#121 Dear Zoe by Philip Beard and a thank you

First I want to thank everyone for following my blog.  After the Blog Hop last Friday I found all sorts of new blogs and I got some new followers as well.  So welcome to my new followers!!  I'm very excited.

So I actually started another book to be my 121 but I really couldn't get into it so I put it down.  I was glad I did when I got into this book.

In this book, 15 year old Tess is writing a letter to her half sister, Zoe, who died on 9/11.  She didn't die in the terrorist attack, she was hit by a car and died while Zoe was supposed to be watching her.  The letter is about the aftermath of dealing with her death.

I can't even imagine the grief that a family would feel in the situation.  But the book was written with such raw honesty I could feel that grief.  Tessa is struggling for her place in the family and dealing with her guilt.  Overwhelmed she goes to stay with her real father who is constantly out of work and is a small time drug dealer.

It was definitely a book that made me cry.  Well written and honest.  Mr. Beard is a fantastic writer.  The book grabbed my attention and held it.  I will be looking into other books of his.

I give this one an A.