[1] Overweight, gay and a social outsider, Paddington regularly retreats into an active fantasy life which includes his own nipples talking to him, and the novel traces his journey toward self-acceptance.

[1] The novel was published in paperback format in the United States by Harper Perennial on August 2, 2005 under the title The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington.

"[3] The novel was selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by novelist and CBC Radio One personality Jen Sookfong Lee.

[5] In January 2022, Toronto production company Hawkeye Pictures and Ottawa’s Big Jump Entertainment announced they were developing Fruit as an animated series.

[12] The novel, about a 15-year-old girl and her estranged female impersonator father, deals with issues about teen mental health, suicide and sexual orientation.

[19] Break in Case of Emergency was selected as a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Awards in the category of Young People's Literature - Text.

"[31] In May 2019, Timeshare Performance announced Box 4901 would be part of the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 2019/2020 season, running from February 27 to March 8, 2020.

[32] CBC.ca called it a “profound must-see,”[33] Mooney on Theatre called it “a lovely memoir that is absolutely worth seeing,”[34] and NOW magazine said, “Francis’s writing has the sparkle of the best of David Sedaris, and his insights into his life are heartbreaking in their honesty.”[35] The cast of Box 4901 included Colin Asuncion, Hume Baugh, Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, Keith Cole, daniel jelani ellis, Daniel Krolik, Michael Hughes, Indrit Kasapi, Eric Morin, G Kyle Shields, Chy Ryan Spain and Geoffrey Whynot.