This teen romance is narrated by 14-year-old Dan.  He is Australian, but it seems that Australian teen life is pretty similar to that in the USA or the UK. Dan is shy and he has a crush on a girl living next door.  He has just moved to a new house with his family and he is at a new school. His life is in turmoil because his father has just announced that he is gay and has left to start a new life. Dan and his mother are now learning to deal with much less money, and he has had to leave his previous cushy school and start at a new rougher school. He has an unusual last name, and he gets teased and bullied from the first day. But he starts working out and standing up for himself, and eventually he is able to end the bullying. Dan is determined to win the affection of Estelle, the girl next door, and he has found a way to read her diary.  This helps him forge a connection with her, but it means he is carrying a secret and he needs to tell her the truth.

At home Dan’s mother is having a hard time.  She sits around and listens to Radiohead all the time. She is trying to create a new business, making wedding cakes, but whenever she gets a potential client, she convinces the would-be bride to call off the marriage.  He is concerned that she is depressed, but she does seem to be adjusting to her situation too, and while things are difficult, she is slowly coming to make better decisions. Dan’s ultimate challenge is to come to terms with his father’s sexuality. He does not want to talk to his father or even read his letters, and he does not know how to acknowledge his feelings. So, much of the story is about both Dan and his mother growing emotionally in a difficult situation.

Six Impossible Things is well written, with good dialog and a fast narrative.  David Atlas performs the unabridged audiobook with plenty of energy and sympathy. He really makes the story enjoyable.

© 2015 Christian Perring

Christian Perring, Professor of Philosophy, Dowling College, New York