Two Weeks with the Queen
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Dear Your Majesty the Queen,
I need to speak to you urgently about my brother Luke. He's got cancer and the doctors in Australia are being really slack. If I could borrow your top doctor for a few days I know he/she would fix things up in no time. Of course Mum and Dad would pay his/her fares even if it meant selling the car or getting a loan. Please contact me at the above address urgently.
Yours sincerely,
Colin Mudford.
PS: This is not a hoax. Ring the above number and Aunty Iris will tell you. Hang up if a man answers.
If you want something done properly, Colin reckons, go straight to the top!
After all, if the Queen can't help, who can?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This isn't at all the carefree story implied by the title and cover artwork--terminal cancer, AIDS, gay-bashing and death are treated tenderly here, in appropriate middle-reader fashion. Colin Mudford, an Australian boy, suspects that his parents favor his younger brother, Luke. When Luke collapses suddenly and is hospitalized, Colin wistfully imagines he has a malady of his own. Yet upon hearing that Luke will die of cancer, Colin sets out to find a doctor to cure him. Sent to live with relatives in England, Colin first tries soliciting the Queen's help, then approaches hospital physicians. He eventually meets Ted, a homosexual whose lover is dying of AIDS. Colin and Ted support one another through a difficult time (including Ted's assault by homophobic thugs), which enables Colin to shed his self-centered ways and allow a brave, resourceful and loving person to emerge. Gleitzman's liberal sprinkling of humor prevents the novel from becoming too dark. While the progression is slow at first, and several Australian expressions (``sooky,'' ``sticky-beaking'') may perplex readers, the material's topicality makes this a special book. Ages 8-12.
Customer Reviews
Two weeks with the queen
This book was very interesting I loved it because it was funny and caring for his brother and everyone cared for everyone the characters played there place and they were interesting and they were very caring and they loved each other.
Not stinky
Very cash money
Loved it!
Absolutely loved the innocent perspective this book is written from. It had me laughing and crying!