The author is an Australian who writes a compelling story about a family in stress. These characters are so realistic that I felt close to them and found myself sharing their emotional reactions to what was happening in their lives.
There is the story teller, Ort Flack, a boy whose time in a coma changes how he sees himself. When his father is injured in an automobile accident he, too, is in a coma. As he recovers his interaction with family members is limited and disappointing. Confined to a wheelchair, the father often gazes around him rather than communicating with them. The family misses the role he held before the accident.
Meanwhile, Ort is anxious about attending high school. His sister's extensive teenage angst does nothing to alleviate his apprehension. Furthermore, his mother's companionship with a religious individual only strengthens his fears and Ort chooses to spend more and more time with his favourite chicken, God, and in the forest.
The author weaves a simple but dramatic story about family dynamics. The characters were so well written that this reader felt an unusual closeness to them. Tegwyn, the daughter in the family, continually vents her teenage anger on everyone. The mother and Ort turn to God. The father is caught in a world of his own after the automobile accident. There is Fat, Ort's only friend, who grows away from him and Henry, a missionary, who helps them through it all. A surprising event near the end changes everything. All in all is a good, good read and I hope to find more books by the author.
There is the story teller, Ort Flack, a boy whose time in a coma changes how he sees himself. When his father is injured in an automobile accident he, too, is in a coma. As he recovers his interaction with family members is limited and disappointing. Confined to a wheelchair, the father often gazes around him rather than communicating with them. The family misses the role he held before the accident.
Meanwhile, Ort is anxious about attending high school. His sister's extensive teenage angst does nothing to alleviate his apprehension. Furthermore, his mother's companionship with a religious individual only strengthens his fears and Ort chooses to spend more and more time with his favourite chicken, God, and in the forest.
The author weaves a simple but dramatic story about family dynamics. The characters were so well written that this reader felt an unusual closeness to them. Tegwyn, the daughter in the family, continually vents her teenage anger on everyone. The mother and Ort turn to God. The father is caught in a world of his own after the automobile accident. There is Fat, Ort's only friend, who grows away from him and Henry, a missionary, who helps them through it all. A surprising event near the end changes everything. All in all is a good, good read and I hope to find more books by the author.
