So B. It

So B. It
Author: Sarah Weeks
Publisher: HarperCollins (2004)
ISBN: 0066236223

4 (out of 5) STARS


Summary: Twelve year old Heidi has lived her whole life in an apartment in Reno, Nevada, with her mentally disabled mother and her agoraphobic neighbor. Heidi yearns to know about her history. She embarks on a journey to Liberty, New York, to find out who she is and where she came from.

Review:Heidi does not know when her birthday is or her father or even where she came from. Heidi and her mother just appeared in an apartment one day. Over time they were befriended by their neighbor, an older woman suffering from agoraphobia. Luckily left over from times past there is a door that connects the two apartments so the neighbor does not have to leave the house to help Heidi and her mother.

Heidi’s mother has a vocabulary of about 20 words. Heidi knows and understands all but one of those words. As Heidi grows older she yearns to know more about her past and the one unknown word haunts her. As Heidi is looking the few photographs that her mother has she notices a sign on a building. She is able to discover information about this building and its location. She sets off on a journey to discover her past.

I enjoyed this book, but often it seemed unbelievable. Granted it is fiction, but a good fiction book lets us suspend reality but still believe in the book. Heidi seems quite functional and well rounded for never going to school and living with a handicapped mother and an elderly mentally ill neighbor. Overall, I was intrigued by the concept of the book and enjoyed reading it.