Kids of Appetite: 'Funny and touching' New York Times

by David Arnold

KIDS OF APPETITE by David Arnold, author of MOSQUITOLAND, is a tragicomedy of first love and devastating loss, perfect for for fans of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Rainbow Rowell and Jennifer Niven.

'CAPTIVATING' WASHINGTON POST

In the Hackensack Police Department, Vic Benucci and his friend Mad are explaining how they found themselves wrapped up in a grisly murder. But in order to tell that story, they have to go way back...

It all started when Vic's dad died. Vic's dad was his best friend, and even now, two years later, he can't bring himself to touch the Untouchable Urn of Oblivion that sits in his front hall. But one cold December day, Vic falls in with an alluring band of kids that wander his New Jersey neighbourhood, including Mad, the girl who changes everything.

Along with his newfound friendships comes the courage to open his father's urn, the discovery of the message inside, and the epic journey it sparks...

Praise for David Arnold:

'Funny and touching'
NEW YORK TIMES

'Fresh and often very endearing'
SUNDAY HERALD

'[A novel that] bucks the usual classifications and stands defiantly alone'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

'A joy'
INDEPENDENT, Best YA novels of 2015

• ISBN10: 1472218957
• ISBN13: 9781472218957
• Publish Date: 20 September 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Book Publishing
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[ellieroth]

1.5 u.u

[Sam@WLABB]

And when the kids needed someone most, someone to love and trust, they found one another, and they called themselves the Kids of Appetite, and they lived and they laughed and they saw that it was good.

This book was filled with so much love and caring and feels, that my heart exploded. This book gave me so much more than I expected, and I mean that in the best way possible.

We are all part of the same story, Baz, each of us different chapters. We may not have the power to choose setting or plot, but we can choose what kind of character we want to be.

Vic was still mourning his father two years after his death. His mother has been trying to move on and things were moving a little too fast with her boyfriend for Vic's liking. So, he grabbed his father's urn and fled. Fate brought Vic into contact with Baz, Nzuzi, Coco, and Mad. They took him into their fold in order to help him decipher the sites described in his father's "terminal letter". The sites where his father wished to have his ashes scattered.

Mom and Dad had gathered their love like kindling, burned it together. And now that love is scattered all over the place.

The search for these sites and what they meant in the reconstruction of his parents' love story was what really got me in the feels. I couldn't believe how lucky Vic was to be surrounded by people who loved so deeply.

My heart was so full, I thought it might explode into the ether, creating some bizarre new solar system whose inhabitants ate only love, drank only hope, and breathed only joy. What a substantial galaxy that would be.

But that is not the only kind of love in this story. It's everywhere in this book. The love between brothers, family, friends, and even a family one chose themselves. There wass first love and last love, new love and old love. I told you - my heart was exploding.

Walt Whitman was right. We do contain multitudes. Most are hard and heavy, and what a headache. But some multitudes are wondrous.

This book was so many adjectives: sweet, funny, tender, beautiful, sad, emotional, scary (just a little), quirky, interesting, thought provoking. I have not been this excited about a book in a while. Where, the book was so good, I could not justify it with simple words.

I loved the mystery, the who-done-it that was worked in there. I loved the epilogue/prologue at the end. I interpreted that the way I wanted to, and got the ending I wanted. Mostly, I just loved that Arnold went in this direction. It was such a fun way to give us that required closure.

This quote pretty much sums up my feelings:

You guys are the most beautiful run-on sentence I've ever heard