She lives in Vancouver with her family and two naughty cats. Susin’s new novel, We Are All Made of Molecules, will be published in Canada, the US and the UK in Spring of 2015. Her books have been translated into multiple languages. Author Wally Lamb named it his top YA pick for 2012 in his “First Annual Wally Awards,” and recently Rolling Stone magazine put it at #27 in their list of “Top 40 Best YA Novels.” It went on to win the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year Award, and a number of Young Readers’ Choice Awards. Her third novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. It won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards, as did her second novel, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom. Her first young adult novel, Word Nerd, was published in 2008 to critical acclaim. Since then, Nielsen has written for over 20 Canadian TV series. Nielsen went on to pen sixteen episodes of the hit TV show. They hated her food, but they saw a spark in her writing. I was pleased with her We Are All Made of Molecules novel but this book solidified my interest in her future stories.Susin got her start feeding cast and crew on the popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and found Susin Nielsen’s writing charming once again. And he has his intelligence, which may just be the answer to his and his mom’s problems.
This story may seem like the complete opposite of a ‘‘feel good’’ one but that isn’t true.
It’s true that these two have a van, which may be better than not having anything at all, but they don’t have a bathroom, they don’t have a kitchen, they don’t have warmth because the car can’t be on all night, they don’t have space… It’s not ideal and it’s not the place for a boy and an adult. Not only is Felix and his mom’s situation put in context, the author also describes what it’s like not have a house. This can go both ways: sometimes you’re at the bottom and are able to climb to the top sometimes you’re at the top and sliding to the bottom, unable to stop your feet from hitting the ground. The truth is that you never know what can happen. Yes, Felix is living in a van and that’s a problem, but the author takes us back to the beginning to make us understand how this boy and his mother Astrid lost everything. What I like most is that she doesn’t simply throw us in a situation.
And yet, Susin Nielsen tries… and, in my opinion, does a superb job of discussing them. It isn’t easy to talk about controversial subjects like poverty and homelessness to a middle grade audience. I admire the hell out of Susin Nielsen for tackling the topics she does. Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Friendship, Family, Social Issues, Competition
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