Connor Perry

Weeks, Sarah. So B. It. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.


Heidi is not like any average preteen girl. When Heidi was an infant she and her mentally challenged mother found themselves in a dire situation. With nothing left to live for they found themselves going door to door for help. Finally, an agoraphobic woman named Bernadette lets them in to her life and begins to take care of them as if they were her own. Heidi grows up as a normal child should, but as she enters her preteen years she begins to question her past. How did she get here? Who was her father? Upon her questioning, Heidi discovers a camera and decides to develop the film. The film begins to hint at Heidi’s past and she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to solve her much concealed past. Sarah Weeks uses strong characterization to give the reader a better idea of how one would deal with a mentally challenged parent. Weeks is often regarded to a being a great user of figurative language. She uses an array of metaphors and similes throughout the novel to describe Heidi’s troubles and discoveries as she journeys through life. The author also portrays the importance of setting in the novel by strongly describing each location Heidi reaches. Each setting Heidi visits plays a large role on how she feels at that point in the novel. This novel is a great coming to age story, great for all audiences.