A heartbreaking story of the capacity to love, and be loved, and all the sacrifices that come with loving. I will be teaching this to students in a few months and I wanted to be prepared since colleagues said that they'd cried over it in previous years. I didn't shed tears, but I was moved. DiCamillo is a pro at crafting characters you care about, and characters that change. It's a quick read, full of symbolism--and a little magic. It's a worthy tale.