Caleb and Kit
I felt more compassion for the secondary character in this book than the main character. At first, I thought perhaps Kit was imaginary but then as the story progressed, I wanted to know more about Kit’s situation as it seemed she had no one, except the rock.
Caleb’s best friend is now into sports, leaving all the things they used to do together behind. Caleb feels like he lives in the shadow of his perfect, older brother Patrick. To escape his brother, Caleb heads off into the woods by their house. Spying some crawfish, Caleb stops to try to catch them. He thought she was an angel the way the sun surrounded her face, but it was only Kit, the new girl who was now telling Caleb how to fish.
This was where she hung out at. This area inside the woods. She invited him to return the next day and he definitely would! Finally, he had someone to hang out with and a special place that no one knew about.
I liked reading about the friendship these two started and how things progressed. They both had issues that they were trying to hide/avoid. Kit was doing a great job of hiding hers and then, there was Caleb, who couldn’t get away from his. Caleb had a father who was unpredictable, a mother who was over-protective, and a brother who thought he could do no wrong.
Caleb starts to question Kit about her carefree life and her responses were short and matter-of-fact. I felt there was some kind of jealousy at times, as Caleb watched Kit. I wanted and needed to know about Kit, as there’s something going on there. Yet, Kit remains silent, not questioning Caleb about his life. Caleb wonders if she notices that he’s different than other kids.
It’s a great book that covers a lot of different topics. Caleb has cystic fibrosis and Kit is being abused and neglected but these issues don’t take center stage. It’s quite an adventure.
