Leslie Greaves Radloff (Children's Literature)
Almost eleven, Sam still struggles to read and make sense of his strange dreams of boats, water, storms, and a castle-like building. Embarrassed by having to go to the Resource Room every afternoon but wondering about the clipping that he has discovered in an attic trunk, he becomes determined to make sense of the sticks and squiggles on paper. Caroline, a new girl in class, seems as much a loner as he but Sam comes to trust her. While working on the joint project, Sam gradually learns to make sense of words. Caroline’s own set of problems (a family that frequently moves because of a painter father, and reluctance to make friends in new places), come to light as they work together on building a castle model for their medieval history project. She records what they do in a journal while Sam does the actual building. The castle binds them together and each grows stronger individually. Gradually, the castle helps Sam make sense of his dreams, while the work helps Caroline form a friendship and cope with the frequent moves. Giff’s writing and chapter beginnings, each a poem, move the story along to its conclusion. The mystery of Sam’s family and coming to live with an extended hodge-podge--though warm and loving--mix of adults is told with warmth. Descriptions are vivid and characters both likeable and believable. The Resource Room teacher reaches out to Sam, seeing in him the determination needed to overcome his reading problem, which appears to be developmental, and letting readers understand that Sam has everything he needs to be successful in whatever he does. 2008, Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, $15.99. Ages 9 to 12.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
Sam finds images of the number eleven cropping up in his dreams and in hazy memories of his life before coming to stay with his grandfather when he was very small. Now turning eleven, he is obsessed with the need to understand their meaning after spotting the fragment of an old newspaper with the word “missing” next to a picture of a toddler wearing a sweater he knows well—because it was his. Sam adores his grandfather Mack and the rhythm of their lives together. Mack’s two good friends who live and work nearby complete their tight-knit, loving family. Could he really belong to someone else? Sam can’t read well, and he enlists the help of a new girl in his class at school to help in his research. Caroline is witty and smart and doesn’t judge Sam because he can’t read. But her willingness to assist him is dependent upon his agreeing they won’t become friends—her family never stays in one place long enough to make friendship anything other than painful in the end. A class project to build a medieval castle showcases Sam’s considerable woodworking skills but also provides an excuse to spend time with Caroline, his partner, investigating Sam’s ever-more-murky past. But it’s what the two learn about themselves in the present that proves just as important, as each finds a new outlook on personal challenges when need dovetails with desire. Warm and richly realized main and secondary characters distinguish a novel about family and friendship that is imbued with a sense of mystery. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2008, Wendy Lamb Books / Random House, 164 pages, $15.99. Ages 9-12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 23))
This psychological mystery explores a child's deepest genetic need for belonging. Sam has darkly unfathomable dreams and vague memories: a cat, a boat, a storm, a bold castle, a mean woman, the number 11. As he turns 11, questioning his own identity, these dreams and memories drive him to take devious, even dangerous, risks to uncover the truth. His sleuthing is thwarted by his inability to read—literally—the clues he finds in concealed papers and on the Internet. He is joined in his search by Caroline, another seeker, who reads voraciously but is never in one school long enough to achieve acceptance. Together the two form a friendship, building a castle as a classroom project and exposing secrets that empower Sam to confront his family about his clouded history. In a satisfyingly poignant conclusion, both children stand at the threshold of inclusion and kinship. An engrossing examination of a profound theme in the deft hands of a discerning author. 2008, Wendy Lamb/Random, 144p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 12. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Daniel R. Beach (Library Media Connection, February 2008)
Giff has produced another spellbinding tale that draws readers into the story through several portals. First, there is that number eleven and those dreams that frighten Sam. Why does Sam fear eleven? On the eve of his 11th birthday, Sam climbs to the attic to see if his presents are hidden there; instead he finds a newspaper article that causes him to wonder who he really is. Though he cannot read, he knows the boy in the picture is he at a much younger age. He needs someone who can read it to him. Caroline, the new girl, is an avid reader so he befriends her. Caroline becomes Sam's reader, joining his search for answers. She also agrees to help Sam make a wooden model castle for school. Why does a castle appear in his dreams, and why does Sam think this castle is familiar. Does he really belong to this family or to another family? Giff brings the story to a satisfying conclusion as the unspoken mysteries are finally told, assuring Sam that this is the family that cares for him. Recommended. 2008, Wendy Lamb Books (Random House), 176pp., $18.99 lb.. Ages 9 to 14.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, January 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 5).)
Between uneasy dreams and the finding of mysterious papers in his attic, eleven-year-old Sam is beginning to suspect that his beloved grandfather (who is also Sam’s guardian) is keeping secrets from Sam about the past. Since Sam has trouble reading, he elicits the assistance of his new classmate Caroline, and they try to piece together clues to figure out what happened to Sam when he was little and what that means about his life now. Though the secret past event itself—a stint in a children’s home and a boating accident upon his retrieval by his grandfather—is implausible in its elaborate high melodrama, the storytelling is polished and compelling while remaining accessible to a young audience. Sam’s literacy issues aren’t merely included for didactic value, as they play a key role in heightening the suspense and bringing him together with Caroline, and it’s also clear that they’re shaping his personality and his class role in troubling ways. There are also touches of classic orphan-story pleasures here, with Sam living an idyllic life with his grandfather and friendly collective of neighbors and additional tension deriving from the possibility that his discovery may destroy this utopia. This will therefore intrigue fans of Giff’s Pictures of Hollis Woods (BCCB 12/02) and other home-finding tales as well as those readers who enjoy a smooth tale of psychologically touched mystery Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Lamb, 144p.; Reviewed from galleys, $18.99 and $15.99. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2008)
On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Sam MacKenzie discovers a mysterious newspaper clipping that triggers painful memories. Sam knows the article could tell him more; the trouble is, Sam can't read. He enlists new classmate Caroline, an avid reader, to help. Giff's empathy and affection for these two characters is palpable, and her prose, spare yet descriptive, is compelling. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2008, Random/Lamb, 165pp, 15.99, 18.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Leta Tillman (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No. 1))
Sam is almost eleven when he searches the attic of his grandfather’s house for hidden birthday presents. It is there in the attic that he finds a locked box with a paper that says that Sam was kidnapped. There are a lot of other words on the paper, but Sam has always had trouble reading. This unexpected news makes Sam desperate to find out if Mack is really his grandfather. Sam enlists the help of the new girl at school, Caroline, to help him build a medieval castle for their social studies class in Mack’s woodwork shop and also to solve the mystery that surrounds Sam’s early years. Step by step they put together the clues that they find along with the memories and dreams that Sam recalls. But they must hurry because Caroline’s family is moving again soon. As they piece together the clues, they get closer and closer to the truth, but then it is time for Caroline to go away. When Mack sees the finished castle for the first time, he decides that it is time to tell Sam the true story of how they came to live together. Giff weaves together the story of warmth and love between a boy and his grandfather. The themes of friendship, family secrets, and the struggles of a learning-disabled boy trying to make some sense of his life will attract readers. They will identify with the effort given by all of the characters to become better people as well as friends and relatives. This is a must-have for your library for your readers who enjoy a good mystery. Fiction. Grades 3-6. 2008, Wendy Lamb Books, 164p., $15.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Marla K. Unruh (VOYA, April 2008 (Vol. 31, No. 1))
A secret search for hidden birthday presents leads almost-eleven Sam to the attic where he finds a newspaper photo of himself, age three, captioned "Missing" and with a different last name. Memories ignited by this discovery cause him to fearfully wonder about his true identity. Is Mack really his grandfather? Might someone take him away from Mack and friends Onji and Anima, whom he loves? And why does he have an indefinable anxiety about the number eleven? Although the resource teacher is kind, Sam has given up on reading. Who can help him decipher the clipping and piece together his other clues? Caroline, the new girl, warns him she will not be around long enough to be friends, but agrees to help him while at the same time they build a castle for a class project. Sam's extraordinary talent for working with wood has been nurtured by Mack, and the castle the two children build reveals yet another of Sam's memories. When Mack sees the finished castle for the first time, he realizes it is time to tell Sam how they came to be together. With elegance bestowed by the love and understanding of young hearts, Giff crafts an affecting story. As in her Newbery Honor-winner Lily's Crossing (Delacorte, 1997), two characters are needy in very different ways, yet each finds firmer footing at last through the shared journey of their friendship. The novel is a must-have for school and public libraries where young readers will see themselves and their friends in Sam and Caroline. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2008, Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, 164p., $15.99. Ages 11 to 14.