The third of my Books for the Beast books, I haven't hit a clunker yet. This engaging, heart-wringing book was pure delight. It was like an Ice Cream Sundae with all the good stuff and some of the bad. Carson, a loner teen boy, is hauled out to Montana by his psychologist Mom for the summer to be with his dying, alcoholic, estranged Dad. It is a trip full of emotional minefields. But that's just the beginning. Carson meets Aisha, one of those soul-mates who feel like your best friend the first time you talk, and two journeys begin -- one internal and one external. They weave together beautifully. The prose is not flowery but it is strong and draws you in. To say that the characters are multi-dimensional is an understatement. It is a spiritual tale and the people Carson and Aisha interact with are steps in his journey to understand God. Powerful and with a turn or two, this one had me sniffling at the end. It can be faulted for a rosier outcome than one might get -- only because my own family, which had some parallels, didn't end so well -- but the "realness" of the people and the messages just rang so true that they bore their way into my heart. Bravo, Mr. Konigsberg, for writing a simple story with tremendously complex undertones. It is the kind of book you can read over and over again.
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