ARC Review: Mailbox

Title: Mailbox: A Scattershot Novel of Racing, Dares and Danger, Occasional Nakedness, and Faith by Nancy Freund
Publisher: Gobreau Press
Format: advanced ebook received from publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review
Pages: 232 pages
Genre: Fiction, coming of age

This title was release May 10, 2015

Synopsis: The Drue family moved from New York to Small Town, USA in the '70s, and they may never fully fit in. Thirteen-year-old Sandy's parents encourage her curiosity, her imagination, and her challenge of social conventions - but not without cost. Sandy and her brother are now learning about horses, cows, swimming pools, and guns. An artist and intellectual, their mother feels like she's hosting foreign exchange students who never leave. Sandy loves the idea of this - both hosting foreign students and traveling the world. As a start, she begins writing letters to distant friends and to the universe, seeking answers to the biggest question she faces...whether there's anyone bigger in charge.

Review: Each chapter is different and the book wanders around from topic to topic but it all fits together, sort of like reading someone's diary.  This diary is of Sandy Drue, who wants to be Nancy Drew and has all sorts of delightful insights into life and adults.  Maybe it's due to the fact that I grew up in this time period but it was wonderful to read about so many of my childhood staples, the metal roller skates, the politics of the time, and all sorts of things.  Sandy's parents are artistic and unconventional and allow their children to figure things out on their own.  Her parents often state that they feel like they are raising foreign exchange students, they don't always understand their kids but they are always supportive.

This is a great coming of age novel. I loved the style of the writing and the insights into childhood in the 1970's USA.  Very well done, but don't expect a fluid story.


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