If You're Reading This

Starred review from August 18, 2014
Former Iowa National Guardsman Reedy (Divided We Fall) returns to Riverside, Iowa (last seen in his Stealing Air) to tell the coming-of-age story of 15-year-old Mike Wilson, who's still dealing with his father's death in Afghanistan, seven years earlier. Raised by his overprotective mother, Mike yearns to play football, but is pushed to focus on school and his part-time job. When letters written by his father before his death start showing up in the mail from an unknown sender, they give Mike a connection he thought lost forever. With each letter giving him a missionâgo to a party, ask a girl out, forgive someoneâhe finds the courage and motivation to live fully. But in the process, he must confront bullies, get around his mother's disapproval, and find out the truth behind his father's death. Powerful and emotionally raw, with sympathetic characters and a thought-provoking premise, this tale reflects Reedy's strengths: evoking the small-town American spirit, capturing the feel of the military, and getting into the heart of his teenage protagonist. Ages 12âup. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

July 1, 2014
A moving study of war's long-reaching effects on families.Mike Wilson's father "had been dead seven years the day his first letter arrived." How can this be? Who is sending them? His father died in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2005, and 15-year-old Mike, his mother and his younger sister have moved on with their lives, though his mother avoids the painful subject of his father. It's difficult, though, to navigate high school without a father's guidance, and this letter and those that follow are intended to help. Many contain a mission for Mike-get involved with a sport, ask a girl out, go to church, get your driver's license, go easy on your sister, and be nice to your mother. The letters offer Mike an approach to succeeding in high school and a means of saying goodbye to his father, and they offer readers, along with Mike, a compelling mystery: How can a dead man send letters? Mike is a believable character, his first-person narration capably spun. A whole story constructed around letters intended to teach life lessons can't help but feel didactic, though earnest and well meaning.Readers will anticipate each letter right along with Mike, and they may receive some good guidance about life along with him. (Fiction. 10-16)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 6-8-Mike Wilson is an ordinary teenager, more responsible, perhaps, than most. His father died in Afghanistan when he was eight. Suddenly, he is getting posthumous advice from his father in the form of letters, the sender of which is a mystery. This is a good premise, if not a particularly original concept. Reedy misses the opportunity to grip his readers by doing the obvious. For example, Mike follows dad's advice-go out for football-only to discover that he's a star player. Mike's relationship with his overly protective mother provides some drama, and the developing friendship with his classmate, Isma Rafee, of Persian descent, will appeal to many teens, as will the revelation of the identity of the mysterious letter sender. Although predictable and cliche-ridden, If You're Reading This will appeal to reluctant readers.-Nina Sachs, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 Mike Wilson is a good kid. He gets good grades, works at the farm of a family friend to help his single mother make ends meet, and even tolerates his obnoxious little sister. His father died a hero in Afghanistan seven years ago, and as Mike's fifteenth birthday approaches, he has begun receiving letters from his dad, delivered by an anonymous member of his father's unit. All Mike wants to do is play football, and when the first piece of his father's serialized advice encourages him to embrace the glory days of high school, he forges his mother's signature and joins the team. What follows is hazing from a bully on the team, a complicated relationship with a Muslim girl on the social sidelines, and guilt and confusion about his interwoven secrets. Many readers will anticipate a revelation about a hidden identity, but that won't stop them from enjoying this literary, nuanced, respectful treatment of military themes, sports dynamics, and small-town life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)