I liked this book by Sarah Weeks. It’s a slight book, well-written, and at first glance, not that interesting or profound. Yet, it gets under your skin, and you feel for the characters in unexpected ways. Perhaps that’s why, a day after I finished it, I’m still thinking about it.

Heidi is a 13-year-old girl, living in Reno, whose past is a mystery. Her mom is mentally disabled, and can only say about 23 words. She calls herself So Be It. And 13 years previously, she shows up mysteriously with Heidi at Bernadette’s door. Bernadette is an interesting character, too: an older woman, who has agoraphobia, and therefore can’t leave their apartment. Heidi’s been home schooled by Bernadette, comfortable with her mother and her family, until… until she gets old enough to realize that she should have some sort of past. And to be curious about a word her mother only says: soof.

It’s a journey book — Heidi goes across the country to New York in search of answers. It’s a finding book — Heidi finding her past, and some answers anyway. It’s a loss book — there isn’t anyone in this book who hasn’t lost something. It’s powerful, in its own, slight, way. It’s one that stays with you for its humanity, for it’s love and for the journey that Heidi goes on.