www.crackingthecover.com
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Home
    • Picture
      • Ages 0-3
      • Ages 2 and up
      • Ages 3 and up
      • Ages 4 and up
      • Ages 5 and up
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 8 and up
      • Author Interviews
      • Bedtime Stories
      • Gift Guide
    • Middle Grade
      • Author Interviews
      • Ages 6 and up
      • Ages 7 and up
      • Ages 8-12
      • Ages 9-12
      • Ages 10 and up
      • Gift Guide
    • YA
      • Author Interviews
      • Reviews
      • Adult Crossover
      • Gift Guide
    • Seasonal
      • Back to School
      • Black History
      • Chinese New Year
      • Christmas
      • Earth Day
      • Easter
      • Fall
      • Father’s Day
      • Mother’s Day
      • Gift Guide
      • Halloween
      • Spring
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Winter
      • Women’s History
    • News
    • Giveaways
    • Events
    • About
      • Review/interview policy
      • About our reviewers
    www.crackingthecover.com

    Holly Goldberg Sloan’s ‘I’ll Be There’ is first rate

    0
    By Jessica on May 23, 2011 YA review, young adult

    “I’LL BE THERE,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, May 17, 2011, $17.99 (young adult)

    If you’re looking for a strong, character-driven new read, then “I’ll Be There” by Holly Goldberg Sloan may just be the book for you.

    Meet Sam Border, a teenager who’s had to be a man for most of his young life. Sam’s unstable father took him, and his little brother, Riddle, away from their mother when they were young. Constantly on the move, Sam never finished elementary school, but he loves to read anything he can get his hands on. Quiet and thoughtful, Sam loves music and has a unique and true talent for it.

    You wouldn’t think it possible, but Riddle is even quieter than Sam. While Sam is tall and strong, Riddle is small and sickly. He’s had breathing problems since for as long as anyone can remember and has a far-off look about him. Sam isn’t the only one with talent, however. Riddle has the amazing ability to draw the inside of things in intricate detail. The working parts of mechanisms are much easier to understand than the outside things around him.

    Sam and Riddle are a pair. It’s rare to see one without the other, and it’s almost as if the two can read each other’s minds. Riddle worships Sam and Sam would do anything to protect his brother.

    Emily Bell considers herself ordinary. There’s nothing particular that makes her stand out. She’s an OK athlete, with a position on her high school soccer team, and she sings in her church choir, though more because her father is chorister than any particularly outstanding talent.

    When Sam and Emily’s paths cross, it’s like destiny. There’s an unexplainable connection between them unlike anything either has ever experienced. Two people have never come from more different backgrounds, but somehow they just “work.”

    Sam and Emily’s connection goes beyond the two of them, and soon blossoms to include those they know and love best.

    “I’ll Be There” is a complex book on a number of levels. Like real life, the character’s personal lives are just as complex and nuanced as the events that affect them.

    This may be a debut novel for Holly Goldberg Sloan, but her previous experience writing and directing a number of successful family feature films definitely shows. There are some great cinematic moments here that will play out in a reader’s mind like a movie on a big screen.

    The story is compelling and there are some moments of extreme action and tension. Some story sequences feel a little contrived or too convenient, but Sloan’s well-thought-out characters more than make up for these small flaws. Love ’em or hate ’em — reader’s will definitely find both — “I’ll Be There’s” players are first rate.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Jessica
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Jessica Harrison is the main reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. Prior to creating Cracking the Cover, Jessica worked as the in-house book critic for the Deseret News, a daily newspaper in Salt Lake City. Jessica also worked as a copy editor and general features writer for the paper. Following that, Jessica spent two years with an international company as a social media specialist. She is currently a freelance writer/editor. She is passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices.

    Related Posts

    A Secret Princess is entertaining Frances Hodgson Burnett mashup

    Alyson Noël’s Stealing Infinity is bingeworthy modern YA fantasy

    Follow Mulan’s next steps in Livia Blackburne’s Feather and Flame

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    • facebook
    • twitter
    • instagram
    • amazon
    • bloglovin
    • rss
    • mail
    Subscribe by email
    Follow
    Recent Posts
    June 23, 2022

    A Secret Princess is entertaining Frances Hodgson Burnett mashup

    June 23, 2022

    Helena Ku Rhee’s Rosa’s Song celebrates friendship, community

    June 22, 2022

    Alyson Noël’s Stealing Infinity is bingeworthy modern YA fantasy

    June 21, 2022

    Christina Soontornvat’s Last Mapmaker is fantastic MG adventure

    June 20, 2022

    Kate Egan’s Golden Ticket tackles academic anxiety, self worth

    Archives
    Categories
    On Writing

    “The dance with words and the way the hair on the back of my neck raises when it works right is what I live for.”

    —Gary Paulsen

    “I write because I exist. Because I read. Because I breathe.”

    —Lindsay Eager

    “Books are kind of like the sense of smell: inhale one page and memories come rushing back.”

    —Keir Graff

    Cracking the Cover is a website dedicated to picture, middle-grade and young-adult books. It features reviews, author interviews and other items of interest. PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting self published books for review.

    Copyright © 2010-2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

    Reviews Published Professional Reader 2016 NetGalley Challenge 100 Book Reviews

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.