The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

It was around the time that I read The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall that I learned that Alan and I have completely different taste in books. Yes, the signs had been present for a while. I'd adore a book and he'd pick it up only to put it right back down. The times he'd finish, he was usually unimpressed. And yes, I've never read anything that he recommended that I loved the way he did. But it was with this novel that it finally sunk in-- we like different kinds of books.

Alan loved this book and couldn't put it down. Me, I had a hard time picking it up each night. (And I never read it during the day.) Part of it was the cover. I really don't like the cover. I know you can't judge a book by its cover, yet in truth I do. It's hard for me to get past awful artwork and print or anything that screams "self published!"

It seemed like a story line I would like-- a Native American kid gets hit by a car and goes to a boy's home and into foster care. The story is told from his point of view and he's positive and doesn't feel sorry for himself. And I will say that the ending is absolutely wonderful. It was the bulk of the book that was the problem for me. It dragged on and there was so many random stories that I didn't feel helped me get to know the character of Edgar any better and that seemed meant only to entertain. Entertainment is great, but it bothered me in this novel as I believed I'd be reading about the boy's plight, not random stories about this and that. The writing wasn't bad and the characters were interesting, but I just couldn't get into it until the very end. The ending did redeem the rest of the book for me. But even then, closing the book I felt more satisfaction because it was over than for the book itself.