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Dear Robert C. O’Brien

After recently reading your novel, ‘Z for Zachariah’, I would like to compliment you on your unusual way of depicting the story from Ann’s point of view through diary format. The first person narration provides a sense of excitement and suspense for the reader, making us feel as if we were Ann herself. One thing I found that stood out in your style of writing is the way you balanced the vividness of your descriptions with sufficient room for the reader’s imagination to work. It appeals to the readers to be able to let their imaginations run wild within the proximities of the scene that you have set.

Throughout the novel, many of the themes and morals that you put forward have led me to discover more about myself and the people around me. I believe the predominant theme in “Z for Zachariah” is survival. After reading the book I tried to imagine myself in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust and I realized that your book covered all the aspects pretty much down to the last detail. In those circumstances, most people would have probably acted more on the basic instinct of survival than through rational thought.

Reading your book has led me to be more sensitive to what I have to say and do to other people. Your book has illustrated how one bad deed can cause a relationship, no matter how intimate, to dissolve into bitterness. Although Ann and Loomis were not the best of friends, what Loomis did to Ann, did not only hurt her; it tore an unbridgeable gap in their relationship.

Robert, your book, “Z for Zachariah” is not only an enjoyable read, full of suspense and action but it also gives each reader an important life lesson. You have raised the bar on all children’s novels to a new level.

From Jonathan Yu and Henry Ye