I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

September is Overcoming Issues

I've been reading the nominees for the Missouri Gateway Award, and let me tell you, some of these books are depressing! The good news is that all of these have a mostly happy ending. We are all faced with tragedy and hardship, but it is how we overcome it that makes us who we are; who will you be?

Thanks to their crazy fugitive father Clarence, Sam and Riddle have been on the run for virtually their entire lives. Their father kidnapped them at a young age, and hasn't stopped moving since. They never stay anywhere long enough to put down roots, so neither boy has attended school really. Clarence mostly leaves them to fend for themselves while he goes off committing petty thievery.
It may seem appalling to you, but it's all they've ever known. Sam looks out for his little brother with a ferocity. Riddle is special. He's always been on the sick side, and doesn't quite act like other people...but he's smart. His favorite thing to do is to draw strange and intricate drawings. Paper isn't always easy to come by, so he uses an old phone book. He never goes anywhere without it.
At first, it seems like this new town won't be any different than the others. Sam visits the local church to hear the music, that's his church: music. While he's there, he catches the eye of a soloist. She's not a very talented singer, but there's something about her that captivates him. He catches up with her outside the church and they share a moment.

Maybe Sam doesn't consciously decide to change, but he takes Riddle to get a free haircut. It's possibly the first real haircut they've had. It goes so well, they decide to use the "before" and "after" pictures for their ad! That's how Emily learns his name...Sam Smith. It doesn't mean anything until she runs into him at IHOP. They make plans to meet up.

That's how it starts. Soon Sam and Riddle are stopping by Emily's house regularly. Emily's parents practically adopt the ragamuffin boys (after an initially chilly reception), and it seems like everything could be changing for them both...but it's only a matter of time until Clarence finds out. Sam knows what comes next: moving. But this time it's different. Clarence is listening to the voices in his head, and there's no telling what will happen next. Will Emily's parents be able to help the boys? Can the police do anything to find people who have spent their lives being invisible?

"Sam took small nails from one of the rusty cans of nuts and bolts and metal crap that his father kept in the back of the packed truck. He hammered the nails into the plywood so that the sharp points poked through. Then he carefully layered the worn river sticks on top, attaching them to the points of the nails.
In the end, he'd made a heart from many, many pieces of worn wood, weathered by wind and rain, the bark long gone, with only the smooth parts touching, like limbs.
It was a heart exposed.
And then Sam couldn't stop himself. In the middle of the night, he left it on her back doorstep," (Sloan pg. 73, 2011).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
Stealing Henry by Carolyn MacCollough

Sloan, Holly Goldberg. (2011). I'll Be There: A novel. New York: Little, Brown.