The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke | Kirsty Applebaum

I had heard good things about The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke from authors and reviewers that had received advance copies. I’d read the synopsis and the book was definitely on my radar. In a strange coincidence, while browsing Amazon I realised that the book was going to be released 6 minutes later. I waited until midnight when it became available, purchased and then downloaded it. Then I got stuck in.

Overview

Lonny Quicke is a twelve year old boy who lives in the forest with his younger brother Midge, his dad and his grandfather. As a family they keep themselves to themselves. They have a secret to keep. Lonny, is a lifeling, someone that can give the gift of life, but at huge cost to himself, he grows old. The premise is brilliant.

Walking through the woods, he hears a buzzing, a persistent incessant buzzing. He follows it to find something in need. It’s small and wont cost him much. But he knows he shouldn’t. He just can’t help himself. His special ability is as much a gift as a curse.

I immediately engaged with the story and with the Quicke family. Lonny and Midge have had to live a sheltered life, they live on scraps, they see no-one outside of the family. Aside from Jess that is, an odd job woman from the local town. Whom they have been told to hide from when she comes knocking.

Everything changes following a catastrophic series of events which sees the family lose their chickens and then a source of income. Their father takes to bed leaving Lonny responsible for the family. He decides to confront Jess to ask for some work.

What follows is a series of events where Lonny and Midge are exposed to the outside world. To people. To friends. And pizza!

My Thoughts

About a quarter of the way through the book I thought the story took a very predictable turn. I found myself sighing to myself with an ‘I see where this is going…’ but actually I was wrong. And I’m glad to have been proven so.

I haven’t read either of Kirsty’s previous books but I found myself enjoying her style of writing. The Life and Time of Lonny Quicke is short and I whizzed through it in a day. I do wish the story had been fleshed out a little more. I would have liked to have spent more time with Lonny prior to the events in the book. With that said, it can’t be a bad thing to want more.