I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch, and Martin Ganda

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka, Liz Welch, and Martin Ganda is an inspiring true story about a girl from the United States who writes to a boy in Zimbabwe, in Africa. Caitlin and Martin are very different. Martin comes from a poor family. He can barely afford basic necessities, let alone school. On the other hand, Caitlin comes from a wealthy family. She can afford basic necessities and go to school. For example, she has plenty of food, clothes, shoes, and clean water.

In the book, Caitlin is supporting Martin by sending him money for school and necessities. At first, she sent money to Martin by mail, but that wasn’t a good idea because the money kept getting stolen. Caitlin and her mom made Martin a bank account so that it would be easier to send money to him. There are many themes that are shown in the story. First, we should not judge a book by its cover. We don’t know what people are going through or what their life is like, so we should not judge them very quickly. Second, a little bit of kindness and generosity can go a long way in changing someone’s life forever. Caitlin helped Martin turn his life around and now he is successful. Third, we should not take what we have for granted. When Caitlin found out that Martin was poor, she realized that she was lucky that she had all these things. It is important to be grateful for what we have. Finally, friendship is forever. Caitlin and Martin’s friendship stayed strong for their whole lives. That is a magnificent example of a long-lasting relationship. Caitlin felt like Martin was her “brother”. Martin felt like Caitlin was his “sister”. This book would be interesting and memorable for people who have liked books like Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. I would recommend this book to people who like non-fiction and reading about true stories. The authors did an amazing job describing what their characters’ lives were like and how writing to each other changed both of their lives forever. I like how they included real pictures because it added a nice touch to the story. As I was reading, I felt happy, upset, concerned, cheerful, nervous, amazed, inspired, hopeful, and motivated. All in all, I loved most everything about this book, and it changed my perspective of life and relationships.