Felix Knutsson is nearly thirteen and lives with his mother. They are not well off, but are happy. Felix would have liked his Dad to live with them, but he's not hung up about it as he knows the truth about his Dad and has seen him.
The book starts at the end of the story and Felix takes the reader back to how he got into this situation. Although it is never stated and certainly not an issue, Felix probably has higher than average autistic tendencies - he is literal and has an amazing memory for facts.
Felix accepts his Mum's story about moving homes, although notes some strange decisions he is unable to understand. As the novel progresses he begins to piece together more realisations and is extremely sensitive about these, which in turn helps the reader to be less judgemental. He hides his home life from school, from his friends and their parents. He recounts his Mother's childhood background towards the end of the story which helps explain her reluctance to ask for help, and by then the reader is firmly rooting for Felix and sympathetic to his desire to protect his Mum.
Felix is offered the opportunity to turn his and Astrid’s lives around, and I was as shocked as Felix to discover that may not mean the end to his troubles.
This is a moving story about judgement, misconceptions, not wanting to ask for help, but friends (and teachers) willing to give that help.

No Fixed Address was a sweet, touching tale following Felix and his mum, living out of a van and trying to get by. I really felt for Felix as he was only 12 and couldn't do anything to help his situation, and Nielsen portrayed his struggle really well: his allegiance to his mum battling his need for a solid home.

No Fixed Address is a powerful YA novel about a boy who lives in a van with his mum and his pet gerbil, and his attempt to win a game show in order to get them a home. Felix is nearly thirteen and does a French immersion programme at his new school. What his classmates and teachers mustn't know is that he lives in a van, showers weekly at the community centre, and is always hungry. When there are auditions for a junior edition of his favourite game show, it seems like the chance to get him and his mum living somewhere better, but things don't all go to plan.

This is a heartwarming and sad young adult novel that exposes the plight of the hidden homeless: people who aren't always visibly without a home, but still do not have one. It shows the huge impact this has on a teenage boy who just wants a real bed and a toilet, as well as the shame that surrounds such situations. At the same time, it is about reconnecting with old friends and finding community and people to help. It shows the difficulty of Felix's position in many ways, including him being able to see how his mother is failing to protect him and to hold down a job, even though there's nothing he can do about it. The style is direct and engaging and it is another important YA book that highlights real issues.

No Fixed Address is emotional and may open the eyes of some young readers, whilst sadly probably showing reality for others. It is a good book for parents and relatives to read too, to think about the issue of the housing crisis from different perspectives.

Felix is just 13 in #nofixedaddress and we see life without a roof over your head through his eyes. It is smart, compassionate and very moving - it's also, unfortunately, an increasingly relevant tale across the "developed" world.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s Publishers for a review copy of this one.

This was such a wonderful wonderful read for me—heart-breaking, and cute, and making me smile a little all at the same time. The story is told in the voice of twelve-and-three-quarters-year-old Felix Knutsson, who lives with his single mother, Astrid (she insists he calls her by name) in a Westfalia van. They have seen a change in fortunes from a time when they were doing ok and had a home, to one where Astrid is more or less jobless, and almost penniless, and have to take the only option available to them, of living in a van. Felix had had to change schools and homes many times over the years as they moved around various parts of Vancouver but finds himself now back in school with one of the only friends he ever had, Dylan Brinkerhoff. Before long Winnie Wu, somewhat Hermione-Granger-like, and a bit over-enthusiastic about school joins their little group. But Felix has to navigate through all of this without ever letting slip his living arrangements as both Felix and his mother are terrified of falling into the ‘clutches’ of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, which they are convinced will place him in foster care, and apart from his mother. Alongside, he must also deal with his mother, who isn’t exactly a bad mother but not a particularly good one either, with many facets to her character (specifics might be a spoiler), that are far from perfect. His only hope lies in participating in his favourite game show Who, What, Where, When, which is having a junior edition, through which he might win some prize money that can help tide them over.

I loved Felix—he was so sensible, mature for his age, able to face much more than anyone his age could and all without constantly whining or pitying himself. This is not to say that he doesn’t want life to get back to normal, or that he is a Pollyanna, but he takes things in his stride better than even a grown-up would. One can’t help but feel sorry for him having to not only present a brave face to the world but also to be the strong one in his family in some situations. Some of the situations they have to face are plain frightening at times, and others require Felix to accept things that he wouldn’t normally approve of (after all, he has to live). I also liked how the author conveyed so many things subtly capturing things in a way a child might perhaps see them, and not having to say things explicitly/directly all the time. Seeing Felix’s situation, one can’t help but think about people like him who have to live every day without the things we tend to take for granted—food to eat, a bed to sleep in, a toilet in one’s home—and realise the need to have more help at hand for people in such circumstances, and feel grateful in having those things, besides also realising, that a life with dignity which is a ‘basic’ human right remains a luxury for so many. At the same time, the book gives a positive and hopeful message about people themselves. I also liked that the book really reflected well how multicultural our world really is now. This may be classified as a YA book, but is one that can be appreciated by everyone, even adults (perhaps more so), and I highly recommend it. Simply wonderful read. (p.s. of course, I loved the little illustrations!!!!)