Hahn, Mary Downing Where I Belong, 226p. Clarion Books, 2014. $16.99. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (not graphic).
Brendan hates everything about his life. His foster mother, his teacher, school - everyone around him seems to put him down and never recognize anything good about him. Now he’s stuck in summer school every morning. In the afternoon he escapes to the woods, where he he found refuge in a beautiful, giant tree and the treehouse he has built within its branches. When a new girl follows him to his refuge, he is initially resistant, but they find out that they have more in common that they think. And Brendan thinks that a mysterious man in the woods is actually a guardian spirit - for himself and for the woods. When Brendan is brutally beaten by some neighborhood thugs, his world comes crashing down. What happens when the dust settles will be a mix a very bad and of very good.
Hahn has made an excellent departure from her spooky, ghost driven books (which are also great) for a powerful book that covers many themes. This would be a good class read for an elementary level class.
EL, MS - ESSENTIAL. Cindy - Library Teacher
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