****
Caleb and Kit
By: Beth Vrabel
I
really enjoyed reading this book and I think any middle school aged
child and older would enjoy the book. The story reads at a steady
pace, never any dull moments. I like the book cover. It draws your
eye, appearing almost mystical and promises adventure.
The
story is full of adventure, new experiences and building new
friendships. The characters are well developed and I found them
believable, even if they're not your “normal” “healthy-happy”
always “safe and secure” children. Maybe that made them even
more realistic. The only character who was a bit over the
“believable” scale was Ava, the young teenager who thinks she can
learn EVERYTHING over night and become an expert on the subject.
BUT, yeah, we all know those young teens just like her. [LOL]. And
she was an optimistic and positive character in the plot, so I guess,
kudos for including her in the story.
The
book offers many teaching and learning experiences for the young
reader.
Caleb,
the story's main character, is a 12 year old boy with Cystic
Fibrosis. The medical condition makes him smaller and weaker than
other kids his age. Caleb also has many symptoms and daily medical
treatment requirements due to his medical condition. Caleb keeps a
positive outlook concerning his condition throughout the story. The
book does an excellent job of portraying how this illness manifests
in children and the author is able to do so in a child appropriate
way. The book touches very lightly on bullying, giving a few glimpses
of Caleb's school classmates bullying him. It touched my heart and
hopefully will open the eyes, touch the hearts of child readers, so
they will see just how emotionally hurtful bullying is.
The
story follows Caleb through summer school break. His mother enrolls
him in a summer day camp, but due to his size, the young teenager
camp leader (Ava) places him with the 4th
grade age group children. Caleb finds this very embarrassing, yet at
the same time, he knows that he is not physically able to join the
children his own age.
One
day after camp, Caleb takes a walk in the woods beside his house. He
meets a girl, Kit, who is sitting on a rock in the middle of a
shallow stream. They become instant friends and Caleb starts
skipping summer camp. Caleb and Kit spend every day exploring the
stream and wooded area between their 2 houses. Kit is not like any
of his other friends. She has very active imagination and she has
Caleb practically under her spell from the start. For Caleb and Kit
the summer is full of make believe and one fairy tale adventure after
the other. What Caleb likes best is that Kit, even though she
notices the differences in Caleb due to his daily symptoms of his
medical condition – Kit accepts him without any questions.
Eventually Caleb does notice that things with Kit are not exactly
what they seem, or what she says. Caleb has to make several
difficult decisions.
This
was a great book. It would be an excellent addition to any home or
school library.
Can
I give 4 thumbs up to author Beth Vrabel for successfully tackling
this tough subject.
Thank
you to the author and netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in
exchange for my honest opinion.
Review
will be posted on netgalley, goodreads and
moonshineartspot.blogspot.com
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