Eleven

Eleven, by Patricia Reilly Giff (Yearling, 2008.)

Eleven-year-old Sam finds a newspaper clipping in his attic indicating that, as a child, he had gone missing. Is his grandfather, who raises him, really his grandfather, or did he kidnap him?

As a struggling reader, Sam seeks help from a new girl at school to read the newspaper clipping. Together, they also make a castle for their class unit on the Middle Ages. As the project unfolds, Sam realizes that the castle is something from Sam's memory.

I loved the concept of this book, and some of the mysterious elements. Why is Sam's grandfather afraid of water? Why does Sam remember a castle? Why was Sam missing? Sam's grandfather is a nice man, so it is pretty clear from the beginning that he must have rescued Sam from something--but from what?

I also liked Sam's character. I liked his voice, and I felt like I got to know him. I didn't feel the same way about Caroline, who never felt real to me. I also felt like some of the grownup characters could have been cut from the story. I guess I got the feeling that Caroline and these "extra characters" were jumping out at me saying, "We're good. We'll help Sam." But I wanted to say, "Be cool! Stop trying so hard! Let me decide for myself how I feel about you." That's probably not a good description, but that's how I felt.

In the end, I never got wrapped up in Sam's world, even though I wanted to. However, I did like the mysterious elements of the book, and I think I would like other books by Giff, who is a two-time Newbery Honor-winning author.