BOOK REVIEW // T H E B AROSSA MAG | 43
BOOK REVIEW
REVIEW BY TODD KUCHEL
Lenny’s book of Everything
WRITTEN BY KAREN FOXLEE
Lenny Spink has a brother
named
Davey
who
has
something peculiar that just
isn’t quite right, he won’t stop
growing.
With their mother working
two jobs, Lenny and Davey
spend much of their time
in the care of their elderly
neighbour, Mrs Caspar.
Mrs
Caspar
has
two
Pomeranians, a home littered
with ash trays and doilies and
watches ‘Days of our Lives’
religiously.
Mrs Caspar also shares Lenny
and Davey’s enthusiasm for the
information within the pages
of the encyclopaedias their
mother won in a competition.
As each edition arrives from
A – Z throughout the story,
Lenny and Davey learn of the
world and dream in their beds
at night of travelling to distant
corners of the world.
When finally their mother
obtains the courage to enrol
Davey at school, he has grown
to the height of a fifth grader.
This is a touching moment
that captures the anxiety
surrounding the first day of
school beautifully, shedding
light on both cruelty and
acceptance.
As Davey’s condition declines,
the weight of the world falls
upon Lenny.
This is a character based
story that absolutely throws
you right into Lenny’s life as
though these characters truly
exist. I have no doubt that
it will give every one of its
readers something to relate to
and even some déjà vu.
Lenny’s book of Everything
is now available from The
Ravens Parlour book store,
Tanunda.
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