at odds in her family as she often is forced to take on the role of substitute mother. The biggest question for Frankie, that no one asks is why doesn't his mother leave the house? This forms the central part of the novel and the climax leads to Frankie beginning to understand that his mother has come a long way in facing her anxieties. Sydney is uprooted again and departs for Sydney in the closing sections of the novel. Frankie gets help to address his anxieties and learns that in focusing on the positive things, the bad things will recede into the background.
review 2: With the protagonist being 12 years old, I want to assume it's written for that age group, and review it accordingly. This book addressed mental illness without it being the centre of the book. It was part of the characters' lives in the ever-present background, the way they tend to be, but are addressed quite thoroughly and honestly by the end. The voices are young and innocent and so charming. Would definitely recommend for young teenagers. less

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