Thanks to Freund’s stunning, naïve prose, I was thrown back to my early teens when everything was an overwhelming discovery, and where everything was so simply complicated.
Mailbox is the “diary” of a young girl on the brink of adulthood, who discovers about tampons, boys, cow tipping, and death. Every chapter is a jewel of a scene, a life lesson full of innocence and intellect and such humor.
Every chapter sticks to your mind, but I have my favorites.
Chapter 17. Fireflies and the Sprinkler. Because it is just so visually enthralling.
“…he slapped his big hand onto her stomach with the firefly and smeared its light from her belly button to her hip. That blue firefly.”
Chapter 25. Lemonade Stand. Because it is just so smart.
“If you try to sell perfume at your lemonade stand, no one will buy any.”
Chapter 46. You Can’t Practice for Someone Dying. Because it is just so true.
“You might think you can have small bits of sadness over a long period of time, starting now, to make it not so awful at the time.”
Freund’s Mailbox should be on the course curriculum of every middle/high school in English-speaking countries. It has just been nominated as a finalist in the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award and it is so well deserved.
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