Shelter

The book bring about a feeling of relieve for young people, myself being one at the time that i read it! it draws back to very close my own life and experinces as a kid. As Nelson struggle to come to grasp with his coming of age, the book shows the beauty of life as a young teenager. one only appretiate the book once you have been a normal teenager.It shows how Nelson grows from a young struggling writter to a deep thinking young man. Being placed with the responsibilty of looking after his sister life just seems to become very hard for him. Dealing with this through his novel and struggling with hormones. A defenite for any young reader!

PEOPLE magazine said this was like "A Catcher in the Rye" set in Ohio. Actually, it's set in Portland, Oregon, but it is a beautifully written coming of age novel written by the screenwriter of Memphis Belle and Disney's Oliver Twist. The novel begins,"I don't know what we would have done last summer if Mr. and Mrs. Shook hadn't killed their retarted son and walled him up in the basement. It would have been a really long summer with nothing to do."The story is told by aspiring writer Nelson Jaqua, a young teen who has to basbysit his little sister Maude all summer while his upsacle parents drink and cope with a disolving marriage. He and his friends Cat and Tim (also outsiders in some way) amuse themselves by spying on a weird family in their nighborhood---the Shooks-- and trying to find out what has happened to their son. The kids take shifts watching from their treehouse fort when they aren't playing strip poker or roaming the neighborhood. It reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird in many ways--the langorous summer, youthful antics, easy and poignant friendship, and mystery of the weird neighbor. It also brought back the pain and insecurity of adolescence and the very real problems kids in dysfuctional families face. It's a funny, touching, literate novel that made me laugh and cry. I've read it again and again!