Customer Reviews

The Mailbox

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Any of you familiar with "booktalks"? This is a skill set cultivated and perfected almost entirely by teen and children's librarians. The idea is this: You walk into a
classroom. The kids in that classroom are looking at you like you're some kind of freak and the last thing they want is for you to go bobbing about telling them how simply marvelous the library is. What you need is a little something up your sleeve. Something to get them genuinely interested in the books sitting on the shelves. Hence, the booktalk. It's basically a trailer or preview for a book. You don't give away any big plot points and you don't give them a synopsis of the story. What you do is give them a little taste of what the book can offer them. Why am I telling you this? Because it's been a really really long time since I found a book I wanted to booktalk more than Audrey Shafer's, "The Mailbox". It doesn't look like much. It has the standard sepia-toned inanimate object photograph so common in children's bookcovers today. But read the first fourteen pages and then tell me you don't want to know so much more than the book is telling you. A book for kids that would impress Hitchcock himself, this one.

Twelve-year-old Gabe Culligan's had a rough life, but things have evened out really nicely for him lately. You see, for years Gabe was a foster kid, shuttled from place to place without a home. Then his social worker found his long-lost Uncle Vernon and things were looking good. Sure, Uncle Vernon's kind of crusty. He has a prosthetic leg and a gruff manner, but it's obvious that he and his nephew get along really well. You can't blame Gabe for not knowing that Vernon would have secrets. So one day, Gabe comes home from school and Uncle Vernon's dead on the floor. Well what would you do? You can't blame the kid for not wanting to deal with the situation. The next morning he goes to school like usual and tries not to think about what to do. When he gets home, there's a note in the mailbox. On one side it says, "I have a secret". On the other side it says, "Do not be afraid". But when Gabe comes into the house and finds his uncle's body has disappeared, he is afraid. Very.

Man, do you have a treat in store for you. If you haven't read the book yet you've no idea how good it's going to be. To begin with, first time author Audrey Shafer doesn't come across as first time at all. Her writing is crisp and full of perfectly placed little descriptions. When Gabe discovers his uncle's body right off the bat he cries. "Messy crying, the kind of crying that leaves you swollen, red, and leaky". When later he pets his dog at the base of the neck between the shoulders, "He could lose his hands there, then pull his fingers up, like pink fish rising from a bed of soft seaweed". One more. "Evening, with her blowing skirts of cooling breezes and rustling leaves, swirled her colors, first fiery then deep blue, through the house and around the house". I marked about four or five more of these great sentences, but I'll let you off the hook and have you find them on your own when you read the book.

Characters are beautifully defined here as well. First of all, there's the heroic teacher Mr. Boehm. He has a sense of humor, which makes him suspect. As Gabe knows, teachers that joke are separated into two categories. "Joking teachers were either friendly and open, or closed to all but their own humor, in love with their own voice". I think we all know that more than teachers alone fit that description. Every person has their own agenda and their own way of doing things in this story. You get a sense of who they are and what they want through Shafer's writing. And you want good dialogue? Well, I was sad for the death of Uncle Vernon for all kinds of reasons. Perhaps most of all because his comforting bedtime philosophy came out along the lines of, "Scum-lickin' pus-suckin' buckets of trouble ken happen whether you're good or bad. But why git spit by skunk muck? Stay low and steer clear of screw-ups, Gabe". Sound advice. This what is later referred to as, "the usual scrubbed raw dash of wisdom".

What I especially appreciated about this book was the arc of the storyline. Here we have Gabe living on his own without a guardian, his dead uncle missing, and a mysterious somebody sending him letters. So many books begin with a good premise then sort of peter out because they can't maintain their storyline. It's a lot easier to come up with a cool idea than it is to sustain it. Shafer does both and the ending is so good and so deeply satisfying that you find yourself wanting to start the whole book over for a second read when you've finished.

There were some problems with the book, I'm afraid. Fortunately they were all little things. The story sort of assumes that all the kids reading it are intimately familiar with "Of Mice and Men". As such, it keeps talking about Lenny without mentioning that he was a character in that particular book. Definitely expect a number of confused head-scratching kids at these parts. You might find the ultimate solution to Gabe's problem a little pat as well, but it's now wholly unexpected. Shafer can pretty much lead you wherever she wants to go after a while. I doubt many will object.

If a book could be called "good" by the number of post-its I've placed on its pages to remember later, then this book set a new record. A whopping fourteen post-it notes all lurking in strategically important areas. Fortunately, "The Mailbox", won't have to rely on my say-so alone. Expect it to be one of the surprise hits of this or any other year. The dark horse. It's a remarkable debut and strong start to the career of a woman destined to be one of children's literature's greats. Now go read it.

A great book for ages 10 and up. I read this with my 12 year old daughter. It is a great story about a 6th grade boy who comes home one day to find his uncle/guardian dead. Before he can take any action the body disappears and mysterious notes are left in the mailbox. The characters are charming and issues of foster children and war veterans are covered. There are some fun scenes in the classroom that had us laughing. It was great to read this well written book of substance with my child. If you tired of fluffy, shallow kids books you will love this book.

Thank you, Audrey Shafer for pouring your heart into this beautiful story. The tale is one of mystery, regret, comfort, loss, sacrifice, and the joy of being. Dr. Shafer deftly inserts contemplative literary references to Of Mice and Men and The Call of the Wild. I loved your book and I believe it is true: A Book is a Friend.

Twelve-year-old Gabe lives with his Uncle Vernon, a crusty, reclusive Vietnam vet, in this contemporary middle school book. One day he comes home from school and finds his uncle's body on the floor. He doesn't call the police because he's afraid they'll put him in a foster home-he already spent eight years bouncing around in the foster care system until his uncle adopted him.

The next day after school his uncle's body is gone. Will the police think he murdered Uncle Vernon and hid the body? He decides not to tell anyone.

In the mailbox he finds an unsigned letter: "I have a secret. Do not be afraid." The letters continue, but the writer's identity remains a mystery.

After several weeks the body is discovered and Gabe's plan to live alone unravels. Now the police, the social worker, and Gabe's teachers are involved and his fate is in their hands.

Gabe's past, except for the two years with Uncle Vernon, made him shy and distrustful. But his resilience and integrity as he handles the difficult situation makes it easy for us to like him. This middle school book will also awaken empathy for soldiers returning from war. Although Uncle Vernon is deceased when the story begins, he becomes a vivid character because of Gabe's memories of him. For instance, when the social worker first brought Gabe over, he called his uncle `sir.' "'No, no," answered Vernon. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm no `sir.' They can save all they's fancy sirs and salutin' for the dress parade. No, life's a jungle, there's no use for sirs in the jungle.'" He taught Gabe how to use tools, including a power saw; helped him make a tree swing; and, when Gabe had the flu, nursed him with a potent herbal mixture he learned from an old Vietnamese woman.

The identity of the letter-writer becomes a central question of the story. As I read, I wondered if he could live up to the mystery surrounding him, but I wasn't disappointed. Instead, I was deeply moved. This well-written and engaging book touched my heart.

While I found the prose to have been well-crafted, the story itself was, for me, sad, cold and joyless, offering meager consolations for the sorrow and loneliness which are its predominant themes. This is the story of Boo Radley told without warmth or humor.

From the beginning of the book, I did not want to put it down. The story grabs your attention and keeps you emotionally involved. This is a wonderful story of a boy overcoming much with the help of friends (seen and unseen). I highly recommend this book!

I have read over 30 books this summer, searching for a great read-aloud for my grade 6 class. One chapter into The Mailbox I discovered I had found what I was looking for. This novel has great 'voice' and I literally couldn't put it down. I wasn't even deterred by the fact that I sobbed for at least a third of the time I was reading. The first chapter grabs the reader's attention and the second chapter ensures that readers won't be able to put the book down. There are very few books I finish reading and actually find myself wanting to contact the author to thank them for the great story. The Mailbox is one of them.

This book was a "Sunshine State Reader"

I decided to read the Sunshine State Readers to better recommend books to our younger audience. I am torn by this one. The writing was good, the mystery was good. The book was geared to grades 3~5.

SPOILER BELOW.

Which at this time I'm trying to convince my little one that secrets are to be shared at this point in her life, the book doesn't exemplify that. I also think the themes about living on his own, the other man trying to commit suicide and blowing half of his face off, though resolved as to why and the "If I help one kid my life will be worth it," was just not enough for me to justify putting these things into a delicate third graders head. (And yes some are more delicate than others.) But if it hasn't affected them directly why should they think about the subject of suicide?

It was a pretty good book, I think just a little to old for a third grader.

My 11yo son and I listened to the audio version of "The Mailbox" during our commute earlier this year, and he and I were both captivated by the story -- the characters, the mystery, the depictions of daily school life. I highly recommend this book for 9 and up, especially for those who have Vietnam veterans in their families; this book might open up some avenues for discussion.
I was so taken with this book, and his reaction to it, that I recommended it to his 5th grade literature teacher for her to look at for use in the classroom.

My daughter had this on her list of summer reading. I read it first and loved it. I cried and I haven't been that touched by a book for a very long time. I am considering reading this book to my 3rd grade class this year.