I decided to read this book, well decided isn't the right word... I had to read this book, solely because it turns out the great Amanda Joshua has never read a book written by a new Zealander and so, to complete this assignment I read it. The category this book fills out (as is obvious) is book written by a new Zealand author.I have to say, I was quite surprised by the way this book developed. The first time I met, well read about, Frankie, I was a little bit irritated. You see, Frankie is a worrier. He worries about everything on THE FACE OF THE EARTH! He over analysed EVERYTHING, and I found that quite extenuating, especially since the only things I worry about are maths exams and food. (mostly food though!) So I am extremely surprised to find myself typing that he is my favourite character. I don't know at what stage of the book this happened, but suddenly I found that I had warmed to this quirky, little worryguts and had started to find his constant worrying and over-analysed thoughts rather endearing than disgustingly exhausting. The things he says are just so well-thought out and mature for a twelve year old to say.I loved watching as he categorises the world into two types of people, caged birds and free birds, then slowly realises that he himself is a caged bird ad tries desperately to free himself from his 'cage'. This also slightly relates to a poem we studied early into this school year with Ms. Berry.My favourite quote would have to be: "Suddenly I realized that though it had always been a dream of mine and Gigs to finish filling in the cache, I was sad to see it come to an end. What would I do now? But then I remembered that I wasn't a caged bird anymore. I didn't have to stick to the same routine day in and day out. I put my old dreams behind me and soared away to find a new dream." I loved these few sentences because it really showed how much Frankie Parsons had grown and developed throughout the book. He had finally escaped his cage.Something I learnt from this book was why some people worry so much. Frankie is raised by his mother who hasn't left the house in years. She is one of the caged birds in our novel. He unconsciously reacts to her never leaving and though he is perfectly able to leave the house, he worries everything outside his house. I also learnt that New Zealand writers are amazing and I should read more of their books. The third and last thing I learnt was that no matter how silly and stupid someone's worries and behavior may seem, there is always a good reason behind why they are scared or insecure and that I should not judge them immediately on sight. It took a while for me to get into this book but when I did I started to really enjoy it. The characters were very interesting and cleverly written. I didn't feel any emotional connection with any of the characters but reading about them was enjoyable. When the book ended I was slightly disappointed. I won't spoil it but there was an anti-climax. Until the disappointing ending this book was quite good. I recommend this book for anyone that wants to try something different. 3 stars
What do You think about The 10 P.M. Question (2010)?
Spell-binding! Kate's drilling down on the minutae of family life is hynotic and brilliant.
—Jemmii
