Dad's Book Club: Dear Mr. Henshaw

Today I finished the book Dear Mr. Henshaw.  I enjoyed reading it very much (keep in mind that I particularly enjoy adolescent literature).  I'm not a huge fan of all things Beverly Cleary, but this book had an honest tone and the young Leigh Botts learns and grows in significant ways without some bizarre twist... just a regular kid growing up, adjusting to life after his parent's divorce. He learns about building friendships and finding faith in yourself and taking baby steps towards big dreams. I love that he learns by writing. Things he doesn't know about himself at the beginning, he discovers through expression in a diary. Plus he starts getting better grades because of it, too! The book is written as a series of letters to his favorite author (Mr. Henshaw) and diary entries. Cleary did an amazing job making the first passages sound like C+ homework, and then, by the end of the story, writing in an A style, if you know what I mean.

Bottom line: Very recommendable! Good read!