The Day I Got Trapped in my Brain

by Amy Huberman

  When her parents think she's 'in another world' little do they know, she really is. Together with her little brother Fred, Frankie can disappear to Thoughtopolis, a magical world inside her head. Thoughtopolis is an adventure-land, filled with the best things an eleven-year-old can imagine, until Frankie gets trapped inside and it suddenly stops being her fun refuge. Frankie must journey to uncover a secret buried in the heart of Thoughtopolis that will change her world forever. Can she discover the truth, face a great loss and find her way back to the real world?

419 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2022

About the author

Huberman grew up in Cabinteely, south Dublin. She is the middle child of three siblings and the only daughter. Her father Harold was born in London to a Polish Jewish family and her mother Sandra is a native of County Wexford.

She was educated at Loreto College, Foxrock and she took classes in the Betty Ann Norton Drama School. Following school, she attended University College Dublin (UCD) intending to become a social worker but when she found the drama society her career took a different direction.

Amy is best-known in Ireland for her role on RTÉ's drama series The Clinic, which began airing its seventh season in September 2009. She also starred in the BBC television series George Gently and the TV movie Showbands.Her brother, Mark Huberman, is also an actor and worked in films such as Boy Eat Girl and on The Clinic as Kieran Miller.

Her films include Satellites & Meteorites, directed by Rick Larkin, and A Film With Me In It, which was directed by Dylan Moran, both released in 2008.

Amy Huberman's first novel, Hello Heartbreak, was published on 2 July 2009.

She is married to Ireland rugby captain and Leinster player Brian O'Driscoll.

Reviews

[trijnewijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

De dochter verklapte het einde nog voor ik het begon te lezen, waardoor mijn leeservaring vrij anders was dan de hare. In plaats van een avontuurlijke soort whodunnit, was het een boek over diepe rouw en coping mechanismen voor intens verdriet. Ik werd op de eerste dag van de paasvakantie te vroeg wakker en in plaats van terug verder te slapen, las ik verder in het boek. Als absoluut-geen-ochtendmens wil dat heel wat zeggen. Af en toe grinnikte ik wat tijdens het lezen, tegenaan het einde vloeiden er traantjes.

Misschien is het ondanks de spoiler, misschien net dankzij, maar amai, wat een mooi, grappig, lief, krachtig, keihard en zacht boek. Op basis van de kaft had ik niet verwacht dat het zo veel indruk op me zou maken. Zowel de dochter als ik zijn fan.

[Sherene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book upon the insistence of my 9yr old. I plodded along reluctantly thinking it was a somewhat childish sort of book vs her usual choice of deeper content. But I am so glad I persisted. Great account of an emotional journey.

[Grace Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells a powerful story of grief and loss. It dragged a bit in the middle but other than that a magnificent with humour and sorrow throughout