So B. It

The way neighbor Bernadette described it to Heidi, Heidi’s mother’s brain was a broken machine with bent or missing parts. How much so?

…if we hadn’t had Bernadette, we’d have been in big trouble. Mama didn’t know things. She didn’t understand numbers at all. She couldn’t tell time or use money or the telephone. She only knew one color, blue, and although she could recognize a few letters A and S and sometimes H, she couldn’t read, not even her own name

Actually, Heidi’s mom doesn’t even know her own name, telling Bernadette when she showed up at a Reno, Nev., apartment with a week-old baby named Heidi; Heidi’s mom insists her name is So Be It. So Heidi didn’t know anything about her own origins, or her show more mother’s, either — not even Heidi’s own last name, birthplace or her own birthday.

When Heidi finds an old camera and develops the film, she sees a chance to find out who she is — but how can a girl not yet 13 years old get to Liberty, N.Y., where the answers lay?

What an amazing story! Unique, sad, joyful, inspiring. This is a children’s book that adults will adore; like The Little Prince, the adults may well enjoy the novel more than its middle-grade target audience. Five shining stars! show less

Kid's book that we listened to in the car. Sweet story about a 12 year old girl named Heidi and her very unconventional family: Her mama who has a "bum brain" and a total of 18 words in her vocabulary and Bernie (Bernadette) her agoraphobic next door neighbor. Told from Heidi's point of view, the story is a touching coming of age tale and a search for identity. Prior to age 12, Heidi doesn't think much about her unusual set-up and she naturally does things that are a bit beyond most kids her age: grocery shop, laundrymat, etc. She is home-schooled by Bernie with lots of help from the library, but her world is so insular, she doesn't think twice about it. However, when Heidi finds a roll of undeveloped film in a camera stuffed at the show more back of a drawer and then views the pictures of her mother and a location she has no knowledge of, coupled with the mysterious word "souf" that is one of her Mother's few known words, Heidi goes on a physical journey across the country and a figurative one of self-discovery. The author handles very complex controversial issues with kid gloves so the result is a heartwarming story of love and realization. show less

If you've ever read a book that haunted you long after the last page ended, then you understand the difficulty in writing a review that expresses the sheer beauty of an incredible tale.

Attempting will be feeble, but here goes:

There is security for 12 year old Heidi. Bernadette, a loving neighbor, provides help and guidance in taking care of her severely mentally challenged mother. Limited in the ability to express words and thoughts, Heidi's mother repeats one word over and over.

Suffering from agoraphobia, Bernadette cannot leave the apartment and thus Heidi's world is a small, safe cocoon of love. Whereas Heidi's mother has few words in her grasp, Bernadette is a voracious reader and avidly searches words and their meaning.

Found by show more Bernadette when Heidi was an infant, she is well cared for and home schooled by Bernadette. Unlike her mother, Heidi is highly intelligent and thirsts for knowledge. That thirst includes the need to drink from the well of understanding about how her mother arrived in Reno, Nevada at the doorstep of Bernadette.

Knowing they didn't simply drop from the sky, when Heidi finds a box of photos in the back of a closet, one of which indicates a sign of an institution in New York, she stubbornly pursues a journey to find the answer to puzzle pieces that seem disjointed.

Bravely taking a bus from Reno to New York City, meeting a cast of characters along the way, Heidi's journey nets unexpected results.

This is a lyrical, poignant, touching and heart warming book! The writing is wonderful and the emotions expressed and accurately portrayed brought tears and a longing to finish the book, while paradoxically not wanting it to end.

This is what great writing should be. Going out on a limb, I'll wager that you won't be disappointed in reading this ASAP. show less

Touching mystery written in a way that makes it feel timeless even though it takes place in the recent past. The author's ability to manipulate language is beautiful, ex. "When Bernadette explained things, they shot into my brain like arrows and stuck". While it is an easy read, the underlying symbolism and metaphors made for great class discussions when I taught this book. The students loved the mystery/adventure vibe.

You couldn′t really tell about Mama′s brain just from looking at her, but it was obvious as soon as she spoke. She had a high voice, like a little girl′s, and she only knew 23 words. I know this for a fact, because we kept a list of the things Mama said tacked to the inside of the kitchen cabinet. Most of the words were common ones, like good and more and hot, but there was one word only my mother said: soof.

Although she lives an unconventional lifestyle with her mentally disabled mother and their doting neighbour, Bernadette, Heidi has a lucky streak that has a way of pointing her in the right direction. When a mysterious word in her mother′s vocabulary begins to haunt her, Heidi′s thirst for the truth leads her on a show more cross-country journey in search of the secrets of her past. show less

So B. It... This story honestly was unexpectedly amazing. The fact of a little girl just wanting to know who and where she came from touched my heart. At first when my teacher gave this book to me, I immediately thought of it as a book for a female to read. I never thought that I could visualize this book as well as I did. The way that Sarah Weeks wrote this is a way that can inspire. This book showed me that anything is possible as long as you figure out how to cope with the facts that may come out of your search. This book is a book that personally I would recommend to anyone. I've connected with this book, from my own abandonment. I knew where I came from but after reading more I pursued research into my family just as Heidi did in show more this book. My final words for this book are... This book was amazingly crafted and I enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. This concludes my review... show less

Sarah Weeks weaves a powerful story of self-discovery--not so much coming of age, as coming to one's own identity. It is also an excellent sample of how we, as a society, judge what we do not know, from fear more than hate.