This is a novella about a young boy narrating the story of his quiet childhood with a distracted mother and a frail grandmother. The one bright spot in his days is a woman at the local supermarket sandwich counter, whose electric-blue eyelids fascinate him so much that he secretly names her Ms Ice Sandwich and stops by just to watch her work. As his grandmother’s health declines and his fearless friend Tutti coaxes him out of his shell, he begins to learn that the people we love don’t stay forever, and that finding the courage to face loss is a quiet part of growing up.
I like it because it’s a book about a kind of loss that isn’t devastating at first, the sort that doesn’t feel like much when you’re young but quietly catches up with you as you age. It’s warm and hopeful, and it lets you see moving on and facing your fears as something positive, a chance to find the kind of courage that will carry you into adulthood.
English (US) ·