End of the Book

I finished my summer reading today. It took me less than 24 hours to read, and I don’t know if I’m glad that I finished it. It was a good story, and the characters were well-developed. It’s the story of a ten-year-old boy in the summer of 1976. His dad is back from fighting in Vietnam, and his aunt was a war-protester, so there is some friction there. His father has nightmares of the war, and times when the war comes back and takes over him, so to speak. That was a confusing time period, and as a ten-year-old, Eli has some keen insights into the adult world.

I’m glad I finished it. I can’t say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was a good, well-told story. It made me think, so I can respect it for that. I don’t agree with the author’s worldview… too much emphasis on the trees “speaking.” At the end of the book, Eli protests the Iraq war, and I don’t agree with protestors. But then as I think on it, I guess I don’t dislike his protest so much as I disagree with what he was protesting.

I’m grateful that Americans have the rights to express differing beliefs… I differ with the author on this one.
If you would like to read this book, please let me know, and I’ll loan it to you. But hurry: you’ve only got 8 days!