Rubber Houses
by Ellen Yeomans

    RUBBER HOUSES by Ellen Yeomans
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  1/3/07
    Publisher:  Little, Brown
    Reviewed by:  Jocelyn Pearce
    Rating:  4 Stars


    RUBBER HOUSES is a moving free-verse novel about Kit's experiences loving her younger brother, losing him to
    cancer, and moving on but never forgetting.

    Kit and Buddy, despite their age gap, are very close, and Kit is devastated when he becomes sick and she finally, but
    not unexpectedly, loses her younger brother. She shuts down for awhile after Buddy's death, but slowly, she starts to
    pick up the pieces of her life and continue to live it, even without Buddy by her side, even with the pain of loss that,
    even when it's not fresh, is never gone.

    This is an emotional, well-written novel about love, loss, and moving on despite it all. Kit is a realistic, well-developed
    character, but often she is the only one; the other characters seem less than real much of the time. Despite this,
    RUBBER HOUSES is worth reading. Whether readers can relate to Kit's situation or not, all will feel her pain at
    losing her brother in this painfully honest story.