I Will Always Write Back 

By Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda, Liz Welch

The book that I am reviewing is, “I Will Always Write Back” by Caitlin Alifrenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch.

This is a true story about two middle school-aged children who start a life-long friendship by becoming pen pals.  Martin is from Zimbabwe and Caitlin is from Pennsylvania. The differences in cultures and the way that they live are hard to imagine. The influence this long-distance relationship has on both of their lives is amazing! This book follows the journey and growth of both children with their challenges and rewards.

The adult book club at our local library read this book as it was recommended by the 12-year-old grandson of one of the librarians.  Everyone in the book club really enjoyed this book. My 11-year-old neighbor, Gracie recently read “I Will Always Write Back” and felt it was a really good book. She really liked the way Caitlin cared for Martin as did all of her family. Gracie said that even though Caitlin and Martin came from two totally different cultures, they formed a heart-touching relationship.

I have recommended this book to one of my 5th-grade teacher friends to use as a read-aloud to the students in her classroom. There are many life-long lessons of kindness and caring in this book. One of my favorite things about this book was that as you are reading, there are many references to photographs being shared between Zimbabwe and Pennsylvania through the years and at the end of the book, the photos appear just as you have imagined them to be!

I would highly recommend this book to youth readers as well as adults!