Kereen Getten

If You Read This had an excellent narrative voice. This is exactly how I’d think a child would process grief and parental neglect. The voice felt like it truly came from a child, which is not always easy to convey when writing as an adult. I also loved the island setting (Jamaica this time).

Brie’s 12th birthday is the central part of the story, so her family and friends play a prominent role. Brie’s friends are a bit one-note because we don’t get to see much of them. But I absolutely enjoyed Brie’s father (and mother). I have the double-vision as an adult to empathize with both Brie and her father.

Now, the story length is both a merit and a downside: the story is very short. You could read this all-in-one satisfying sitting. However, I felt like it could’ve been slightly longer and included another stop on Brie’s journey. There is one climatic point, or at least a point, where the drama ramps up. It concludes itself quickly and tied with a bow, but the story is largely more character-driven than plot driven.

Overall, the narrative voice won me over though I wished it could’ve been longer or explored more of Brie’s grief and her father’s aloofness.

3.5… (mere)

Main character living on an Island which gives this type of book a very interesting type of setting.

Deals with the handling of tough topics such as religion, family and disability. These are all subjects that everyone deals with especially older children who may find them especially tricky

Setting is inspired by the author’s homeland of Jamaica love to see the reference to one’s culture and where one grew up

This would be a good one to put on a special library display about community and everyone all coming together despite differences.

Important themes for older children to learn and appreciate are community, friendship, memory and forgiveness… (mere)

What a beautiful thing for a mother to do for her daughter: write her letters to be opened after she passes away. And to include clues to a secret is so enticing to a child. Three letters in a box is the gift Brie receives on her twelvth birthday from her deceased mother. She is both ecstatic and sad, but with the support of her friends Smiley and Femi, and her family, she discovers more about her beloved mother, her father, whom she's been distanced from because he works so much, and herself. Set in Jamaica, I immediately felt immersed in that culture with the slang, the tropical foods, and culture of family.… (mere)