Summer Reading

Katie S.

            In the book I read, So B. It by Sarah Weeks, Heidi is 12 year old girl who has an unusual life and home situation. Her mother is mentally disabled, and her real care taker is their agoraphobic neighbor, Bernadette. Heidi has no idea where she and her mother came from, or anything about her past. Heidi found out that her mom once lived in Liberty, New York. Itching to know more, and despite her age, Heidi managed to get a bus ticket and make her way to Liberty, New York. Once there, Heidi discovered much more about her mom. She figured out her mother’s real name, who her father and grandparents were, and much more. During all of her excitement, Heidi received a call from Bernadette with awful news. Heidi’s mom died while Heidi was in Liberty. The story ended with Heidi having a funeral service for her mom up in Liberty. I chose to read So B. It because it seemed interesting. Also, a friend recommended it too me saying that she really enjoyed it. So B. It deals with a few serious issues. One would be just the fact that Heidi’s mom was mentally disabled, and another is that Heidi knows almost nothing about herself. Also, Bernadette is agoraphobic so Heidi can’t go very far past their apartment. All of these problems set up the rest of the story line. I thought that So B. It was a great read. Heidi’s life was really interesting and all of the characters were very unique.

            Can’t Get There From Here by Todd Strasser is in many ways similar to So B. It by Sarah Weeks. Can’t Get There From Here is about kids who ran away from home and formed a homeless kids group called the Asphalt Tribe. The overall theme of the book was stubbornness, and perseverance. This is similar to So B. It because both novels have atypical home situations. Heidi’s mom and caretaker are unusual, and The Asphalt Tribe is homeless, and living on the street. Both the Asphalt Tribe kids and Heidi are very independent. The Asphalt Tribe is completely on their own, they only have each other. Heidi on the other hand is independent because her mom can’t really help her and Bernadette is agoraphobic, so Heidi does a lot of errands on her own. Both Can’t Get There From Here and So B. It present interesting story lines that keep the reader pondering the conflicts long after they have finished the book.

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