Worry-prone Frankie keeps his family secret under control — until a bold, inquisitive girl enters his life — in this warm, witty, an...
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reviews
Jun 29, 2011
Thomas
rated it: 
Frankie is twelve years old, smart, talented, and likable. He's also incredibly neurotic, and at a point at which his various fears and worries are threatening to take over his life.
I loved it. I loved Frankie's quirky family, his experiences, his friends. I loved Kate de Goldi's writing. I loved the way this dealt with extremely serious issues in a totally accessible but absolutely real way. Frankie and Sydney are dealing with real and upsetting problems. At the same time, the story More...
I loved it. I loved Frankie's quirky family, his experiences, his friends. I loved Kate de Goldi's writing. I loved the way this dealt with extremely serious issues in a totally accessible but absolutely real way. Frankie and Sydney are dealing with real and upsetting problems. At the same time, the story More...
Nov 05, 2011
Jo
rated it:
“It was really was a continual disappointment, thought Frankie, how all little pieces of story magic were eventually crushed by reality.”
and because I need a happy one too…
“Come on, throw it, throw it. I may as well get a shine on the end of my knob.”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Bonga Swetso ♥
High Points.
Frankie. Gigs. Sydney. The entire Parsons clan. New Zealand. Cakes. Knobshine. Projects. Mr A. Secret Passwords. Heart-shattering. Shredder More...
23 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Jul 28, 2011
Catie
rated it:
Somewhere around one hundred and fifty pages into this book, I started getting nervous. I didn’t want to finish it. I didn’t want to know. This book transported me back to being young, when fears seemed insurmountable and avoidance seemed like the perfect coping mechanism. This isn’t the first young adult book to bring me back to my younger days (all the best do), but this book distinguishes itself with beautiful writing and a nice balance of tragedy and gentle sweetness.
Frankie More...
Frankie More...
4 comments
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(15 people liked it)
Apr 26, 2011
Khornberger
rated it: 
This was a title that I received from my book review committee and I saw that it was on a best of 2010 list so I prioritized it.
This is a sweet novel which centers around thirteen-year-old Frankie, his friends, and his wacky but lovable family. The novel is set in New Zealand, so it offers a fun look into their culture. As Frankie's life unrolls and you see his family with their infectious fun, you also begin to see a flip side that there is something wrong that is not being addres More...
This is a sweet novel which centers around thirteen-year-old Frankie, his friends, and his wacky but lovable family. The novel is set in New Zealand, so it offers a fun look into their culture. As Frankie's life unrolls and you see his family with their infectious fun, you also begin to see a flip side that there is something wrong that is not being addres More...
6 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 18, 2009
Judith
rated it: 
This novel for older children and younger teenagers is an intricately structured, sophisticated character study. It is a carefully crafted novel that builds on theme and character as it weaves in and around the family and friendships of main character Frankie over a few months in the year he is about to turn 13.
Frankie carries worry with him like a comfort rug. He gets about OK most days, as long as the battery is the fire alarm is fresh and someone in his chaotic household has remem More...
Frankie carries worry with him like a comfort rug. He gets about OK most days, as long as the battery is the fire alarm is fresh and someone in his chaotic household has remem More...
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(4 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2011
Lyrical
rated it:
I rarely call a book a gem because I’m always waiting for a book like The 10pm Question to come along before I do. My gems have to be completely understated and not well known but 100% worth reading – and here is a book that fulfils all those criteria.
The story follows Frankie Parsons who is afflicted to some degree with OCD and suffers from an anxiety disorder. His character is so carefully put together and so beautifully written I was not long into the book before I was completely im More...
The story follows Frankie Parsons who is afflicted to some degree with OCD and suffers from an anxiety disorder. His character is so carefully put together and so beautifully written I was not long into the book before I was completely im More...
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 17, 2011
Bridget
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 29, 2011
Brina
rated it:
Bei dieser mehr als ausführlichen Kurzbeschreibung spare ich mir eine Zusammenfassung ;)
Kate de Goldi’s Jugendroman „Abends um 10″ ist eine gefühlvolle, ruhige Geschichte, die das Leben von Frankie, 12 Jahre alt, thematisiert.
Neben einem sehr angenehmen und flüssigen Schreibstil überzeugt die Autorin mit einem Protagonisten, der vielseitiger nicht sein kann.
Frankie ist trotz seines Alters sehr reif und seine Gedanken, Gefühle und sein Handeln sind interessant und aufschl More...
Kate de Goldi’s Jugendroman „Abends um 10″ ist eine gefühlvolle, ruhige Geschichte, die das Leben von Frankie, 12 Jahre alt, thematisiert.
Neben einem sehr angenehmen und flüssigen Schreibstil überzeugt die Autorin mit einem Protagonisten, der vielseitiger nicht sein kann.
Frankie ist trotz seines Alters sehr reif und seine Gedanken, Gefühle und sein Handeln sind interessant und aufschl More...
Jun 22, 2011
TheBookSmugglers
rated it:
Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2011/06/book...
Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is an extremely gifted artist, with a love for birds and languages. He is also a persistent worrier and a hypochondriac, someone with an internal “rodent voice” which constantly nags and niggles about a variety of problems: from groceries that need to be bought, lack of money for the school bus in the piggy-bank to the smoke-alarm batteries that need to be replaced and More...
Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is an extremely gifted artist, with a love for birds and languages. He is also a persistent worrier and a hypochondriac, someone with an internal “rodent voice” which constantly nags and niggles about a variety of problems: from groceries that need to be bought, lack of money for the school bus in the piggy-bank to the smoke-alarm batteries that need to be replaced and More...
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 14, 2011
Kate
rated it:
I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Frankie is a quirky, heart-breaking narrator, and his friends Gigs (hated that name!) and Sydney are well-fleshed-out characters and equally...quirky. Overall, this book was just *too* quirky for me...like kind of forcedly so. All of the kids' fathers have quirky nicknames, Frankie and Gigs have invented their own language, Frankie has a trio of strange and awesome great-aunts who figure somewhat prominently in story...all of which is charming....t
More...
Feb 02, 2011
Danielle
rated it:
Frankie Parsons is a worrier. He worries about the batteries in the smoke alarm, the amount of food in the house, whether he'll have enough money for bus fare, and a whole host of other things. He wonders how everyone else in his life can be so blissfully content to live in ignorance about the sheer number of things that could go wrong. Ma is the only one who allows Frankie to give voice to his worries; of course, one of the things that worries Frankie most is Ma.
When a new girl a More...
When a new girl a More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 26, 2011
Fred
rated it:
Young adult books can oftentimes be much better than books for adults. There's a certain innocence to them that's great. This book is maybe 2/3 of the way there. It's definitely unique. The characters are interesting, colourful, the setting is unique (New Zealand) but there are a few thinks which irked me about the book. There's some
class discrimination in the book. One of the young character's mother is a welfare recipient who 'refuses to work' but also owns a Porsche because she has seve More...
class discrimination in the book. One of the young character's mother is a welfare recipient who 'refuses to work' but also owns a Porsche because she has seve More...
Nov 12, 2010
Sharon
rated it:
Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons is consumed by chronic worry and anxiety, including a 10 p.m. question he must ask his mother every night, and an agoraphobic mother who hasn't left the house in nine years. In a fairly classic plotline, he doesn't question these things until newcomer Sydney, an outgoing, inquisitive girl, arrives at school and shakes everything up.
What I admired the most about this book is while it explores important issues you don't always see depicted in children's l More...
What I admired the most about this book is while it explores important issues you don't always see depicted in children's l More...
Feb 06, 2010
Maureen
rated it:
A gorgeous, well-written, slice-of-life story that runs along in a captivating and smooth way. Frankie Parsons is a 12 year-old going on old man: who is an apparently sensible, talented almost-teenager who holds a drumbeat of old and new questions that filters constantly in his mind: Are the smoke alarm batteries flat? Does the cat, then the rest of us in the family, have worms" Will bird flu really strike and ruin life as we know it?
However most of his Frankie's family a More...
However most of his Frankie's family a More...
Jun 17, 2011
Mon
rated it:
About one third through the book, I became increasingly confused about the book's setting. The protagonist makes remarks about how Sydney is a radical and exotic place so I thought, 'why, these kids must be Americans!'. And then it was mentioned that the only traveling Frankie's family has done was to US and UK, so it rules out those two places as well. Frankie's sister also wears uniform and attends a Catholic school.
So now we know the book is set in an English speaking, uniform wearing More...
So now we know the book is set in an English speaking, uniform wearing More...
May 27, 2011
Wen
rated it:
Oh, how I loved this book. At first, the amount of description threw me a little. There is a lot, but it is SO important to the story. I'm the sort of person who gets bored with description and rolls on past it, but with this story, that's a big mistake. The characters in this are magnificent, each and every one of them. I am going to miss them all now that I've finished the book. I was anxious to get to the end to see how it all turned out for Frankie, and then so regretful when I actually made
More...
Jan 15, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
A really good book - I picked it up for the title and read it because of the author's comments on the back.
The writing made me anxious, made me worry along with Frankie, although about batteries in fire alarms in my house, not his. Frankie's anxiety is an important part of the book and the way the words were written added to the experience of Frankie's anxiety.
While I did not appreciate being dragged off on bird watching expeditions (very early on Saturdays or Sundays - More...
The writing made me anxious, made me worry along with Frankie, although about batteries in fire alarms in my house, not his. Frankie's anxiety is an important part of the book and the way the words were written added to the experience of Frankie's anxiety.
While I did not appreciate being dragged off on bird watching expeditions (very early on Saturdays or Sundays - More...
Feb 07, 2011
Franzie
rated it:
I want to live in this book. Seriously, it's that good.
Frankie appears to be your average 12-year-old, except that he's not. He deems himself responsible for working the household, because his father is always busy, his older brother doesn't live with the family anymore, his older sister seems to only have fashion - and her boyfriend - on her mind and his mother... well, his mother reads dramatic Russian classics, runs a bakery from her kitchen and hasn't left the house in nine years. More...
Frankie appears to be your average 12-year-old, except that he's not. He deems himself responsible for working the household, because his father is always busy, his older brother doesn't live with the family anymore, his older sister seems to only have fashion - and her boyfriend - on her mind and his mother... well, his mother reads dramatic Russian classics, runs a bakery from her kitchen and hasn't left the house in nine years. More...
Dec 13, 2010
I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Ten PM Question but I’d heard great things about it so I thought it would be a good book to read. Luckily, I was right. The Ten PM Question was a really good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We’re introduced to Frankie and all of the other characters and while Frankie seems a little odd his life seems more normal than a lot of other people’s. One thing I really loved about The Ten PM Question was that you think you know what’s going on and then a lit More...
We’re introduced to Frankie and all of the other characters and while Frankie seems a little odd his life seems more normal than a lot of other people’s. One thing I really loved about The Ten PM Question was that you think you know what’s going on and then a lit More...
Oct 24, 2010
Cathy
rated it:
Having just seen and previously read It's Kind of a Funny Story, Frankie takes Craig's anxiety to a new level. While his brother and sister, father and three aunts are content, Frankie worries about everything, including whether the batteries in the smoke alarm are good. The only person with whom he talks about his anxieties is his ma and she has anxieties aplenty. But every night at 10 pm he goes into her room to talk. The problem is, he can't bring himself to talk about his biggest worry,
More...
Nov 05, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Frankie Parsons probably appears to most people to be a normal 12 year old boy. He is a good student, talented artist and all around good kid. But Frankie is a master worrier. He worries over everything real or imagined. Frankie's family knows he's a bit peculiar but have no inkling of the terrible burden he is carrying inside. When he becomes friends with the new girl Sydney, Frankie finds he is able to cope much better. Sydney's brave, creative, and assertive personality brings out the best i
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Mar 17, 2011
Embrc
rated it:
The 10 p.m. Question
De Goldi, Kate
Candlewick, c2008
1st U.S. edition, 2010
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4939-5
Young YA - Highly recommended
This import from New Zealand is simply delightful! Frankie Parsons is 12 and has a head full of anxieties not to be fully alleviated by most members of his quirky family, his best friend Gigs, and his eccentric aunties. He ricochets through life alternating joy and worry, bouncing his questions off his unusual mother every ev More...
De Goldi, Kate
Candlewick, c2008
1st U.S. edition, 2010
$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4939-5
Young YA - Highly recommended
This import from New Zealand is simply delightful! Frankie Parsons is 12 and has a head full of anxieties not to be fully alleviated by most members of his quirky family, his best friend Gigs, and his eccentric aunties. He ricochets through life alternating joy and worry, bouncing his questions off his unusual mother every ev More...
Nov 05, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Mar 14, 2011
Mark
rated it:
"'What do you mean?' said Frankie.
'Oh, good God, Frankie,' said Gordana, turning around from the balcony doors, a sudden heaving thundercloud. 'You know what I man. The Freak-Out gene. You have it. Ma has it. You're exactly like Ma. You freak out at things. You know you do.' She reached across the bed and pulled the light cord that hung from the ceiling; instantly the bedroom lit up like a fairground.
Frankie squinted in the brightness and drew back from Gordana, who seem More...
'Oh, good God, Frankie,' said Gordana, turning around from the balcony doors, a sudden heaving thundercloud. 'You know what I man. The Freak-Out gene. You have it. Ma has it. You're exactly like Ma. You freak out at things. You know you do.' She reached across the bed and pulled the light cord that hung from the ceiling; instantly the bedroom lit up like a fairground.
Frankie squinted in the brightness and drew back from Gordana, who seem More...
Aug 20, 2011
Bücherfresser
rated it: 
"Heikles Thema rutscht in die Oberflächlichkeit ab …"
Inhalt:
“Abends um 10″ erzählt die Geschichte des zwölfjährigen Frankie, der langsam immer deutlicher spürt, wie anders seine Familie doch ist, obwohl er gerade dies am liebsten vermeiden würde. Seine Mutter verlässt seit Jahren nicht mehr das Haus und seine Geschwister rebellieren oder versteinern, während sich sein Vater in Arbeit stürzt. Doch gerade dieser Unterschied zu anderen Familien wird ihm erst so richtig deut More...
Inhalt:
“Abends um 10″ erzählt die Geschichte des zwölfjährigen Frankie, der langsam immer deutlicher spürt, wie anders seine Familie doch ist, obwohl er gerade dies am liebsten vermeiden würde. Seine Mutter verlässt seit Jahren nicht mehr das Haus und seine Geschwister rebellieren oder versteinern, während sich sein Vater in Arbeit stürzt. Doch gerade dieser Unterschied zu anderen Familien wird ihm erst so richtig deut More...
Apr 26, 2011
Sammee
rated it:
This is a little gem of a novel. It is really unique and quirky, but at the same time I found it incredible accessibly and charming.
The story follows Frankie, who constantly worries. At 10pm every night it all gets too much and he has to go down the hall and ask his Ma a question - Does he have food poisoning? Is the rash on his chest cancer? Have they replaced the batteries in the smoke alarm? She is the only one who seems to take his worries seriously. When a new girl starts More...
The story follows Frankie, who constantly worries. At 10pm every night it all gets too much and he has to go down the hall and ask his Ma a question - Does he have food poisoning? Is the rash on his chest cancer? Have they replaced the batteries in the smoke alarm? She is the only one who seems to take his worries seriously. When a new girl starts More...
Mar 07, 2011
Jean
rated it:
While I really liked the characters in this book, it took a while for me to get hooked on the story. Frankie is very precocious and a worrier. I really appreciated reading about his relationship with his best friend (when they fight they just get very quiet) and his relationship with his family. His teacher sounds great and all of the people in his world sound caring and quirky. But for some reason I kept wondering who the audience was for the book. Becuase it is set in New Zealand, there a
More...
Jan 06, 2011
This is not what I expected. I thought this book was about how the new girl shakes up everything, and she does but not in the way I thought. She helps change important issues that aren’t often explored in young children’s books. The wonderful thing about this book’s message is that it isn’t forced; it shows up silently half way through the book and refuses to leave.
What made the message stick is that you won’t be pounded with not so subliminal subliminal messages. The story was packe More...
What made the message stick is that you won’t be pounded with not so subliminal subliminal messages. The story was packe More...
Aug 08, 2010
Jessie
rated it:
Twelve-year-old Frankie is a sort-of hypocondriac who feels that it is his duty to take care of his family because they are incapapble of doing it themselves. He leads a very structured life, from always sticking his bus ticket on the back of his bus seat, to always going to his mother's side at 10pm every night to ask her the questions that have been bothering him throughout the day. Then he meets Sydney, who turns everything upside down and forces Frankie to ask the really hard questions that
More...
Aug 26, 2011
Brina
rated it:
Bei dieser mehr als ausführlichen Kurzbeschreibung spare ich mir eine Zusammenfassung ;)
Kate de Goldi’s Jugendroman „Abends um 10″ ist eine gefühlvolle, ruhige Geschichte, die das Leben von Frankie, 12 Jahre alt, thematisiert.
Neben einem sehr angenehmen und flüssigen Schreibstil überzeugt die Autorin mit einem Protagonisten, der vielseitiger nicht sein kann.
Frankie ist trotz seines Alters sehr reif und seine Gedanken, Gefühle und sein Handeln sind interessant und aufschl More...
Kate de Goldi’s Jugendroman „Abends um 10″ ist eine gefühlvolle, ruhige Geschichte, die das Leben von Frankie, 12 Jahre alt, thematisiert.
Neben einem sehr angenehmen und flüssigen Schreibstil überzeugt die Autorin mit einem Protagonisten, der vielseitiger nicht sein kann.
Frankie ist trotz seines Alters sehr reif und seine Gedanken, Gefühle und sein Handeln sind interessant und aufschl More...
