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Of a Boy cover art

Of a Boy

By: Sonya Hartnett
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Editorial reviews

This award-winning audiobook from Sonya Hartnett begins with the tragic disappearance of three children and doesn’t slow down until the unforgettable end. Of a Boy follows young Adrian as he spends his days worrying about everything from sea monsters to quicksand, but mostly he thinks about the three children who went for ice cream and never came back. When a young girl, Nicole, moves in across the street, Adrian’s life takes on a new trajectory. That is, until their curiosity leads them down a sinister path. Performed with a masterful empathy and vigor from veteran narrator Humphrey Bower, Of a Boy is an audiobook not quickly forgotten.

Publisher's Summary

The year is 1977 and Adrian is nine. He lives with his Gran and his uncle Rory; his best friend is Clinton Tull. He loves to draw and he wants a dog; he's afraid of quicksand, shopping centres, and self-combustion. Adrian watches his suburban world, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not for instance, know why three neighborhood children might set out to buy ice-cream and never come back home.

This book was published in the United States under the title What the Birds See.

©2002 Sonya Hartnett (P)2002 Bolinda Publishing Pyt Ltd by arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia)
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Critic Reviews

"Rarely is a sentence turned so well, a setting so remarkably established, and a plot so evenly polished as in this book." (School Library Journal)
"Hartnett's prose is beautiful, filled with piercing, original imagery that, like David Almond's, explores the savage, animal instincts in humans, especially children. The climax is shocking." (Booklist)
"As sharp and tender as a suspenseful novel can be." (Robert Drewe)

What listeners say about Of a Boy

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great narrator, lukewarm story

while I loved the narrator, the story did not hold my interest....author did not succeed in the way the story was told.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.