Heartwarming!

by Sally Holt
(Worley, ID USA)

After meeting the authors when they reviewed the book to our Valley Senior Writers Group, I was so swept up in their enthusiasm that I purchased three copies! ... one for myself and two for gifts. I was not disappointed. Wanting to read the book quickly, but stretching it out into three sittings in order to savor it, I was drawn into the world of Lyle and David as their friendship and reliance upon one another grew. I recall the era when hyperactive children such as Lyle were given drugs to slow them down (which I always thought was an appalling choice) and I cheered for Lyle's parents when they defied educational authority and refused to anesthetize their son's creativity and spontaneity toward life. David's parents and siblings were admirable in their efforts to allow him to be a normal boy as much as possible, even though it wasn't always the most comfortable path to take. The character of the janitor was wonderfully drawn out through his actions, and shows that many times an ordinary observer will have more common sense of how to deal with a child's problem than the "professionals." This book should interest middle school age through adulthood and would make a great movie. It has humor, sadness and poignancy and left me feeling I was still in Lyle's world at the end. The references to people and places in Spokane were fun since I live nearby and have sons of Lyle's approximate age. I'll be looking forward to the next book from these two authors.