There are few books that will touch the hearts of anyone who picks them up, but I believe that I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch is one of those rare books. Personally, I am not a huge fan of autobiographies or nonfiction, so when I picked this book up, I was skeptical of whether I would even be able to finish it. But from the beginning, I became engrossed in the lives of Caitlin and Martin.
I Will Always Write Back follows twelve year old Caitlin Alifirenka and fourteen year old Martin Ganda who live an ocean apart, literally. Caitlin lives in Pennsylvania and Martin lives in Zimbabwe. Caitlin, an ordinary seventh grader, arrives at school one day and finds a list of countries scrawled across the blackboard. Her teacher tells them to pick a country where each student will send a pen pal letter to. At the end of the list, Caitlin notices a word starting with a z that she has no idea how to pronounce, but she knows that it is the country she wants. Her hand shoots up, and immediately requests the last country on the list. Caitlin’s teacher, shocked that she is so eager to participate, tells Caitlin that the country’s name is Zimbabwe. Even the name sounds like an adventure. Something about Zimbabwe calls Caitlin, and that afternoon, she rushes home to start her letter.
Martin is ecstatic when he receives a letter from America; he is the top student in his class, so he and the nine other top students are lucky enough to receive them. In a fifty student class, there were not enough letters for most of the children. The United States is a completely different world from 1990’s Zimbabwe, where political unrest and extreme poverty shape the lives of everyone. The grim reality of Martin’s life is put into perspective when his mother, and other characters, make blunt statements such as “School is your only hope.” Martin sees Caitlin’s letter as a reprieve from his life, and a window into the life of another. However, will Martin be able to continue his correspondence with Caitlin when his family barely has enough money to feed themselves, much less afford postage?
Throughout this unforgettable story, readers will realize that small acts of kindness can shape the lives of countless individuals. My favorite part of the book was that it conveys the idea that anyone can change someone else’s life for the better. You don’t need to be rich, famous, popular, or anything else to do something good in the world. Towards the end of the book, Caitlin tells us “Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?” After reading this book, and hearing Martin and Caitlin’s story, I can see how true this idea really is.
As I read this book, I felt as though I was right there with Caitlin and Martin as they fought to make each other’s lives better. The two grow and face challenges in their lives together through pen pal letters that travel across the Atlantic Ocean. They deal with ordinary teenager problems and real world issues that may seem foreign to some readers and all too real to others. But through it all, the characters persevere and come out on the other side stronger. Whether you love reading or not, this book and story will stick with you long after the last page.