“My leg jiggled up and down.”

From Susin Nielsen’s No Fixed Address.

Life has recently become crazy for almost 13-year-old Felix.  While life has always been a little on the wild side with his against-social-norms, confrontational, opinionated mother, Astrid, it has recently become even more odd for Felix, because he and his mother have started living in a Westfalia van.  What was just supposed to be a short term solution in August as Astrid was between jobs and apartments is steadily developing into a pretty-permanent problem for Felix; they downsized their possessions and clothes, so Felix’s only prized possessions are his gerbil (Horatio) and a little gnome protector that his grandmother gave him.  However, there have been a few benefits for Felix’s new normal, including his eligibility to attend a school with a school with a well-known French immersion program where he can reconnect with his childhood best friend Dylan.  Felix’s extreme love of trivia game shows, especially Who, What, Where, When also connects him with a fellow French immersion student and self-proclaimed overachiever Winnie.  When Felix learns of a special Who, What, Where, When Jr. show is looking for participants, he realizes that if he can get on the show, the prize money will be enough to fix all of his problems… if he can just keep his living situation a secret.

The characters are fun, the story is full of lots of surprises, and the dialog is witty.  Some elements of the story seem too mature for child readers, especially considering it is marketed to the tween/young teen demographic.  However, Nielsen creates a very engaging read that doesn’t get bogged down with a slow development, but rather jumps right into the characters’ interesting lives.  No Fixed Address is a book that is a must-read for fans looking for something that is believable yet somehow fantastical.