2.5 Stars ( )

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. ( )

Mike lost his dad to the War in Afghanistan when he was eight. Now he’s 16, and he’s receiving letters from him. Mike must navigate high school and family responsibilities and also solve this personal mystery.

Opinion: This book is a really good book when it comes to mystery. When along on his journy to see whos delivering the mail from his father who has been dead for 6 years. While reading this book I was reeled in and wanting to read more and more and didn't the book to end. Each note from his dad he got one step closer to figuring out who the mystery mailman or woman was while juggling his classes a girlfriend and sports.
Summary: This book is about a kid named micheal who recieves mail from his father who died many years ago. When recieving this mail he is trying to juggle football and doesnt tell his mom that he is recieveing these notes and tries figuring out on his own.
Each week he gets closer and closer to learing with a mystery mailer who was with his dad for the last seconds of his life. ( )

Mike Wilson is a teenager living in the mid west in Iowa. He lives with his sister and mom in a ghetto house that often needs repairs. He lost his father in Afghanistan and looks up to him. When his mom won't let him join football, he forges her signature because he believes his dad would want him to play. He meets an Arabic girl named Isma and develops a relationship despite the racial tension and bullies at his high school . Earlier in the book he receives letters his dad wrote him on his overseas tour and took them personally, which helped him get through his school year. Only until his friend, Derek, who's a farmer, and the person who Mike works for, reveals that he is the mystery sender, Mike Discovers the truth.
This book is my absolute favorite book of all time! I enjoyed every page of this book and related not just to Mike, but also other characters in the book. I felt like I had a connection with Mike, because both of us have had our fathers deployed overseas. I really enjoyed the fact that the setting was in the mid west, where I grew up, and that it had a football aspect to it. I also like how Mikes strived to be his best even if it meant breaking the rules.I think that the racism in this book is also very accurate, especially to modern America because of Middle Eastern tensions. I would recommend this book to all american military kids because it has a similar aspect to it when living outside of military life. ( )