Customer Reviews

Small Black Boxes

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From the beginning,the author draws the reader into the incredible range of emotions that a young high school girl,her mother, and younger brother experience upon learning of their loved one's death in Afghanistan.The story does not delve into political rationale for war nor does it seek to give easy answers for dealing with deep gut-wrenching pain and grief. But by using the opening of 12 black boxes, we are privileged to journey through the special memories that afford comfort and bring a sense of hope to all three... a soldier's cap that can be held and caressed;a musical score marked in the margin evoking shared evenings of songs together; a hand-made child's valentine treasured by a father;Clyde,the yellow lab's collar; a special portrait drawn by an accomplished artist-soldier. These were just some of the treasures that Major Walter Pritchard packed to take with him on his way to a war on the other side of the world. When they are returned in the black boxes,they reveal the essence of the man to us ;his death and how this family copes with it reveal their character. Susan Turner has written a sensitive,beautiful book that I could not put down til the final page.

Small Black Boxes is a delicately written, timely story of Leah, a young girl, as she faces the fact that her father will not be returning from the war. In spite of her hopes and her father's optimistic sense of duty, death has claimed her hero. What a gift Susan C. Turner has for painting pictures with words, bringing people to life, evoking feelings and gently leaving her reader in a safe hope-filled place! The telling is genuine and sensitive.

Small Black Boxes

This book is about a teen-aged girl whose father has been killed in action in the war in Afghanistan. Small Black Boxes is lyrically written, and eloquently expresses the importance of a close-knit family, positive memories, abiding love, and faith in the future, when moving through the mourning process. Turner has exquisitely captured the rhythms of grief and the gradual stirrings of hope that are a part of this adolescent's journey. The result is an unforgettable story.