I'm not a crier, and I tend to dislike books that are written to intentionally make readers cry (John Green and I are not friends). Set in Vancouver, the homeless capital of Canada due to it's temperate weather, No Fixed Address is a moving and tear jerking story. Susin Nielsen has brought a hard topic, children who are homeless, to the forefront. There are difficult topics and there are ones where socially we like to pretend they don't exist. She is delighted to have finally figure out how to 'claim' her author profile on Goodreads! 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. And if you’re not cheering him on in this dramatic and unexpected climax you clearly haven’t a heart in your chest.Susin got her start feeding cast and crew on the popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. With shades of Charlie Bucket, Felix has won his golden ticket to compete in the quiz, with fifteen other children, for dreamed-of riches. In a droll touch, two of the final passages are articles in Blenheim’s school magazine, written by Winnie Wu, Felix’s precocious schoolmate and possible girlfriend.

As a not entirely blameless victim, she gives the book welcome nuance and is arguably its most memorable (and crucial) creation. Though she has demons of her own – she sometimes succumbs to depressive slumps during which her and Felix’s parent– child roles are reversed – Astrid clearly loves her son, but her truculence exacerbates their problems. Much of the dramatic tension comes from Astrid and Felix’s efforts to conceal their situation, with Nielsen skilfully unpacking their alarming vulnerability as the novel progresses. The details and pacing are solid, and the characters engage. Despite – or because of – its subject matter, this lively, humorous and hard-hitting book has the never-to-be-underestimated virtue of being hard to put down.

No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen