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    If You're Reading This
    If You're Reading This
    If You're Reading This
    Audiobook9 hours

    If You're Reading This

    Written by Trent Reedy

    Narrated by Trent Reedy and Ramón de Ocampo

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the author of Words in the Dust and Divided We Fall: A heartwarming book about a son reconnecting with the father he lost in Afghanistan.

    Mike was seven when his father was killed in mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan. Eight years later, the family still hasn't recovered: Mike's mom is overworked and overprotective; his younger sister, Mary, feels no connection to the father she barely remembers; and in his quest to be "the man of the family", Mike knows he's missing out on everyday high school life.

    Then, out of the blue, Mike receives a letter from his father — the first of a series Dad wrote in Afghanistan, just in case he didn't come home, meant to share some wisdom with his son on the eve of Mike's 16th birthday. As the letters come in, Mike revels in spending time with his dad again, and takes his encouragement to try new things — to go out for the football team, and ask out the beautiful Isma. But who's been keeping the letters all these years? And how did Dad actually die? As the answers to these mysteries are revealed, Mike and his family find a way to heal and move forward at last.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScholastic
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9780545749794
    If You're Reading This

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    Reviews for If You're Reading This

    4.5/5

    27 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great book!! So amazing it really hit home this my 2nd time reading it!!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this because I grew up in the area where the book was based and because I am a single mother, so I could identify with the anger the mom feels. As Mike approaches his 16th birthday he begins getting letters from his father, written before his death seven years before, that were saved by a mysterious stranger just in case he didn't make it home. High school football is glorified, but the parties and the ostracism of anyone different seems true to life.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely love this book. It was an amazing read, as well as a quick one for me. Took me about a day to get though. Mike is believable as the main character being in high school, trying to be the "man-of-the-house", and being a kid. He has moments of being immature, but he makes up for it in his want to be what everyone wants him to be. Once he starts receiving the letters from his father years after his father died, he is thrown for a loop, as anyone in his situation would be. But he comes out on top of everything. And am I the only one who hears Tim McGraw's song of the same name in their head every time they read the title, or is this just me? :)
    • 5/5
      After reading a plethora of picture books, I was ready for a young adult novel and the cover caught my attention as I roamed the library: stadium lights and a football field with a young man walking, football helmet in hand, while at the top of the cover were letters and a soldier's dog tags. Combine the cover with the title, and I was hooked. The story was gripping, poignant but not overwrought. I appreciated the level of sadness and reflection in the writing, and thought the subject matter was addressed very well. Curriculum connections can be made with 8th grade social studies. Students can read the novel and conduct research on the events touched on in the novel to write an informative essay expanding on the facts. Perhaps create a Venn diagram demonstrating the occurrences in the novel and what else happened in reality. Alternatively, for an ELA connection, students could take information from the story, and from additional research into the time frame, and write letters to Mary. Students would have to infer what missions or lessons her father would have shared with her.
    • 4/5
      Genre: Historical FictionFormat: Chapter BookMike was only seven years old when his dad was killed in Afghanistan. Eight years later, Mike, his mom and little sister are still struggling after their father’s death. One day Mike receives a letter from his father. It turns out his father had written this letter to him for his sixteenth birthday, at the moment he did not really know if he would make it home. Mike finds out he didn’t know much about his dad and wants to figure out more about his death. The letters that his dad writes to him help mike make decisions in his life, like dating a girl and facing hard times while on the football team. This is a very touching story and after reading the book I read a little about the author, turns out he served in Afghanistan, I would definitely recommend this book to my students, even though the main character is sixteen I feel that this book is aimed towards younger ages.