I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives | TheBookSeekers

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives


School year: Lower 6th, Upper 6th, Year 10, Year 11, Year 8, Year 9

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No. of pages 400

Published: 2016

Great for age 12-18 years

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It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only ten, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives. In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends--and better people--through their long-distance exchange. Their story will inspire readers to look beyond their own lives and wonder about the world at large and their place in it.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 400 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2016 by Little, Brown & Company .

Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda met as pen pals in 1997 and are still best friends today.

 

This book has been nominated for the following awards:

Cybils Award - Nonfiction - YA
This book was recognised in the Nonfiction - YA category by the Cybils Award. The Cybils Awards is a group of readers passionate about seeking out and recognizing books that represent diversity, inclusion, and appropriate representation for children and teens. To accomplish that goal, the Cybils Awards works to recognize books written for children and young adults that combine both the highest literary merit and popular appeal.

Parents' Choice Award - Nonfiction
This book was recognised in the Nonfiction category by the Parents' Choice Award.

This book features the following characters:

Caitlin Alifirenka
This book features the character Caitlin Alifirenka.

Martin Ganda
This book features the character Martin Ganda.

Praise for I Will Always Write Back An Indiebound Bestseller

 

An Amazon Big Spring Book Selection 2015

 

* "Sensitively and candidly demonstrating how small actions can result in enormous change, this memoir of two families' transformation through the commitment and affection of long-distance friends will humble and inspire."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

"The remarkable tenacity of these two souls pulled like magnets across the world by their opposite polarities - one committed to helping, the other to surviving - is deeply affecting...It's quite a little miracle of unexpected genuineness."--New York Times Book Review

 

"A well-written, accessible story that will open Western adolescents' eyes to life in developing countries. Told in the first person, with chapters alternating between Caitlin's and Martin's points of view, this title effectively conveys both of these young people's perspectives...a strong and inspiring story...and an eye-opening look at life in another culture."--SLJ

 

"An inspirational story...eye-opening."--The Bulletin

 

"This heart-warming memoir will inspire readers to open their eyes to other cultures and realize that even the smallest of gestures can be important."--School Library Connection

 

"This compelling story of an unlikely friendship across continents will quiet your inner skeptic and inspire you to take a chance. Moving and uplifting."

 

--Award-winning author and journalist Peter Godwin

 

"Caitlin and Martin seemed to have nothing in common--except a curiosity about the world outside their own and a willingness to reach out to each other. With a lot of postage and a lot more hope, these two pen pals changed each other's lives and the lives of everyone who knew them. An inspiring story that will change your life, too."--Patricia McCormick, author of the National Book Award finalist Sold