The Mailbox

The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer

This is not your ordinary teen read. It is one full of beautiful writing, substance and deals with several serious topics; war, the foster system, and the life of veterans. This is a very touching and emotional story that shows us how people can save each other. Ages 12 and up.

12 year-old Gabe is lucky to live with his Uncle Vernon after spending many miserable years in the foster care system. He grows to love his grumpy old Uncle until one day he comes home to realize he has died. His body is left laying on the floor and Gabe doesn’t know what to do or who to call. He goes to bed distraught only to find the next morning that the body is gone, disappeared. Gabe goes about his business keeping the secret that Uncle Vernon has died, trying to take care of himself, clean the house and go to the store for groceries. He knows this is what his Uncle would want him to do. But suddenly he is receiving strange notes in his mailbox from a secret friend. The story continues with exchanges from this friend that Gabe believes to be his “fairy godmother”. Gabe is a wonderful character and this is really a very touching story about life and love. This could be a great read-aloud because it could lead to some great life discussions. A great recommendation for 6^th grade and up.