Lenny's Book of Everything

by Karen Foxlee

Love is a wonderful thing, and it doesn't have conditions in this novel about sister and brother Lenny and Davy as they deal with the fact that Davy is very different from everyone else around him. Davy is growing. And growing and growing. He is diagnosed with a rare form of gigantism. But he and Lenny are also trying to figure out where their father went, if they have a grandmother, what is going to be in the next issue of the encyclopaedia that is heading their way in the post and which letter is their favourite, as each one opens up the world to the siblings just a bit more.

In this exquisite book about love and loss and caring for your family, Karen Foxlee has created a heart-rending and hopeful book that delights and surprises. W is for Wonderful, and that is Lenny's Book of Everything. Unforgettably wonderful.

• ISBN10: 178269238X
• ISBN13: 9781782692386
• Publish Date: 24 January 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Pushkin Children's Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

Melancholy, but never overdone, this beautiful book is perfectly written. It’s told from Lenny’s point of view as she and her brother Davey turn to an encyclopedia set to help them navigate the things they don’t understand and can’t control. This book is a thoughtful commentary on dealing with grief.

I can tell that this will be considered a classic in its type- keeping company with A Monster Calls and Bridge to Terabithia. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. This book will stay with me and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it made into a movie a few years down the line.

I love that it’s written for children because so often we try to protect kids from the big things, not realizing that these things affect them too. The language is simple, but never condescending. It doesn’t hold back, but it also doesn’t attempt to oversell, if that makes sense. I tell you what, though: plan on getting a mysterious case of teary eye toward the end!

[anne]

Too sad