This was our 6th-8th grade book club pick for November. One of my perennial favorites, I enjoy ever opportunity to re-read this. It’s the story of 11 going on 12-year-old Hattie Owen who discovers one summer that she has an uncle she has never heard of. Adam has been in an institution for mentally disabled adults, and with the advent of that school’s closing, he is returning to live with his parents. The characters and the situation are so beautifully drawn. Adam’s parents have always prided themselves on living a perfect, socially approved existence. Hattie is often at odds with how to treat Adam, he is an adult, and her uncle, but he often seems and acts more like a child.
The book is so beautifully written, and the personalities of the characters are so perfectly drawn. I recommend this to anyone who wants a quiet, sweet, and thoughtful story. Have tissues near by at the end.
