Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Saturday Boy by David Fleming - ADVISABLE


Fleming, David The Saturday Boy, 261 pgs. Viking, 2013. $16.99. Language: PG (8 swears, no ‘f’, 8 Gods, mild crude language); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG;

Derek is having a hard time.  He is getting picked on at school, he doesn’t know why his friend, Budgie, doesn’t want to be friends anymore, his teacher doesn’t seem to like him, and his dad was sent to Afghanistan, again.  There are some good things happening, though. He is involved in a school play making new friends and his Aunt Josie has come to stay for a while.  He daydreams about flying with his dad and spends time reading his letters over and over again.  But what he really wants is to have his dad come home.    

This is a well written story with fairly realistic characters although Derek seemed a little older than 5th grade to me.  As he struggles with everyday experiences of growing up, he finds many of his answers in the letters from his dad.  As the reader, it is only through the letters that we meet his father.  It should be noted the author introduces more serious topics of war and loss into the story. 
 
MS - ADVISABLE Reviewer: RB.

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