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person or book cover
Courtesy of Penguin.
y separately published work icon Of a Boy single work   novel   mystery  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 Of a Boy
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

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 neighbourhood children might set out to buy ice-cream and never come back home.

Notes

  • Dedication: For Evelyn McAlister, to remember her mother, Peg.

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has Chinese and Japanese translations.

    Of a Boy is indexed as an adult book, but has been affiliated with the Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing subset because it has been reviewed numerous times as a young adult book.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ringwood, Ringwood - Croydon - Kilsyth area, Melbourne - East, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 2002 .
      person or book cover
      Courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 188p.
      ISBN: 0670040266
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Walker Books [London] ,
      2003 .
      image of person or book cover 1035138429289651259.png
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: What the Birds See
      Extent: 195p.
      ISBN: 0744590930
    • Cambridge, Massachusetts,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Candlewick Press ,
      2003 .
      image of person or book cover 4523306006703540990.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: What the Birds See
      Extent: 196p.
      ISBN: 0763620920
    • Somerville, Massachusetts,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Candlewick Press ,
      2007 .
      image of person or book cover 2252861029779249746.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: What the Birds See
      Extent: 1v.p.
      ISBN: 9780763636807, 0763636800
    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2009 .
      image of person or book cover 485465295765429283.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 204p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: 29 June 2009
      ISBN: 9780143202615
      Series: y separately published work icon Popular Penguins Penguin (publisher), Camberwell : Penguin , 2008- Z1605341 2008 series - publisher novel essay short story
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin Books , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 3742669588766829690.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 208p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 27 August 2014
      ISBN: 9780143571759
    • Somerville, Massachusetts,
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Candlewick Press ,
      2019 .
      image of person or book cover 206977437438469717.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Alternative title: What the Birds See
      Extent: 208p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 10 December 2019.
      ISBN: 9781536208818
Alternative title: Een jongen
Language: Dutch
    • Antwerp, Belgium, Western Europe, Europe,: Amsterdam,
      c
      Netherlands,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Houtekiet ,
      2003 .
      image of person or book cover 8954646993149277228.png
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 191p.p.
      ISBN: 9789052407210, 9052407215

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Testing the Limits : Postmodern Adolescent Identities in Contemporary Coming of Age Stories Ebony Daley-Carey , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , December vol. 49 no. 4 2018; (p. 467-484)

'Coming-of-age stories have conventionally constructed the development of subjectivity as a linear, cohesive, and ultimately empowering process. Narrative closure is thus typically contingent on the adolescent protagonist’s ability to acquire an agentic form of self-knowledge and integrate productively into the adult world. In contrast, the failure to transcend adolescent liminality is perceived as a sign of developmental dysfunction that requires social or narrative correction. This article argues for the subversive potential of texts that interrogate these prescriptive boundaries. Through an analysis of two unconventional coming-of-age stories, Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing and Sonya Hartnett’s Of a Boy, it examines how contemporary YA fiction is beginning to question cultural norms surrounding adolescence and reconstruct established modes of representing identity formation. Each novel provocatively challenges established ideas about what constitutes YA fiction, and is symptomatic of the ways in which this inherently fluid genre is expanding and evolving.'

What I’m Reading Eli Glasman , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
y separately published work icon Of a Boy : Sonya Hartnett Angie Barillaro , Essendon North : Radiant Heart Publishing , 2015 8919133 2015 single work criticism
Sonya Hartnett's Pursuit of Happiness Jan McGuinness , 2014 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 18 October 2014;
There's No Place Like Home Marc McEvoy , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 29 April 2012; (p. 18)
Untitled Matthew Wood , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 17 no. 1 2003; (p. 23)

— Review of Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , 2002 single work novel
Remembered Dreams, Fears and Joys Romy Ash , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Dotlit : The Online Journal of Creative Writing , August vol. 4 no. 1 2003;

— Review of Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , 2002 single work novel
Too Cruel for School Megan Gressor , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 July 2002; (p. 12)

— Review of Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , 2002 single work novel
A Rich and Chilling Parable Ben Naparstek , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 July 2002; (p. 19)

— Review of Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , 2002 single work novel
Children Lost in the World Katharine England , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 10 August 2002; (p. 11)

— Review of Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , 2002 single work novel
Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett Ruth Starke , 2003 single work criticism
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Autumn vol. 11 no. 1 2003; (p. 30-31)
In Her Own Write Jason Steger , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 24 August 2003; (p. 7)
Cover Stories Rebecca Lancashire , 2004 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 17 July 2004; (p. 1-2)
Australian publishers believe buyers are influenced by the design and colour of book covers.
Her Dark Materials Nikki Barrowclough , 2005 single work biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 26 February 2005; (p. 38-41)
Know the Author : Sonya Hartnett Felicity Carter , 2005 single work column
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , May vol. 20 no. 2 2005; (p. 14-16)
Last amended 13 Jul 2021 12:54:00
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