Book Review - Eleven

Recently, I visited the library with a friend, who was looking for good books for her nephew. The children's librarian recommended several books, and I ended up picking up two of them for myself! This was one of them:

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
 
A fascinating idea but not a particularly believable outcome. Sam turns eleven and discovers a newspaper clipping in the attic that seems to indicate that he's been missing, which could mean that he's somehow living with the wrong people and that his family is not really his family. Sam's endeavor to find out the truth about himself is hampered by the fact that he struggles with reading. Sam enlists the help of a new girl at school, who seems to have her nose in a book constantly. This book is the story of the friendship that develops between them as they sort out the truth about Sam. There were some very sweet and beautiful things about the story, but, on the whole, I didn't find the ending believable, and Sam seems much younger than 11 (though he has some extraordinary wood-working skills).