Oh, man, all the feels in this book. Lonnie is sophisticated in his poetry and in his thinking, and that is well illustrated in his letters to his sister. This is definitely one of the most positive books involving the foster system that I've read -- Lonnie and Lili are separated after the deaths of their parents, but they both seem to be thriving with their new families. It's a quiet read, one that's all about the every day challenges of school and math and friends moving away and also the big ones -- fearing the loss of a son and brother in the Iraq war (although the exact war is never mentioned, and it could be any with IEDs), facing the loss of parents and growing up without your sibling. Lonnie's letters and poems are beautiful, though, celebrating all the little moments of light and new family connections and good, thoughtful friends and teachers. He's in the middle of a community that wants him to thrive, and that shines through. ( )

Lonnie, a young boy in foster care, corresponds with his little sister who is with a di erent foster family. e letters convey beautiful memories of their mother, his foster brother in the army, and re ections on family, loss, and love

slow moving but nice story. ( )

I have not read the first book entitled Locomotion but wish I had before reading this one. I read this one first because it is on the 2011 NCCBA list. Very interesting style of writing in the form of letters. I liked the fact that finally there are good foster homes depicted. Rare thing in books. I was hurt by the war and Rodney's loss of a limb.

Lonnie Motion is 12
Lili Motion is is 9
Mrs. Cooper Lonnie's teacher who puts down his dream of being a poet.
last year his teacher Ms. Marcus raved about Lonnie's skill at writing poetry.
Miss Edna, Lonnie's foster mother
Clyde, Eric, LaTenya and Angel, classmates of Lonnie
Clyde is Lonnie's best friend
Lamont a former classmate moved to Florida
Rodney and Jenkins are Miss Edna's sons
Jenkins if fighting in the war in Iraq
Rodney lives at home and treats Lonnie like a little brother and says to pray for peace
Miss Shore is the grouchy neighbor lady who threatens the children if they mess up her gardens
When Mrs. Copper goes on maternity leave, Miss Alina takes over and sees the talent in Lonnie kind of restoring his confidence.
Miss Jamison is Lili's foster mother.
( )

Narrated by Dion Graham. Twelve-year-old Lonnie and his younger sister Lili live in separate foster families since the death of their parents in a fire. Lonnie, who loves writing poetry, pens letters to his sister about all the things that are happening in his life and also to help her remember their parents and the way their family used to be. Meanwhile, his foster mother Ms Edna fears for her son, missing in Iraq. Dion Graham reads Lonnie's letters with brotherly warmth; you can feel the affection Lonnie has for his little sister, and the passion he holds for the things in life that bring him peace: writing, his friendship with Clyde, school, and scheduled visits with Lili. ( )