1984 - Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dates read: Aug 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 134 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I read this book a couple times in (many) years past. I didn't like it then. I thought it was cheesy or a bit flat (everything was wrong in the kid's life and no one lives like that). I wonder if it was because the theme of divorce (not that that is the only theme in the book) seemed to be discussed frequently. Fortunately, it wasn't something I had to deal with.

This reading was different. Now, the book does appear to be written for the 9-12 crowd, but with that in mind, I really enjoyed it. Leigh dealt with real problems and concerns - some of which I, even as an adult, can relate to and many others that my life experiences have helped me to understand second hand.

It was written for a young audience and perhaps that is refreshing for a Newbery since it seems that so many of them are being written for older (even adult) audiences under the mask of children's or young adult literature.