Claire loves to receive fan mail from her readers. The following is a letter written to Claire by an 8th grade student who enjoyed reading Free Radical.
Wednesday May 20, 2009
Dear Ms. Claire Rudolf,
Hello, I am an 8th grade student at MVMS. I love to write and sports are my life. Today I am writing to you because in my language arts class we had to pick one of our favorite books we have read this year and I enjoyed your book called Free Radical.
This book was a very interesting and taught many lessons. Your book made me think of how I would feel if my mom did that and had been a runaway fugitive from the FBI. I also enjoyed this book because it had to do with baseball. This got my attention because I really like that sport. When I read your book I pictured myself in Luke’s or his mom’s shoes and really got to know how they felt. This helped me understand the book a lot more. How you worded everything and the ends of your chapters made me want to just keep reading and find out what was going to happen next.
Another reason I liked your book so much is how I connected with the characters. One of them that I most connected with was Luke. I had many things in common with him. I know what it feels like to not know someone who could have made a difference in your life. I and Luke also do not judge people by how they look, like how Luke got to know Amy. I also know what it feels like when someone keeps a secret from you. So when I read this I thought about my life and knew some of how Luke was feeling throughout the book.
Thank you for taking your time to read my letter I wrote you. Your book meant a lot to me and I enjoyed it very much. They only question I have for you before I finish is are you going to write another book to Free Radical?
Sincerely,
P.S. Your books are really good, and I hope you keep writing more books like Free Radical.