H

Rarely do I find a book that touches me the way this one does. It speaks to all of us who have felt like misfits in a world that cares so much about outward appearance and conformity. Benjamin, a young boy of 12, is a troubled child who escapes from his reality with his toy, a stuffed letter H he calls Elliot. It seems his toy is his only companion, and the only thing Benjamin allows to share in his imaginative but unbalanced life. Through letters from Benjamin's camp counselors, parents and from Benjamin to Elliot, we find how a lonely young boy adapts when his world is stolen from him. Moving and beautifully written.

This first-time novelist embarked on a brave, wonderful, and successful journey with this extraordinary book, and what a treat it is for the reader. Instead of smug, writerly prose and New York affectation, this highly educated young writer seeps into the soul of a troubled, brilliant, frustrating, loveable young man, and shows us his true gifts...and how they can prevail despite society's obsessive pressure to make him more "normal." A brilliant novel for parents, siblings, or spouses of those misunderstood few--and for all of us who know we're different, and that we matter.

I loaned the book and started reading it at 4 am when I had given up sleeping. I finished it at 8 am and woke up crying. The book is carefully veiled pain, enigmatic suffering, wrapped tightly in blazing insight. The best moments lie in the subtleties of dialogue and expression recorded by Benjamin, the 12 year old character -- and that type of writing is something that will open more of the book up as you re- and re-read it.

If you choose one book this new year, H should be the one. Brilliant, heart breaking, sacred and profound, this is the book that will change the way you see the world and the way you see yourself. For anyone who has ever felt different from the rest, who has noticed other people who never quite fit in, who recall the 'odd kids' from early school days and wonder what became of them, read H and meet the genius, tragic, timeless words of Benjamin Sherman, who in his illness and madness and beauty really can make the world a slightly kinder place. Like "Ordinary People," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Girl, Interrupted," and "The Catcher in the Rye," "H" deserves a place on your night table!

I loved H -- it was a seamless and compelling visit to the mind of a troubled but also original, smart, funny and endearing young boy. The writing is simple and elegant, and the characters are wholly believable. I stayed up half the night to read it in one sitting, and found it absolutely worth the effort!