Praise for If You're Reading This:* "Powerful and emotionally raw, with sympathetic characters and a thought-provoking premise, this tale reflects Reedy's strengths: evoking the small-town American spirit, capturing the feel of the military, and getting into the heart of his teenage protagonist." — Publishers Weekly, starred review"A moving study of war's long-reaching effects on families." — Kirkus Reviews
★ 08/18/2014
Former Iowa National Guardsman Reedy (Divided We Fall) returns to Riverside, Iowa (last seen in his Stealing Air) to tell the coming-of-age story of 15-year-old Mike Wilson, who's still dealing with his father's death in Afghanistan, seven years earlier. Raised by his overprotective mother, Mike yearns to play football, but is pushed to focus on school and his part-time job. When letters written by his father before his death start showing up in the mail from an unknown sender, they give Mike a connection he thought lost forever. With each letter giving him a mission—go to a party, ask a girl out, forgive someone—he finds the courage and motivation to live fully. But in the process, he must confront bullies, get around his mother's disapproval, and find out the truth behind his father's death. Powerful and emotionally raw, with sympathetic characters and a thought-provoking premise, this tale reflects Reedy's strengths: evoking the small-town American spirit, capturing the feel of the military, and getting into the heart of his teenage protagonist. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Aug.)
The dual narration team of Ramón de Ocampo and author Reedy tells a coming-of-age story that deals with friendship, advice, grief, and the everyday trials of getting through one’s sophomore year of high school. As Michael Wilson’s sixteenth birthday approaches, he begins receiving letters from his father, who died in Afghanistan. The narrators team up nicely, alternating between present-day characters and the reading of the letters in the voice of Michael’s father. The narration captures a variety of voices—stern football coach, bratty sister, tired and overbearing mother, and girlfriend. The narrators carry the well-paced story, using both serious and lughead tones for Michael’s teammates. It’s an enjoyable listen that meshes mystery, sports, and teen life. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
The dual narration team of Ramón de Ocampo and author Reedy tells a coming-of-age story that deals with friendship, advice, grief, and the everyday trials of getting through one’s sophomore year of high school. As Michael Wilson’s sixteenth birthday approaches, he begins receiving letters from his father, who died in Afghanistan. The narrators team up nicely, alternating between present-day characters and the reading of the letters in the voice of Michael’s father. The narration captures a variety of voices—stern football coach, bratty sister, tired and overbearing mother, and girlfriend. The narrators carry the well-paced story, using both serious and lughead tones for Michael’s teammates. It’s an enjoyable listen that meshes mystery, sports, and teen life. M.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
2014-06-15
A moving study of war’s long-reaching effects on families.Mike Wilson’s father “had been dead seven years the day his first letter arrived.” How can this be? Who is sending them? His father died in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2005, and 15-year-old Mike, his mother and his younger sister have moved on with their lives, though his mother avoids the painful subject of his father. It’s difficult, though, to navigate high school without a father’s guidance, and this letter and those that follow are intended to help. Many contain a mission for Mike—get involved with a sport, ask a girl out, go to church, get your driver’s license, go easy on your sister, and be nice to your mother. The letters offer Mike an approach to succeeding in high school and a means of saying goodbye to his father, and they offer readers, along with Mike, a compelling mystery: How can a dead man send letters? Mike is a believable character, his first-person narration capably spun. A whole story constructed around letters intended to teach life lessons can’t help but feel didactic, though earnest and well meaning.Readers will anticipate each letter right along with Mike, and they may receive some good guidance about life along with him. (Fiction. 10-16)
