P.S. Longer Letter Later

I love the idea of looking at a group of books that were recognized during a specific time period, say 2000, and comparing them. For instance, the twenty Caudill nominees will represent multiple genres and reading levels. The nominating committee will strive to include a book for the reluctant reader as well as one for an advanced and avid reader. You can be sure to find a ghost story, some historical fiction, some fantasy, and definitely some contemporary realistic fiction. And I've found it hard to guess which books will win although I have a theory that books whose covers are blue have an advantage! So I am continuing with notable books from 2000 (not necessarily the publication date.)

The next book on my list is P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin. This is the kind of book that you can sit down and savor like a warm mug of hot cocoa. It doesn't require a lot of thinking or problem solving. It's not too much of a roller coaster ride. And there is definitely a time and place for these books. I don't think my heart or my stomach could survive a diet of pure Harry Potter/Lightning Thief/Inkheart. You have to come up and breathe sometimes. I lost a few months when I dove into the Twilight series. I hope I've been forgiven.

P.S is called an epistolary novel. It is written in letters from twelve-year-old pen pals. One of the girls is shy and reserved Elizabeth. The other is self-named Tara*Starr who is a bit on the quirky side. Elizabeth comes from a wealthy and stable family. Tara*Starr's parents are hippies and still children themselves. The girls used to be best friends at school until Tara*Starr's family moved out of state. It is too expensive to phone back and forth and so they take up pen and paper and write.

Tara*Starr must cope with going to a new school and being the new girl and starting from scratch, but her extroverted and perky attitude help her survive. Elizabeth had relied on Tara*Starr to get her through the aches and pains of school life and now must learn to function on her own. While Tara*Starr's home situation increasingly improves, Elizabeth's starts to fall apart. Tara*Starr's parents begin to act like grownups and start earning enough money to get off of food stamps. Elizabeth's father loses his job, falls into depression, starts drinking and eventually leaves the family.

It is so hard to help a friend through difficult times without feeling guilty about celebrating your own achievements. It is also hard to watch your best friend succeed when you are struggling - even harder to congratulate them. As the two girls attempt to maintain a long distance friendship, the length of time between their letters increases. They are rewarded with the lesson of the benefits of true friendship.

You might have noticed that this book has two authors. Danziger who gave us Amber Brown and Martin who created The Babysitter's Club collaborated on this work. Danziger provides the eccentric voice of Tara*Starr. Martin writes on behalf of the introverted Elizabeth. The authors have admitted that their own personalities are evident in these two characters. How beautiful that two real-life friends could write this lovely story and let their teenage selves shine again.

If you need a vacation like I occasionally do, and you need a book that you can cozy up with in a big warm blanket on a cold rainy day, try P.S.