It is rare to find a book that engages your heart and also has it thumping from the action. Seventeen year old Sam and his brother Riddle have been living with their thieving, murderous father all their lives. Yet they have each other and have managed to foster a sense of integrity, honor and fierce protectiveness.
Sam, a self-taught musician takes comfort in listening to church music on Sundays. It is there he meets the gaze of Emily who is singing the title song and nervously locks eyes with the person in the back of the church. This is a book about connections and so it begins...a love story that will have your heart cheering for this unlikely couple.
Emily, with her happy home life and wonderful parents, could not live a more polar opposite existence from Sam. As the boys are drawn into the first loving family they have experienced, trouble lurks around the corner. Twelve year old, nearly mute, Riddle suffers from severe untreated asthma, Emily's mom Debbie, an ER nurse, has him treated and a strong connection forms between them. Her father Tim, a professor of music, is astounded at Sam's mastery of the guitar. This strong family wii be there for them to the end.
The next part of the novel will have you gasping as the boys' father takes them and a chase across state lines ensues complete with cliffs, guns, wilderness, bears, and waterfalls. The ending is where all the connections come together and it left me weeping with relief and delight.
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Tessa's Picks
6th-8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Issues Fiction, Romance, Survival
Sam, a self-taught musician takes comfort in listening to church music on Sundays. It is there he meets the gaze of Emily who is singing the title song and nervously locks eyes with the person in the back of the church. This is a book about connections and so it begins...a love story that will have your heart cheering for this unlikely couple.
Emily, with her happy home life and wonderful parents, could not live a more polar opposite existence from Sam. As the boys are drawn into the first loving family they have experienced, trouble lurks around the corner. Twelve year old, nearly mute, Riddle suffers from severe untreated asthma, Emily's mom Debbie, an ER nurse, has him treated and a strong connection forms between them. Her father Tim, a professor of music, is astounded at Sam's mastery of the guitar. This strong family wii be there for them to the end.
The next part of the novel will have you gasping as the boys' father takes them and a chase across state lines ensues complete with cliffs, guns, wilderness, bears, and waterfalls. The ending is where all the connections come together and it left me weeping with relief and delight.
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Tessa's Picks
6th-8th Grade
Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Issues Fiction, Romance, Survival
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