Eddy, Eddy

Gr 10 Up–It’s a couple years after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand and 19-year-old Eddy Smallbone seems to be meandering aimlessly through life. An orphan, he now lives with his uncle, a university research librarian. He’s also managed to cobble together a found family that includes his godmother Birdie, his cousin Ginge, his best friend Toss, and Modern Priest. Eddy’s still grieving the loss of his city, grandmother, and pet dog, Marley. He takes up a series of pet-sitting jobs that brings some additional people into his life: Delphine, the young daughter of the Mulholland family; Sue, a nun with a constipated cockatoo; and his former girlfriend, Boo, with whom he rekindles a relationship. In this book, De Goldi presents a remarkable cast of idiosyncratic characters, each drawn with precision and nuance but also care and compassion, even as her prose explores the heavy themes of trauma, grief, and healing in a deft and often lighthearted way. Christchurch itself serves as an additional character and the Christmastime setting is the cherry on top.