If You're Reading This

by Trent Reedy Narrated by Trent Reedy, Ramón de Ocampo

Overview

From the author of Words in the Dust and Divided We Fall: A heartwarming book about a son reconnecting with the father he lost in Afghanistan.

Mike was seven when his father was killed in mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan. Eight years later, the family still hasn't recovered: Mike's mom is overworked and overprotective; his younger sister Mary feels no connection to the father she barely remembers; and in his quest to be "the man of the family," Mike knows he's missing out on everyday high school life. Then, out of the blue, Mike receives a letter from his father -- the first of a series Dad wrote in Afghanistan, just in case he didn't come home, meant to share some wisdom with his son on the eve of Mike's 16th birthday. As the letters come in, Mike revels in spending time with his dad again, and takes his encouragement to try new things -- to go out for the football team, and ask out the beautiful Isma. But who's been keeping the letters all these years? And how did Dad actually die? As the answers to these mysteries are revealed, Mike and his family find a way to heal and move forward at last.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

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

Kirkus Reviews

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)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171261672
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/26/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Read an Excerpt

From If You're Reading This:I intend to write you a couple of letters to make sure you have some help from your old man. My plan is for you to be given my letters in order, one at a time, early in your sophomore year of high school, so that you'll have read them all by your sixteenth birthday.I wanted to be there for you. I tried. I swear to God nothing was more important to me than getting back home to you and your mom and sister. I know you'll be good to them, help take care of them. I'll never get to know the man you're becoming, but I hope you'll take your time with my letters to get to know me. They're calling me to formation. I have to stop for now. I miss you, buddy.Love,Dad

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