![]() When he goes to live with his uncle Gabe has started school and his first day of school coming home he finds his uncle dead on his desk chair and covers him with a blanket and goes to bed not knowing what to do. The type of conflict in this story is Person Vs.Society. Gabe is the main character he used to live in foster care from home to home and then his uncle was found and Gabe went to live with him. The setting of this book is mainly in a house where everything takes place in present day. This is Gabe's story, it might not be a true story but the author sure does make it seem like one. Have you ever thought about living without your parents? Imagine what life would be like if you no one there to take care of you, what would you do? If you only had your teachers and your best friend. But I still cried through it too and it's a middle grade novel, so I'm not sure what else Shafer would have/could have done done. I do think the ending was rather rosy given the (sort of sweet, child-like) darkness of the rest of the novel. Diverse cast, too! I was so pleased that not everyone was white. She also knows how to wield a wonderful set of characters with grace and I was very impressed by that. Shafer does a fantastic job at winding the two (three if you count Vernon and Smitty) relationships together without getting them confused or losing one voice to the other. ![]() I don't think it was just me being sentimental, at least not entirely - there were some genuinely moving moments between Gabe and Smitty and, even more emotional, Gabe and his memories of Uncle Vernon. Unfortunately, I also chose to read in a public coffee shop which was a huge mistake as I cried through about two-thirds of it. I finished this book in less than 2 hours? It's a really quick read. THE MAILBOX is a story about connections-about how two people in need can save each other. It's also not a story about Vietnam vets, although the author works with Vietnam veterans and wrote this novel, in part, to illuminate their sacrifices and suffering. ![]() But eventually, Vernon's death will be discovered, and how will Gabe and the mystery note writer learn to move forward? THE MAILBOX is not a story about death-though it begins with a death. Through flashbacks, we learn about Gabe and Vernon's relationship, and how finding each other saved them both from lives of suffering. Thus begins a unique correspondence destined to save the two people that depended on Vernon for everything. ![]() The next day, he discovers a strange note in his mailbox: I HAVE A SECRET. When he comes home to discover that his uncle has died of a heart attack, he's terrifed of going back into the system-so he tells no one. Twelve-year-old Gabe grew up in the foster care system until a social worker located his Uncle Vernon two years before. Vernon Culligan had been dead to the town of Draydon, Virginia, so long that when the crusty Vietnam vet finally died, only one person noticed. ![]()
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