I Carried You on Eagles' Wings

From School Library Journal Grade 7-10-- Tony's mother has been slowly and painfully dying from multiple sclerosis since he was a child. Her illness is only part of his life， however; school， soccer (football)， friends， and a wonderful girl occupy his time. He's also trying to understand why God would make his mother's life so tragic， why his father seems so cold and silent， and why terrific Clare wastes her time with him. Saving an injured herring gull with a broken wing and having his own ankle in a cast from a sports injury give him insight into the lives of those， like his parents， who live in cages and can't soar like the eagle in his mother's favorite biblical quote. After seeing his father and grandmother's sadness following his mother's death and the triumph of his gull's first flight， Tony begins to make room for his father's love， his girlfriend's affection， and his own self-realization. All this is in too slim a book， and the exploration of these issues seems contrived and overdone. The metaphor o