A review by bookofcinz
If You Read This by Kereen Getten

3.0

Get ready for a heart-warming, adventurous read between a mother and daughter…

In Kereen Getten’s second book, If You Read This we meet Brie who lost her mother to an illness over three years ago. Brie is about to celebrate her twelfth birthday and birthdays are generally had because of how much she misses her mother and would want to have her there. While Brie does have the strong support of her friends, aunts, uncle, father and grandparents she truly misses her mother.

As part of her twelfth birthday celebrations, Brie is given a surprise from her mother- a box filled with letters that leads to a treasure hunt. The treasure being, Brie finding her mother’s special place. Brie gets to hear from her mother through the letters, uncover family secrets and learn more about who she is becoming as a young adult. What secret is her father keeping from her, what will her mother’s secret place be like? Brie finds this all out when she reads each letter.

I am generally not a middle grade reader but I always enjoy Kereen Getten’s writing, because it feels so innocent and heart-warming- also I love the fact that it is set in the Caribbean. I am a huge fan of mother daughter themes and I felt the author did a great job of exploring grief in a middle grader who lost her mother. I also love how much of an adventurer the mother was and how she raised Brie to be brave.

If you are looking for a heart-warming read, filled with adventure- I cannot recommend this book enough! A solid #ReadCaribbean pick!