Lost Property (book)
Encyclopedia
Lost Property is a young adult novel by Australian author James Moloney
. First published in 2005, it is about a teenage boy in Sydney
who loses direction in his life. It was a Children's Book Council of Australia
Honour Book for 2006, and was also shortlisted for the ABPA Book Design Awards, the Children's Peace Lit Award, the New South Wales State Literary Award and the NSW Premier's Literary Award.
, Josh starts to sense the loss of some important things in his life. One is that his brother Michael has drifted off and will not let anyone know where he is. The stress this is putting on his family grows, so when Josh discovers a clue to Michael’s whereabouts while handling lost items in his work, he sets out on his own to bring him back.
Josh Tambling is the son of a famous footballer and a very well known radio station personality. He is in a band with his mates. He has a girlfriend named Alicia. During the holidays he will be working at the Lost Property office. At his first day a lady requests a cardigan and Josh gives it to her but she doesn't find what she wanted, a brooch. Josh's supervisor, Clive, explains that sometimes they separate jewellery and other valuable items from bags and clothing. He finds a brooch in the safe where jewellery is kept and it belongs to the woman. She is overcome with emotion and explains that even though its of much value but is a family heirloom and very important to her. Here, Josh realises how important small things can be to people. He goes for a band practice with his friends and they meet Steve's sister, Gemma. The next night Josh goes to Alicia's house and goes into the pool. They play around and look at the stars and Josh confesses that he believes that the universe is big for no reason. His trust in God slowly decreases. He goes to work again and in the afternoon goes for another band practice. He talks to Gemma about the same conversation he had with Alicia and she responds that there is more out there than just a big waste of space. The band decide to go to the domain for New Year Eve. When they go Josh sits next to Alicia and Neven sits next to Gemma and their relationship is revealed.
That evening Josh finds himself dwelling on the last thing Clive said to him, which is “Don’t forget, if you find any lost property, even the small things can be valuable”. Josh is in the train home when he adheres to a calling, he starts picking up all the lost property in his carriage then follows on to do all the carriages then another train then another until he reaches Cronulla Station. His life goes down hill.
James Moloney
James "Jim" Moloney is an Australian children's author who has written more than 30 books including The Book of Lies, The Gracey Trilogy, and A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove, which won the Australian Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award in 1997...
. First published in 2005, it is about a teenage boy in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
who loses direction in his life. It was a Children's Book Council of Australia
Children's Book Council of Australia
The Children's Book Council of Australia is a not for profit organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents annual awards for books of literary merit, for outstanding contribution to Australian children's literature.-Awards:The first...
Honour Book for 2006, and was also shortlisted for the ABPA Book Design Awards, the Children's Peace Lit Award, the New South Wales State Literary Award and the NSW Premier's Literary Award.
Synopsis
The book is about Josh Tambling who is well loved and cared for by his parents. Josh and his mates have formed a grunge metal band and dream of being rock stars. But when he lands a holiday job in the Lost Property Office at Sydney’s Central stationCentral railway station, Sydney
Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...
, Josh starts to sense the loss of some important things in his life. One is that his brother Michael has drifted off and will not let anyone know where he is. The stress this is putting on his family grows, so when Josh discovers a clue to Michael’s whereabouts while handling lost items in his work, he sets out on his own to bring him back.
Josh Tambling is the son of a famous footballer and a very well known radio station personality. He is in a band with his mates. He has a girlfriend named Alicia. During the holidays he will be working at the Lost Property office. At his first day a lady requests a cardigan and Josh gives it to her but she doesn't find what she wanted, a brooch. Josh's supervisor, Clive, explains that sometimes they separate jewellery and other valuable items from bags and clothing. He finds a brooch in the safe where jewellery is kept and it belongs to the woman. She is overcome with emotion and explains that even though its of much value but is a family heirloom and very important to her. Here, Josh realises how important small things can be to people. He goes for a band practice with his friends and they meet Steve's sister, Gemma. The next night Josh goes to Alicia's house and goes into the pool. They play around and look at the stars and Josh confesses that he believes that the universe is big for no reason. His trust in God slowly decreases. He goes to work again and in the afternoon goes for another band practice. He talks to Gemma about the same conversation he had with Alicia and she responds that there is more out there than just a big waste of space. The band decide to go to the domain for New Year Eve. When they go Josh sits next to Alicia and Neven sits next to Gemma and their relationship is revealed.
That evening Josh finds himself dwelling on the last thing Clive said to him, which is “Don’t forget, if you find any lost property, even the small things can be valuable”. Josh is in the train home when he adheres to a calling, he starts picking up all the lost property in his carriage then follows on to do all the carriages then another train then another until he reaches Cronulla Station. His life goes down hill.