Caleb and Kit by Beth Vrabel

Caleb is 12 years old and has cystic fibrosis.  His condition makes daily life a challenge.  He has to spend time every day in different medical devices, and has strict eating requirements.  Because of his condition, his mother and older brother, Patrick, are very protective.  Over summer break his mother arranges to send him to a day camp, but a few days before the camp starts Caleb meets a girl his age, Kit, in the small stand of woods behind his house.  The girl's mother is struggling with substance abuse problems, and Kit is totally unsupervised.  Caleb is enchanted by Kit's free spirit and wild imagination and, for the first time, defies his mother's directions and sneaks away from camp to spend his days with Kit.

This book was well done, and deserves the starred reviews that it received.  The reader feels the exhilaration Caleb feels as he breaks free from the strict rules that have governed his life from birth. As the consequences of Caleb's actions start to catch up with him, the reader feels the discomfort Caleb experiences as he grapples with moral questions about friendship and loyalty.  The reader also comes to learn a lot about the challenges of those who live with cystic fibrosis.  I can see that this is a really good book, but I must admit that I didn't really enjoy reading it.  Caleb's uncomfortable situation near the end came to be like a painful blister that I was eager to drain and have things over with.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book this week.  People who liked Rain Reign would probably like this.  (256 p. 2017)