The simple gift

Format:

Book

Title:

The simple gift

Author:

Herrick, Steven.

ISBN:

9780702231339

Publication Information:

St Lucia, Qld. : University of Queensland Press, 2000.

Physical Description:

205 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Series title(s):

UQP young adult fiction.

Contents:

Champagne Billy -- Bendarat -- Caitlin -- The hobo hour -- Work -- Friends -- The simple gift -- Closing in -- Locks and keys -- Old Bill -- The hobo sky.

Summary:

The story of sixteen year old Billy, who runs away from the tyranny of his father's home to become a homeless person.

Subject(s):

Runaway teenagers -- Poetry.

Novels in verse.

Runaways -- Fiction.

Homeless persons -- Fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Stayton Public Library	TEEN HERRICK, S	Searching... Unknown

My hand in his stops trembling, for a moment.

When the paths of a runaway teenage boy, an old hobo and a rich girl intersect in an abandoned train yard, each carries their own personal baggage. Over early mornings, long walks and cheap coffee they discover, no matter how big or small, it's the simple gifts in life that really make a difference.

A life-affirming look at humanity, generosity and love.

Author Notes

Steven Herrick is the author of twenty-four books for children and young adults. His books have twice won the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and have been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards on eight occasions. He is widely recognised as a pioneer of the verse-novel genre for young adults. He is also the author of six travel books. He spends nine months of the year visiting schools in Australia and three months on his bicycle pedalling slowly and thinking about his next book. www.stevenherrick.com.au

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-A free-verse novel told in three voices. Billy, 16, says good riddance to his abusive father and hops a freight train. Settling in a small town in Australia that has a friendly librarian and a train yard with abandoned cars to call home, he adjusts quickly to life, figuring out how to eat and keep clean. Intelligent and mature, the teen thinks about cruelty, compassion, and what his life has become-"I'm poor, homeless, but I'm not stupid." He meets and falls in love with Caitlin, a rich and dissatisfied girl who quickly sees there is more to Billy than a starving bum grabbing leftovers off the tables in McDonald's. He also befriends Old Bill, a homeless drunk who teaches him a few things, including how to earn money. Billy has little to offer but compassion, and that's what these two people so desperately need. All three of them are able to give the simplest gifts to one another in this beautiful, subtle, and sensitive story. Tough language is occasionally and appropriately used, and the sexuality is indirectly portrayed, sweet and full of love. A dramatic and compelling story that will appeal even to reluctant readers, this book exceeds Herrick's pair of verse novels, Love, Ghosts, & Facial Hair and A Place Like This (both Pulse, 2004).-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

The third of Australian author Steven Herrick's free verse novels that began with Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair, The Simple Gift, centers on 16-year-old Billy Luckett, who runs away from his alcoholic father to make his own way: "I'm poor, homeless/ but I'm not stupid." The poems are written from the points of view of Billy, Old Bill (who he meets while living in a train car) and Caitlin, Billy's love interest-a girl from a wealthy family who works at McDonald's. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Gr. 8-10. A boy runs away from an unhappy family situation, sets up house in an abandoned freight car, and establishes new ties that nourish his soul and lead to a real home. Sound like the newest installment of The Boxcar Children series ? Nope. For one thing, this is a YA novel in verse; for another, it's Australian. Even so, this tender, uplifting story occupies a cozy corner of the literary universe not too far removed from that of Boxcar kids Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Herrick reveals, in alternating verse narratives, the innermost thoughts of a trio of characters who influence one another in positive ways: there's 16-year-old Billy, the aforementioned freight-car resident; Caitlin, the wealthy townie with whom he forms a transcendent bond; and Old Bill, the lawyer-turned-alcoholic hobo to whom Billy reaches out--and who gives Billy an astonishing gift in return. Another crowd-pleasing, swift-reading novel of redemptive love and friendship, sure to please fans of Herrick's Love, Ghosts, and Facial Hair and A Place Like This BKL Mr 15 04. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2004 Booklist

1 Champagne Billy	p. 1
2 Bendarat	p. 19
3 Caitlin	p. 31
4 The hobo hour	p. 43
5 Work	p. 63
6 Friends	p. 91
7 The simple gift	p. 103
8 Closing in	p. 125
9 Locks and keys	p. 155
10 Old Bill	p. 165
11 The hobo sky	p. 179

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order