The Mailbox, by Audrey Shafer (2006)

This week we have a variety of writers from across library staff. First up is Morag from the Youth Services Division.

The Mailbox was recommended to me by one of our seventh grade volunteers last summer. She mentioned to me that she had really liked the story and how it was about a Vietnam veteran. I’m always intrigued when I get  recommendations from our younger users at the library — so naturally I read it. I, too, loved the fast-paced, quite complex read about twelve year old Gable Price and his uncle Vernon, and the small town Drayford they lived in, west of Virginia’s Blue Ridge, north of Roanoke County.

Twelve year old Gabe has been shunted from foster home to foster home and has finally settled somewhat contentedly with his long lost Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon can be as “crusty as a crab-cake,” with his leg amputated below the knee after an injury on his final tour of duty in Vietnam. Tragically, on the first day of sixth grade Gabe returns home to find his uncle dead on the kitchen floor. Gabe’s story begins to unfold and we meet such warm, unforgettable characters as Webber, Gabe’s good school friend; Webber’s mother, Mrs. Pickering – the best pie-maker in town; Smitty, Gabe’s mysterious letter-writer friend and best embalmer in all of Virginia; Mr. Boehm, the wonderfully sympathetic sixth grade English teacher; and Guppy the dog that Smitty leaves to comfort Gabe as he copes with his uncle’s death.  The story is sprinkled with sayings from Uncle Vernon’s life as a soldier in Vietnam. Gabe continues to live alone for weeks coping, and remembering his uncle and his ladleful of advice, such as “scum-lickin, pus-suckin, buckets of trouble ken happen whether you’re good or bad. But why git spit by skunk muck? Stay low and steer clear of screw-ups, Gabe.”

It’s hard to believe that this is Shafer’s first novel. It is a great read for grades five and up, and although based in Western Virginia can also be considered a novel about Vietnam veterans. At  present, The Youth Services Staff is considering this debut novel for WRL’s 2010 Battle of the Books Competition list.

Check the WRL catalog for The Mailbox