From the compelling first line of The Mailbox (Delacorte, 2006) by Audrey Shafer to the end, this story held me in its grips.
Twelve-year-old Gabe, who has bounced from foster family to foster family until moved in with his uncle Vernon, a Vietnam vet, comes home to find Uncle Vernon has died. Not wanting to believe it and fearful of going back into the foster system, Gabe goes to school the next morning as if nothing has happened. When he comes home, the body is gone and Gabe gets the courage to keep going from the notes left in his mailbox and the gift of a dog named Guppy. This is one of those MUST READ books.
Author Audrey Shafer is also an MD. Read more here.