I don’t review novels.
I mean, they’re just stories, and novels for kids, well ….
But
I’m reviewing this one, because this one is worth reading, even for big kids,
like me.
Nancy Carabio Belanger has written other novels; I read at
least one other. I recall enjoying it,
but not like this one. This one hit home
with me, on a number of levels. Oh, it
started off a bit slow for me; the language seemed a bit forced. The story was written through the eyes of the
“smart-aleck Josh,” a thirteen year old once-upon-a-time Catholic kid. At different times in our lives, in one way
or another, I think many of us have been Joshes. And as you begin to realize that, the story
grows more interesting.
As the story progresses, you find yourself rooting for Josh,
and wishing he can “grow up” and look beyond the hurts of his life and, if you
are a person of faith, to see his life through the eyes of God. Despite doing some bad things, Josh is a good
kid. What eventually brings about a
change in Josh is a school assignment, an assignment to become a pen pal “with
some old geezer” in a nursing home.
Buy this book; enjoy it; give it to a child you love. Maybe even one you know, who desperately
needs love.
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