The Thing About Oliver, Deborah Kelly
The Thing About Oliver, Deborah Kelly
List: $9.99 | Sale: $7.00
Club: $4.99

The Thing About Oliver

Author: Deborah Kelly

Narrator: Isabel Olsson

Unabridged: 3 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Wombat Books

Published: 12/10/2020

Categories: Children's Fiction


Synopsis

Sometimes I feel just like the glass in my fish tank— people look right through me.Twelve-year-old Tilly dreams of becoming a marine scientist, but she doesn’t even own a swimsuit. She lives in a drought- stricken town with her mum and younger brother Oliver, who is autistic.Oliver’s meltdowns are making life unbearable. He needs so many different kinds of therapy that there’s never any time—or money—left over for swimming lessons. Tilly knows Oliver’s needs have to come first, but it’s hard feeling invisible all the time.When Mum announces they are moving to the Queensland coast, Tilly is excited at the thought of finally learning to swim— even snorkel! But she is also worried. The thing about Oliver is, he can’t cope with even the tiniest of changes to his routine.It isn’t long before the cracks begin to show. Could so many changes all at once threaten to shatter the whole family?Wombat Books acknowledges the support of the Australian Council for the Arts in the recording and production of this audiobook.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Donna on June 04, 2020

An insightful view into the life of 11 year old Tilly, older sister of Oliver. Oliver is autistic and requires a high level of care. How do you cope when you feel your sibling's emotional needs are being met and you consider yourself a bystander? I love novels like this. All characters are fully rend......more

Goodreads review by Dimity on October 19, 2019

Deborah Kelly has a way of cramming gallons of heart into very small spaces. Her picture books and junior novels entertain, yet never fail to unleash unexpected emotions, all perfectly on the mark for her intended reading audience. The Thing About Oliver is a brief but brilliant novel that will appea......more

Goodreads review by Evie on January 09, 2023

This book was a lovely story about a 12 year old girl named Tilly who desperately wants to be a marine scientist but she doesn’t even own one pair of bathers. Tilly lives in a drought stricken town with her mum and little brother Oliver who has autism and has meltdowns that almost breaks the house d......more

Goodreads review by Kate on October 05, 2019

Completely wonderful ❤️......more

Goodreads review by Ida on March 03, 2025

3.25/5 Had to read this to a class of year 4 students over a fortnight or so. So I'm obviously not the target audience but it was surprisingly interesting enough as it is about a brother who is on the autism spectrum. Not many students (a class of 36, mind you) were bored at all as they learned all ab......more