Postcards to Father Abraham

by Catherine Lewis, Jane Yeomans (Illustrator)

Sixteen-year-old Meghan used to be a runner. Top notch. Hermes couldn't catch her. But cancer destroyed that.She used to have a brother. Killian. Meghan thought he was her white knight. But her father and Vietnam destroyed him.

She used to have a father, but he's become a steely stranger in a navy blue suit...

She does have an idol. A school thesis draws Meghan to someone who knew even greater pain, who faced more intolerable circumstances, who could still summon the strength to rise above it all. Now it seems Abraham Lincoln is the only person Meghan feels she can talk to. So she does, on 6 x 4 inch pieces of paper -- even though Lincoln lived a hundred and fifty years ago. And she wonders why her father can't be more like Lincoln, and if she could be.

With unflinching eloquence, Catherine Lewis weaves together a story about achieving perfection and then falling from grace, about family, self-preservation, and a girl full of grit and fury at an overwhelming crossroads.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Catherine Lewis worked as an emergency medical technician and police officer while honing her writing skills. She now teaches creative writing at Purchase College and lives in New York City.

Her first novel, "Dry Fire," was for adults; "Postcards to Father Abraham" is her debut young adult novel.

Reviews

[Mel Raschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book about coping with loss.

[Kendall Concini · Rating 1 out of 5]

#readingchallenge2017 (my book with a family member title or concept)

For me, the synopsis presented a strong idea for a novel that never developed throughout the pages that followed. Ready to read about personal struggles and the journey of coping through creative means, I felt it lacked any depth.

The short clip paragraphs of ideas felt sloppily meshed together, in random order, as if bits and pieces were written over the years and thrown together when the book was due. And at the same time, maybe that’s why some are so short, because the author didn’t know how to develop a large story.

The overall timeline with the leg, the Banker, and the brother played out fine, but all the in-between convoluted something that could have been.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meghan, a runner diagnosed with cancer, is dealing with a lot. Her mother's death, her grieving father, the amputation of her leg and her beloved brother Killian, who has returned from Vietnam a shattered person. In her anger at her father for forcing Killian to answer the draft call, she rebels (in flashbacks) with her prep school roommate Georgy. As she lays in a hospital bed trying to adjust to a prosthetic leg and the pain of waiting for Killian to visit, she begins writing postcards to her hero, Abraham Lincoln. She reveals to him her anger, her fears and her sorrow. Who better would understand?

[Ashley Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Postcards to father Abraham, a book about a 16 year old girl who had a very good and successful life. Being lead in running, until a sickness comes along and crumbles it all down. With along, having a father that isn't present. Not that he left or is dead. He is still there, but isn't there mentally anymore after a war left him with a scar that could not be healed. Also a brother that was scared in a tour he went on. She was left with nothing except for the feeling of only being able to talk to Abraham Lincoln. trying to find all the clues he has left behind and find the answer she needed to fix everything.

[Katie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan used to be a good runner and good kid. Until she got expelled from school and her mom died in a car accident and her brother came home shell-shocked, Megan also lost her leg do to cancer. She ran away and started studying Abraham Lincoln, figuring out that they lived in the same town, so she started writing him post cards.
This book was okay but I didn’t like it a lot because it wasn’t that interesting and it seemed like the same story as a lot of other books.

[Kaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was a great book, it really gets my attention about how some people take things for granted. It's a bit sad how her brother and mother died, and how her dad isn't even there for her. But she does have great friends that always have her back. I did kind of feel bad for her still because she loves running and that was her favorite thing to do but is taken away by a type of cancer. How bad is that, it makes me feel very bad and I just wanted to keep reading to see what she does, how she feels, and what she sees. The book is being told by the main character so i see how she feels and all her thoughts. I recommend this book to people that like to read books that shows how she feels. I also like how her idol is Abraham Lincoln. I also like it even though Abe has died she still writes to him and keeps those postcards. And at the end she sees or imagines that she is talking to Abraham and her brother that died, Killian. Did I mention it's a touching story, and I would read that book again because the book is so touching and good. It is not a to long or to short book so it didn't get to boring so it was great.

[Kaci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great that parallels the struggles and hardships that Abraham Lincoln faced with the life of Meghan, a teenager in the 60's who had to have her leg amputated due to cancer. Part of our fiction/nonfiction comparison project and a stellar read.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's a great book for someone who really needs guidance. It's a bit humorous, yet manages to still keep it's seriousity at the same time.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...