Scan barcode
A review by lillimoore
So B. It by Sarah Weeks
3.0
I read this book in middle school and reread about 3 years ago in anticipation of watching the movie. This middle-grade novel balances on the line of charming and heartbreaking. We follow our protagonist, Heidi, and her mentally disabled mother, who are both watched over and cared for by their brilliant but agoraphobic neighbor Bernadette. It is a coming-of-age tale that has Heidi realizing all that is missing from the story of her life and coming to terms with her unique predicament. She travels across the country to fill in the missing pieces and understand herself, her mother, and her background.
While this is a very cute tale and introduces complicated and complex subject material to younger readers in an accessible way, it is not without the problems of being quite unrealistic. You really have to suspend belief to think that Heidi can be so highly functioning, let alone exist in the situation that she does. Her mother is only capable of communicating with an extraordinarily small vocabulary. Where is CPS? Both Heidi and her mother deserved so much better. Yes, this is a touching story that can help younger readers develop empathy for those in the mentally disabled community, but I believe it could have been better executed and hope genuinely that there are other middle grade books that deal with similar subjects in a more realistic manner. If you, like me, enjoy reading books and comparing the movie afterwards, then I hope you enjoy this quick and engaging read with interesting characters, but don't expect any form of realism from it. Perhaps seek other books instead.
While this is a very cute tale and introduces complicated and complex subject material to younger readers in an accessible way, it is not without the problems of being quite unrealistic. You really have to suspend belief to think that Heidi can be so highly functioning, let alone exist in the situation that she does. Her mother is only capable of communicating with an extraordinarily small vocabulary. Where is CPS? Both Heidi and her mother deserved so much better. Yes, this is a touching story that can help younger readers develop empathy for those in the mentally disabled community, but I believe it could have been better executed and hope genuinely that there are other middle grade books that deal with similar subjects in a more realistic manner. If you, like me, enjoy reading books and comparing the movie afterwards, then I hope you enjoy this quick and engaging read with interesting characters, but don't expect any form of realism from it. Perhaps seek other books instead.