Alida's Song: 08/12/10

Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen is the sequel to the wonderful Cookcamp. The book begins with a framing story. The boy is now a young man enlisted in the army. He confesses to his grandmother that he's not sure he made the right decision. She then reminds him of the time he came to live with her for a summer at a farm.

The remainder of the novella is set during that summertime. Once again the boy is invited to live with his grandmother. The idea is to give him a safe, loving home during another rough patch in his family is going through. He learns how to run a farm and marvels at how different and sometimes primitive the life of the two brothers is compared to his life at home.

Although the work is hard, his employers are kindly. As the book progresses their friendship with the grandmother and the boy unfolds. It's really a lovely story, something that can easily be read in one sitting over a cup of coffee or cocoa.

I reviewed Cookcamp back around the time I was first evolving my website into a dedicated book blog. I must have put Alida's Song on my wishlist at the same time. In the four years since, I had forgotten why I had added it but I'm glad I did.

I got the book from the library.

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