Customer Reviews

The Nobodies

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The Nobodies is a fantastic surreal adventure that had me on the edge of my seat for the whole ride. This sequel to The Anybodies allows us to revisit Fern and her 'brother' Howard. Howard and Fern were switched at birth. Howard was supposed to be raised by the ever-boring Drudgers, while Fern missed an upbringing by her very unusual father, the Bone.

The Bone is unusual because he is an Anybody. An Anybody is a person with a special ability to transform themselves or things. One of Fern's abilities is that she can shake items out of books. But nowadays she can only shake out Diet Lime Fizzy bottles with messages in them. Fern's grandmother (the ultimate Anybody) believes it is time for Fern to go to Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times to meet other Anybodies and to learn more about her powers.

But when Fern gets there (with Howard by her side), they find that Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times is not at all what they expected. Something is amiss. The counselors are mean, the campers are scared and no one has that Happy Sunshine Good Times feeling about being an Anybody. Fern has to find out what is wrong and, at the same time, she has to find out how she can save the Nobodies (it turns out that they're the ones who have been sending her the messages in the Diet Lime Fizzy bottles.)

In so many carefully crafted "jujitsu-style" twists, the author tells a wonderful tale about Fern and her brother, the Hermit and the mole, Holmquist and the campers. I loved every turn that it took and recommend this book to everyone. Great story, great writing. A real winner!

What an imagination this author has!

In this sequel to ANYBODIES, fearless Fern, our heroine, has some frightening, fearful adventures, but nothing she can't solve ... with a little help from the amusing, magical characters in this book.

Fern no longer lives with the boring DRUDGER family who were ANYBODIES in the first book. She now lives with her real father who is a NOBODY, and is having even more exciting adventures, if that's possible.

I cracked up when she finds notes in soda bottles, like in fortune cookies! And WHERE she found them ... well, read for yourself. I promise you a fun time!

In fact, this book is fun from start to finish, but I recommend you read ANYBODIES first.

My personal favorite was The Anybodies and this book was just ok. Fern and Howard (her sort of brother) are sent off to a summer camp that was once glamorous. Fern, Howard, and a few fellow campers must turn around the camp before its too late. Be sure to read The Anybodies first!!

Fearless eleven-year-old heroine Fern Drudger returns in THE NOBODIES, a sequel to THE ANYBODIES by N.E. Bode. Both readers and Fern have learned in the first book that "Things aren't always what they seem, are they?" Most importantly, Fern found out that she was switched at birth. Her real parents are Anybodies. An Anybody is "a person who by nature or training (concentration and sometimes hypnosis) can transform objects into reality (for example, there once was a girl who reached into a painting of a fishpond to pet the fish) and who can transform themselves into other shapes (a nun into a lamppost, a bad guy into a bull)."

Fern has a whole new life. She no longer is living with the boring Drudger family, but instead is with her father, a washed up Anybody named the Bone, and her grandmother, who also happens to be one of the greatest Anybodies of all time. They live in her grandmother's wonderful boardinghouse, which is essentially a world of books. It's even built from books! The house is also filled with creatures that have been shaken from books. (Anybodies have the power to shake things from the very pages of books!) The house is described as having "Borrowers in the walls, hobbits in the yard, Indians in the cupboards. It's situated where the sidewalk ends, beside a peach tree with the most enormous, one might say giant peach."

At the beginning of THE NOBODIES, Fern is preparing to embark on another adventure. Fern and Howard (the boy she was switched at birth with) are going away to camp. This is not just an ordinary camp, of course, despite Howard's desire to go to math camp. They are going to Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times, which is actually a camp for young Anybodies. Fern can't wait to learn more about her magical skills.

On the day they are about to leave, however, strange things start to happen. First, Fern accidentally shakes Diet Fizzy Lime Drink bottles out of a book. After investigating, Fern realizes that the bottles have notes inside that say things like, "Help us! Trust no one, especially grown-ups. We need you!" and "Fern, we know you have the powers to defeat him. Please find us!" Then, Fern witnesses a strange scene in her grandmother's basement. When Fern and Howard arrive at camp, it is anything but what they expected. The counselors are mean, there's a vicious mole attacking people, and Fern continues to shake out pleas for help from Diet Fizzy Lime bottles. Could these be notes from the lost people called the Nobodies?

N.E. Bode (or is it Julianna Baggot, "the trusted friend" noted on the dust jacket?) delivers yet another fun adventure with THE NOBODIES. Similar to THE ANYBODIES, the author continues to write in first person to tell the tale and mixes in quirky anecdotes. This technique is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's writing style. Here, Bode is still complaining about her evil writing teacher who she claims is insanely jealous and is out to get her.

Again, like the first book, THE NOBODIES is filled with elements of mystery that make it a page-turner from start to finish. Bode's writing style is quirky, funny and enjoyable all around. Readers will love learning more about the art of being an Anybody, as Fern learns more about her skills. The NOBODIES is so full of life that, as it comes to an end, this reader found it abrupt and almost too soon.

Is this the last we'll see of Fern, and the Anybodies and Nobodies? I doubt it!

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

The book was in great condition and was shipped and recieved in a timely manner. My daughters are enjoying a wonderful Christmas present. thank you

Now that Fern knows she's a natural-born Anybody, she can't wait to learn more and meet other Anybodies. When her father, the Bone, signs Fern and Howard (her almost-kind-of-sort-of brother) up for Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times, Fern is as thrilled as Howard is mortified. The camp is for young Anybodies, and the sappy name and matching brochure are intended to discourage "normal" camp goers.

Before Fern and Howard can even depart for camp, strange things start to happen. Fern overhears the Miser, a former villain, talking with a nasty mole--not the kind on one's face, but a furry, beady-eyed rodent with an unusually flared nose. And this mole is threatening dire consequences if the Miser doesn't get something from Fern. Just as strange are the notes-in-bottles Fern gets every time she tries to shake things from books. "Help us, Fern!" "Only you can save us!"

A rhino hunt, hunter hunt, flood and terrifying bus ride (really, blind men should NOT be allowed to drive camp buses!) later, Fern and Howard arrive at Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times to find what they did and did not expect. Fern did not expect the famous Anybody camp to be so dreary and frightening, and Howard did expect that very thing.

The summer camp gets progressively worse, with no end, or even a tunnel to the end, in sight. I mean, it's so bad that the end isn't even on the radar! How are Fern and Howard ever going to make it through the dangerously horrifying sequential events that are certain to bring them to their doom?! This is serious, indeed.

Young readers should make a point to read this extremely important novel. Fern learns things that will inspire courage and imagination. Or is it imaginative courage? Or courageous imaginings? Or... ?

Ahem. Er, yes. Anyway. I highly recommend THE NOBODIES. Whether the narrator, N.E. Bode, is or is not killed by his former writing instructor, readers will be wise to choose this exciting adventure for their literary lists. As with THE ANYBODIES, each intrepid soul will be challenged to diligently note all references to classic literature. (Recent classics count, too!)

Go forth, Young Reader, and seek adventure, with Fern, an Anybody among Anybodies.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer (or not...)
7/16/2006

This book was great! My daughter and I read it together. We laughed so hard at some parts we cried! This author really gets kids. I would recommend it to absolutely anyone!

This is the sequel to the Anybodies. Fern is the main character in the book. She is now living back with her father. She is spending the summer at Anybodies camp called Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times. The camp is really weird and she has lots of adventures here! Fern keeping finding soda bottles with messages for her to same some one. Join Fern as she tried to find out who she has to save and what she is saving them from!


The black and white illustrations through out the book were interesting. I enjoyed learning more about each character as I read.

This is a must read for those who enjoyed The Anybodies!