Showcase - Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

When this book passed over my desk the cover peaked my interest but it was what the publisher said that made me want to sink my teeth into it. 
"Dear Reader Once in a publishing blue moon a novel comes along which stakes out out a very special space for itself. It's usually non-conformist and brave. It breaks the usual templates and creates new rules. And it's usually a major bestseller. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Everything is Illuminated and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius all take a place on this short but powerful list. 
Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton's debut novel, falls into this hallowed canon. it's moving, brilliant, quirky, funny, haunting and opens up new horizons..."

Yeah WOW is right
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9780062898104
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: 4-2-2019
Length: 464
Source: Publisher - Review to come
Buy It: Amazon/ B&N/Kobo/IndieBound/Audible

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

An utterly wonderful debut novel of love, crime, magic, fate and a boy’s coming of age, set in 1980s Australia and infused with the originality, charm, pathos, and heart of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The mind can take you anywhere you want to go

Eli Bell’s life is complicated. His father is lost, his mother is in jail, and his stepdad is a heroin dealer. The most steadfast adult in Eli’s life is Slim—a notorious felon and national record-holder for successful prison escapes—who watches over Eli and August, his silent genius of an older brother.
Exiled far from the rest of the world in Darra, a seedy suburb populated by Polish and Vietnamese refugees, this twelve-year-old boy with an old soul and an adult mind is just trying to follow his heart, learn what it takes to be a good man, and train for a glamorous career in journalism. Life, however, insists on throwing obstacles in Eli’s path—most notably Tytus Broz, Brisbane’s legendary drug dealer.
But the real trouble lies ahead. Eli is about to fall in love, face off against truly bad guys, and fight to save his mother from a certain doom—all before starting high school.
A story of brotherhood, true love, family, and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe is the tale of an adolescent boy on the cusp of discovering the man he will be. Powerful and kinetic, Trent Dalton’s debut is sure to be one of the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novels you will experience.