Oklahoman Kim Ventrella wrote this book about a boy whose father has died. He moves to small town Holler, Oklahoma where he discovers a portal through a tree into an underground tunnel in which he can communicate with his father.

Most of the book is this longing to stay with his father, so it is an emotionally difficult book to read. But it may speak to other kids who have lost a parent and want the same.

I listened to the audio and it’s read by a man with a southwest accent. I could somewhat see it through the eyes of a child, but somehow it didn’t quite work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This was very enjoyable middle grade novel. It felt very similar in tone and subject to Big Fish, and that is meant as a huge compliment.

Grief stories are certainly nothing new and authors find any number of ways for their characters to try to undo a tragedy. Including following a magic cat through a portal in a tree to a dream world. Which is to say, this book feels like a fever dream. It doesn't always make a lot of sense. While there are some interesting things going on with relationships and addiction, ti's a bit too out there to make it a high recommendation.

THis was a lovely written book about a little boy dealing with the griefs of loss in our life. I love how the story reaches out to teach a lesson to children of middle age group on such a powerful thing in life. This was a story children can relate to and it is definitely a book I will get for out Louisiana library. You do not have many books speaking of the bayous of Louisiana.

Thank you netgalley and harpercollins

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for sharing this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this ghostly and grim book about grief and starting over. It was so descriptive and so powerful.

This unique book about your loved one's death and how to let them go was amazing. I loved the details and how I could picture everything in my mind. I began to open up to Sam, Edie, Aunt Jo, and others. It was such a great and sweet book, perfect for readers ages 10-13.

After the unexpected death of his father, Sam is sent to live with an aunt he hasn't seen in years. Soon after he arrives he meets a strange on eyed cat, see dragonflies everywhere, and unexpectedly goes into a tree which leads back to his old home and his father. How can he stay there or better yet how can he get his father out?

This was an odd book - one might say magical realism. Sam is working through the death of his father and can't seem to let go. Meanwhile, new experiences and new people come into his life. Can he say goodbye? Does he have a choice ?

Sadness leads to adventure in this incredible middle school book. Well written characters that do not talk down to the reader while presenting enough of a reading challenge to keep younger readers engaged. The story is very well done and extremely enjoyable.

Took awhile for me to get fully through just because as a child who has lost a parent, grief story lines always get me. Every child, every person, every human grieves differently and I love that there are books out there to express that. This is a great addition to any middle grade classroom. Themes: forgiveness, saying goodbye, grief, change, and understanding.

After the sudden death of his adoptive father, Sam moves away from his home in the Louisiana bayou to live with Aunt Jo in Holler, Oklahoma. He’s understandably pretty bitter about the whole situation, especially because Aunt Jo is like a stranger now. She’s been out of touch with him and Pa for the last three years or so. Shortly after arriving in Holler, Sam follows a strange one-eyed cat to a tree that turns out to be a portal that allows him to go see Pa for brief periods of time. Sam is determined to find a way to bring Pa back to the real world. Meanwhile, he has become friends with a girl named Edie from school. Edie already knows Aunt Jo well because she helps out with regular meetings that take place in Aunt Jo’s home. Aunt Jo is recovering from a drug addiction, and it turns out that her recent absence in Sam’s life is because Pa didn’t want her around Sam until she got her life together. But now she’s doing much better, and Sam is gradually starting to like her. And he’s definitely liking Edie; there are hints of a future romance there. Still, after a few failed attempts to bring Pa back from the ghostly world on the other side of the portal, Sam decides that he’d rather stay there and give up his life in the real world than to give up being with Pa.

The overall theme of the book is coping with death, but there are also a lot of passages that emphasize just how much Sam didn’t know about Pa. When Sam goes through the portal to see Pa, he usually witnesses some event from Pa’s childhood before getting to actually visit with him, and these events are never the ones that Pa told him about. Sam comes to the realization that, as much as Pa loved telling stories, there were some things that were just too hard to talk about. For example, Pa never mentioned his beloved one-eyed cat. And Pa didn’t give many details about why he adopted him or who exactly his mother was or how she died. Most of those questions never do get definitively answered. (It is strongly implied that Pa would have married Sam’s mother and thus become Sam’s adoptive father anyway, but that Sam’s mother then died in childbirth.)

Despite the ghosts and the underlying creepy tone, this isn’t really a horror story. I consider it more of a magical realism story. I’ve noticed that many of the plot summaries and reviews compare it to Bridge of Terabithia, and I can definitely understand the comparison. To me, it was reminiscent of Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar. That connection is partly because both books have a recurring motif of insects showing up in a place where they aren’t often seen. In this book’s case, it’s dragonflies. Pa always said dragonflies were good luck, so they’re very meaningful to Sam even before he realizes that they’re associated with the portal.

Sam’s narrative voice is made unique and memorable by the use of two distinctive phrases. One is “grape soda”. Pa and Sam only liked orange-flavored soda, so they got in the habit of using the expression “grape soda” in place of swear words. In Sam’s internal monologue, “grape soda” seems to also stand in for milder complaints. It becomes an all-purpose adjective phrase for things that are frustrating, discouraging, disappointing, or just generally unpleasant. The other phrase is “blue jay” and it describes a person who is selfish and mean. Although there were a few passages where this felt a little gimmicky, it was mostly well-done and helps to make Sam a memorable and likable character despite having a bit of an attitude. He acknowledges that bad attitude, but again, it’s understandable under the circumstances.

At this point, The Secret Life of Sam is on the list to be a runner-up for my personal Best Books of 2020 list. Since there are still two and a half months left in the year and I’ve got quite a few promising books to read in that time, I’m guessing it won’t make the final list, but I’d still like to put in a good word for it now. It has an appealing, atmospheric setting with believable and mostly likable characters and some meaningful if slightly trite messages. I thought it did a good job of addressing the issue of drug addiction in a sensitive and tasteful way, and its depiction of grief was likewise gentle and empathetic.

Follow along as Sam works through grief and heartache that follow the death of his dad. I really enjoyed the way the author portrayed the feelings of grief through the eyes of a young boy. This book would be an incredible discussion starter. I think it would be especially meaningful for kids who have experienced the loss of someone they love, but it would also give great insight for those who haven't experienced that firsthand. I really enjoyed this book!

After Sam's dad is killed in a car accident, Sam finds himself suddenly uprooted from his home in the Louisiana bayou and living with his Aunt Jo in tiny Holler, Oklahoma. Struggling with the loss of his dad, Sam finds himself drawn into a strange alternative reality where his dad is still alive. Accompanied by a mysterious, one-eyed cat, Sam's visits to his dad in their old bayou home give insights into Sam's past and his dad's life as a boy with his younger sister Jo. When Sam tries to hang on too tightly to the memory of his father, he learns some valuable lessons about letting go, moving on, and the treasure of having a true friend. This story, ideal for upper elementary or middle school students, would be a valuable addition to any fiction collection. It would be especially appropriate to recommend to students dealing with losses of their own.

I could easily see The Secret Life of Sam in my fourth grade classroom library. This story reminds me of others in which the main character is grieving the loss of a loved one – The Tiger Rising, Bridge to Terabithia, etc. Like these books, the protagonist befriends a character of the opposite sex who helps them to grow and develop throughout the novel and has a fantastical element in an otherwise contemporary setting. I thought it was appropriate that the description compared it to Big Fish as the parallels are clear. The book explores themes of grief and learning to let go while still preserving memories from the past. I liked how the plot unfolded with Sam’s frequent transporting to visit his deceased father interfering with his life and his need to make a decision about in which world he was going to exist. Addiction and recovery were also addressed in a way that is accessible to children. This is a sweet story that while sad ends on a hopeful note.

Sam’s dad passed away unexpectedly in a car accident, and he has to move from Louisiana to a small town in Oklahoma to live with his aunt Jo. Aunt Jo has been missing from his life for four years, so she’s almost like a stranger to Sam.

His dad always said that dragonflies were good luck. Sam is astonished when he sees clouds of dragonflies around an old hollow oak. He also sees a grungy, distinctive one-eyed cat who leads him into the tree, and into another world where he can visit his dad for a little while at a time. The visits become stranger and shorter, and Sam soon has to make a choice about what he wants to do.

This stunning novel explores the devastation of losing a loved one and finding the courage to let go of what once was in order to embrace what is. This is a powerful book to explore grief, addiction, friendship, love, and home. It would be a wonderful literature circle/book club book. It is a much-needed addition to school and classroom (and well as home) libraries.