The problem with "anything goes" is that I am awash with possibilities, and my DMD (Decision Making Disorder) has me floundering. What I finally settled on is...
I nominate
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Description from
Goodreads
Quote:
Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird, and gives him a stick that can make fire.
Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, that all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot, until other survivors arrive to take refuge on the island. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things (including how to milk a pig, and why spitting in beer is a good thing), and start to forge a new nation.
Encompassing themes of death and nationhood, Terry Pratchett’s new novel is, as can be expected, extremely funny, witty and wise. Mau’s ancestors have something to teach us all. Mau just wishes they would shut up about it and let him get on with saving everyone’s lives!
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367 hardcover pages
Example prices from Kobo:
USD $9.99,
CAD $11.89,
GBP £4.99,
AUD $11.99
Written for younger readers but by no means childish, this is a more serious offering from Terry Pratchett. It certainly has moments of his trademark humour but his serious side is more obviously exposed. It is one of the books that, for me, highlights a similarity between Dickens and Pratchett: what might be described as: "your morals are showing". I know some don't like overtly moralistic tales, but I think that Dickens and Pratchett get away with it ... but then I'm prejudiced.