ARC Review: I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirneka and Martin Ganda

I Will Always Write Back
Release Date: April 14 2015
Format: ARC Paperback
Pages:400
Publisher: Little Brown for Young Readers
Genre: YA/Memoir
Source: Publisher


Goodreads Synopsis:
The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from an impoverishedcity in Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of--so she chose it. 
Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends --and better people--through letters. Their story will inspire readers to look beyond their own lives and wonder about the world at large and their place in it.


My Thoughts:
I am not one who usually reads memoir's but this story really intrigued me. I remember doing an assignment like this when I was around the same age as both Caitlin and Martin.  I was deeply moved by this story and I hope that everyone reads it and gets as much out of it that I did. 

I loved this story. It is inspiring and heart-breaking and overall shows the love that mankind has the capacity of giving.  A story of how one boy and one girl who live on the other side of the world from each other become life long friends and family. How one girl's unwavering faith in her friend brings an entire family together in the hopes of saving one boy from the unbelievable circumstances that he was born into.

I Will Always Write Back brought out so many different emotions within me while I was reading it. The love and support that these two have for each other is beautiful. You could feel the gratitude that Martin felt. You could feel the frustration that Caitlin was feeling at the time. All those emotions come across the pages in spades. 

This is an extremely uplifting story that should make everyone who lives in North America extremely grateful that we live where we live. We do not realize how good we have it until we have someone else open our eyes to how many other countries actually live. 

I openly laughed and cried. My tear stains are covering the pages of this book.  I loved it and I am so happy that Martin got his happily ever after and Caitlin fought so hard for him to make it. These are two very special people. This is one of those stories that will stick with you for a long time