By Trent Reedy, If You're Reading This follows Mike Wilson, a teenager who lost his father when he was just seven. This forces Mike to become man of the house too early. He tries to help his mom around the house by cleaning up and watching out for his younger sister. As soon as he is old enough, he gets a job, and a good portion of his pay check goes toward household expenses. He has a bike that is barely hanging on, a mother that is overworked, overstressed, and severely over protective, and a kid sister who is in his business a bit too much. Mike works hard at school, then works hard at his job on a farm, and has very little time left to socialize and have fun. More importantly, his schedule leaves no time for football, a sport that he loved, that he shared with his father, but that his mother will not allow him to play. She fears he will be hurt or that he might let his grades slip. But then things change. Mike starts receiving letters from his father, who was killed in the war in Afghanistan. These letters impart wisdom that Mike's dad wants him to know, and each one comes with a challenge, something that will help Mike to become the young man his father hopes he will be. Mike is so amazed to get to hear from his dad, but this does lead to complications. For one, his dad is telling him to do things that his mom will not allow Mike to do. For example, football is something Mike's dad encourages him to do, but that Mike's mom forbids. Aside from conflicting parental advise, though, these letters bring up questions about Mike's parent's relationship, about his father's death, and about who is sending these letters now, after all this time. There is a lot of information about football, and about what Mike's father's day to day life as a soldier was like. Also, the book incorporates a large discussion of the struggles of growing up, which you all can relate to. Overall, it was a pretty good book. There were times that I felt the dialogue was not believable for a teenage boy, but this is set in Iowa, and as I have never lived in Iowa or been a teenage boy, perhaps I am not a good judge of the authenticity of the language. You make the call for yourself. We have this book in the library.
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Note From Ms. PIt will probably come as no surprise that I am an avid reader. I have also been spending a lot of time in the Dawn Hodges Library here at WAAS evaluating what books we can add to have students really READING. Some of you already read on your own, which is great because reading opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities you might not otherwise think of. It helps you to imagine and live in a new world for a little while, which is something we all need sometimes. Archives
February 2019
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