Thursday, November 4, 2010

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer

Books don't often make me cry, but this book for younger readers did. It's on the 2011 Rebecca Caudill list and recommended for grades 5-8. The book is sappy, but it hooked me in.

Gabe is a foster kid who arrives at his uncle's house alone and quiet. Gabe's been in many foster homes since his mom died when he was two. His uncle is a hermit who served in Vietnam and isn't the friendliest of the bunch, but the uncle and nephew get along just fine. Gabe learns how to survive on his own, how to love, and how to trust, and all of those serve him well throughout the course of this novel. I won't give too much away, but I think the ending wraps up a bit too nicely with Mr. Boehm, but the references to Of Mice and Men and The Call of the Wild make up for it.

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