Review Detail

Id been meaning to read this book forever. I actually got it before the release date (5/04) and had it near the top of my ever-growing stack of review books, but somehow it kept getting moved back. The title (So B. It) intrigued me, as did the description on the back (even with the obvious similarities to the movie I am Sam -- though they are only skin deep, so to speak).

Im glad I finally put other books aside and picked this one up. Its a strange thing even though this book is, in many ways, a sad one with kind of a depressing storyline if you just laid it all out&it makes me happy. Just thinking about it makes me happy. Im not sure why that is, whether it is Heidis quirky lucky streak, her mentally disabled mothers soft charm, or Bernadettes (her neighbor and the real caregiver in Heidis life) oddness. But theres something about this book that just puts a smile on my face even with the rather sad and bittersweet ending it has.

Heidis mother is really not functional on her own and can only speak a very few words. One word that begins to haunt Heidi is soof and she decides she has to find out what it means. Using clues she finds in an old photograph, she sets off on her own (Bernadette has agoraphobia and cant leave the apartment; besides someone has to look after Mama) to a little town called Liberty.

The trip itself is a wonder and I hate to tell you anything about it. I dont want to give too much away. Lets just say it brings up some unforeseen obstacles for Heidi. When she does get there, things arent as easy as shed hoped either. But, in the end and for what its worth she finds out what soof means and the truth about her family.

Recommended for readers aged 10 and up. Its a gentle book and I think youll like it.