LitPick Review
Annie begins her summer with a lie. She writes her wishes for summer for a class assignment with three lies because she knows her real wishes can't come true. She really wants to get tall, have an adventure, and meet her dad. According to Gran, Annie and Rew's dad was killed by an angry man and their mom dumped them off when they were very young. They live in the small town of Sunshine with a population of 2,000. Adventures seem to be very hard to find in their small town. Outside of town there is a forest of birch and oak trees that resemble a zebra because of the light and dark pattern. Behind the forest is a prison. When there is a breakout from the prison Gran, Annie and Rew become hostages in their own home. Annie and Rew have different ideas about what they should do to get help.
Opinion:
I liked the book and was amazed to find out the author, Adina Gewirtz, has five children. I think it would be hard to be a writer with that many children. The characters were believable even though they had very different points of view. There was adventure but not the kind of adventure that makes you want to keep reading until the book is finished. The adventure is more inside each character as they deal with the issues of forgiveness and what it means to be a family. It is a good book to read slowly and with a lot to think about as you go.