Dear Author letters of hope

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Chapter Book: Yes         Genre: Non Fiction

Kaywell, J. (2007).  Dear author letters of hope. New York: Penguin Group.ISBN 978-1-101-04279-3. $12.47

     Dear Author letters of hope is a compilation of letters to young adult literature authors from their readers expressing gratitude for the books they wrote. All of the letters were about challenges young adults face such as suicide, drug abuse, sexual abuse and self-mutilation. That’s not to say that these are the only types of books these authors write however; those topics just happened to be the focus of this particular book. Some of the authors were, Cherie Bennet, Lois Duncan, Rodman Philbrick, Laurie Halse Anderson, Chris Crutcher and Christopher Paul Curtis.

     Dear Author letters of hope is a unique book in that not only do the readers write the authors but the authors actually take the time to write back. Moreover in their responses the authors are very candid about what their motivation was for writing the books and in most instances some of the authors wrote about their own experiences or experiences of someone very close to them. For example a reader wrote author Cherie Bennett about how she was overweight and had been teased by her peers and the devastating affect it was having in her life. As it would happen in her younger years Cherie Bennett faced that same challenge of being overweight and she explained how she overcame the negativity of the situation. Lois Duncan encourages her reader to get help from a suicide support group. Letter after letter each author displays a very caring and understanding show of emotions towards their readers.

     Now I must be candid and admit that this was my first complete reading of an e-book and what has taken me so long are the pros and cons of reading an e-book. The challenge I have with reading an e-book in its entirety is not being able to turn physical pages. The pros are that the book seemed shorter to read for lack of a better word. I thought the book was very well written and I would recommend this book for young adult readers ages 14 and above. I believe Dear Author letters of hope is a good tool for young people facing challenges mentioned earlier in those particular areas as well as their support system with regards to understanding how to help. In addition, the book offers a wide range of helpful websites and hotlines such as: The Abuse Hotline 1-800-422-4453.