REX ZERO AND THE END OF THE WORLD
By Tim Wynne-Jones
Melanie Kroupa Books, 2007
Category: Middle-grade fiction
Awards: Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honoree
This was a fun book.
Firstly, you can tell the Winne-Jones digs language. I like that.
(Quick aside: I feel as if I am just beginning to focus on language in my writing. Previously I have worried more about plot and character and Gotcha! beginnings and the rest. I am only now letting myself linger on the words.)
Secondly, you can tell Winne-Jones has a sense of humor. I like that, too.
(Quick aside: I do not have a sense of humor. I was born without one. Very sad.)
Thirdly, I’ve never read a book that successfully blends the intrigue of a fantasy (what is the creature living in Adams Park?), the drama of history (what is so cold about the Cold War and nuclear bombs?), the frustration of adolescence (“It’s a well-known fact that families move in the summer so that their children can wander around a new neighborhood for two months in lonely despair.”) and the wit of ten-year-olds (Rex’s surname is actually Norton-Norton, which his new pals think is weird, sort of like Norton “minus” Norton … which would equal zero, or Zero).
(Quick aside: I came of age at the very end of the Cold War. It was interesting to compare the backdrop of my childhood with that of Rex. He lived in a much scarier time.)
Anyway, it is easy to see why REX ZERO AND THE END OF THE WORLD was honored. Great book.