So B. It

by Sarah Weeks Narrated by Cherry Jones

Overview

Now a major motion picture starring Alfre Woodard, Jessica Collins, John Heard, Jacinda Barrett, Cloris Leachman, and Talitha Bateman-in theaters October 2017!

From acclaimed author Sarah Weeks comes*a touching coming-of-age story about a young girl who goes on a cross-country journey to discover the truth about her parents, which the New York Times called ""a remarkable novel."" Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me and Ali Benjamin's The Thing About Jellyfish.

She doesn't know when her birthday is or who her father is. In fact, everything about Heidi and her mentally disabled mother's past is a mystery. When a strange word in her mother's vocabulary begins to haunt her, Heidi sets out on a cross-country journey in search of the secrets of her past.

Far away from home, pieces of her puzzling history come together. But it isn't until she learns to accept not knowing that Heidi truly arrives.

Editorial Reviews

Heidi knows that she's approximately 12 years old, but she doesn't know her last name, her birthday, or, for that matter, the identity of her father. With a vocabulary of only two dozen words, her mentally disabled mother can't help Heidi fill the gaps in her history, but simple despair will not stop this little trooper. When she finds a camera full of old photographs, she begins a quest that will take her into the past and new beginnings. A mature, gripping story.

Publishers Weekly

Heidi It has gotten to be 12 years old without knowing any but the sketchiest information about her background: her mentally disabled mother, who insists her name is So Be It, showed up with the week-old Heidi on their neighbor Bernadette's doorstep seemingly out of the clear blue sky, and Bernadette, who is severely agoraphobic but also bookish and generous, has been looking out for Heidi and Mama ever since. Somehow Heidi and Mama never get billed for rent or utilities, and besides, Heidi has an almost magical ability to play slot machines, which, in their native Reno, can be found even in the local Sudsy Duds laundromat. But as the novel opens, Heidi has begun to chafe-she is no longer willing to live with Bernadette's complacency about the mysterious past ("What happened before [I met you] doesn't matter," Bernadette tells Heidi. "It's just something to be grateful for") and Heidi is determined to find out what Mama means by the strange word "soof." When Heidi uncovers an old camera with a roll of undeveloped film, a host of clues to her identity send her on a solo cross-country bus trip to confront people who not only do not expect her but have taken pains to insulate themselves from her existence. Suspension of belief is beside the point: readers will probably respond to Heidi's voice and determination, get caught up in the mystery and feel wiser for the mild tear-jerker ending. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Heidi and her mother have lived in an apartment that adjoins with their neighbor, Bernadette, since the 12-year-old was probably no more than a week old. Bernadette accepted and loved them from the moment they arrived at her door but could never ask questions since Heidi's mentally challenged mother simply "didn't have the words to answer them." Bernadette's agoraphobia further isolates the child. Heidi struggles with knowing nothing about her father or her family history, and never having a real last name. Then she finds an old camera, which prompts her quest to learn the identity of the people in the photographs it holds and to discover her past. While traveling by bus from Nevada to Liberty, NY, the girl relies on her luck, instinct, and the people she meets on the way to learn the truth about her mother and her own background. Readers will pull for and empathize with the likable characters, especially Heidi as she struggles for self-knowledge. The almost melodramatic story has fantasy elements such as Heidi's lucky streak; hitting a slot machine enables her to buy the bus ticket to New York. Heidi's naive voice, however, creates a willing suspension of disbelief as she learns what she set out to and matures along the way.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Resilient Heidi It is the daughter of mentally deficient So B. It, but it's really neighbor Bernadette who raises her. Piling on the difficulties, Bernadette is agoraphobic and though managing to reach out to So B. and Heidi without leaving her house, Dette is unable to do anything like normal living. Heidi is homeschooled by Bernadette and finds her unusual life to be satisfactory except for curiosity about her mother's past, as evidenced by "soof," her favorite of Mama's 23 words that also function as chapter titles. Determined to investigate the past, Heidi follows a few convenient clues to lead her on a cross-country bus journey from Reno, Nevada, to Liberty, New York. Some of the details, such as Heidi's lucky streak, are not terribly credible, but the heart of the search for home and history is one that readers will find compelling. Most of the people Heidi meets on her trip gradually take on fullness and depth, but this was never intended to be literal or realistic. Three stars on the soggy-hanky index. (Fiction. 9-12)

From the Publisher

A remarkable novel. [Heidi’s] cross-country journey is brave and daring and yields surprising results.” — New York Times Book Review

“Weeks has a distinctive voice that’s all her own. Her fully dimensional characters are remarkable yet believable [and] the foreshadowing builds to a beautifully satisfying ending. This is lovely writing—real, touching, and pared cleanly down to the essentials.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)

“Refreshing, offbeat characters. As the riddle of Heidi’s life slowly unfolds, readers will be genuinely touched and surprised.” — VOYA (starred review)

“The heart of the search for home and history is one that readers will find compelling.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Readers will pull for and empathize with the likable characters.” — School Library Journal

“A quick and satisfying tale of love, determination, and the kindness of strangers.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The novel has enough suspence to draw in mystery fans, while Weeks portrays Heidi’s emotional and physical odyssey with admirable economy and restraint.” — Horn Book Magazine (Starred Review)

ALA Booklist (starred review)

Weeks has a distinctive voice that’s all her own. Her fully dimensional characters are remarkable yet believable [and] the foreshadowing builds to a beautifully satisfying ending. This is lovely writing—real, touching, and pared cleanly down to the essentials.

VOYA (starred review)

Refreshing, offbeat characters. As the riddle of Heidi’s life slowly unfolds, readers will be genuinely touched and surprised.

New York Times Book Review

A remarkable novel. [Heidi’s] cross-country journey is brave and daring and yields surprising results.

Horn Book Magazine (Starred Review)

The novel has enough suspence to draw in mystery fans, while Weeks portrays Heidi’s emotional and physical odyssey with admirable economy and restraint.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A quick and satisfying tale of love, determination, and the kindness of strangers.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A quick and satisfying tale of love, determination, and the kindness of strangers.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A quick and satisfying tale of love, determination, and the kindness of strangers.

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

A quick and satisfying tale of love, determination, and the kindness of strangers.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170036431
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/18/2005
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Read an Excerpt

So B. It

Heidi

If truth was a crayon and it was up to me to put a wrapper around it and name its color, I know just what I would call it—dinosaur skin. I used to think, without really thinking about it, that I knew what color that was. But that was a long time ago, before I knew what I know now about both dinosaur skin and the truth.

The fact is, you can't tell squat about the color of an animal just from looking at its bones, so nobody knows for sure what color dinosaurs really were. For years I looked at pictures of them, trusting that whoever was in charge of coloring them in was doing it based on scientific fact, but the truth is they were only guessing. I realized that one afternoon, sitting in the front seat of Sheriff Roy Franklin's squad car, the fall before I turned thirteen.

Another thing I found out right around that same time is that not knowing something doesn't mean you're stupid. All it means is that there's still room left to wonder. For instance about dinosaurs—were they the same color as the sky the morning I set off for Liberty? Or were they maybe the same shade of brown as the dust my shoes kicked up on the driveway at Hilltop Home?

I'd be lying if I said that given a choice, I wouldn't rather know than not know. But there are some things you can just know for no good reason other than that you do, and then there are other things that no matter how badly you want to know them, you just can't. The truth is, whether you know something or not doesn't change what was. If dinosaurs were blue, they were blue; if they were brown, they were brown whether anybody ever knows it for a fact or not.

So B. It. Copyright © by Sarah Weeks. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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