Original Impressions: So intriguing! I wish there had been a bit more of a wrap up at the very end but such a special little story. 
 Full review: I fell in love with Sharon Creech's book WALK TWO MOONS back when I was kid but then somehow never ended up picking up another one of her books. I still need to re-read it someday to relive that experience, but in the meantime, I came across THE BOY ON THE PORCH, both on Edelweiss and then was fortunate enough to pick up a physical ARC at BEA. 
 THE BOY ON THE PORCH is the story of two adults, John and Marta, and how their lives change infinitely after finding a young boy around six or seven years old left on their porch. The only thing they knew of him was from the note that he was left there and whoever had left him would eventually come back for him. With nothing else to do, they decide to take him in and care for him until his family (or so they assume) comes back for him. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and John and Marta wonder if anyone really will come back for the boy. He also does not speak and does not write, but instead communicates through tapping, through music, and through painting. John and Marta grow incredibly fond of him and secretly worry that someone really will come back for him one day. 
 THE BOY ON THE PORCH was such a curious little story. The quirks of the boy -- the fact that he does talk, is very artistic, and seems to be communicating with the animals on John and Marta's farm -- just fascinated me. My brain was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out what had happened to him. Why couldn't he talk? Did he have some kind of special power that helped him talk to animals? Was he autistic? Was his development stunted from neglect? What did the tapping mean? And then I had all of the questions that surrounded his relationship with John and Marta. Was he meant to come to them? Was his family -- or whoever left him -- coming back for him? Would John and Marta get punished for keeping a child that isn't theirs? 
 Above all, this book had my brain thinking and wondering. I was really intrigued with the plot and all of the characters really just warmed my heart. I loved the small town/farm feel and how well Sharon Creech described all of the settings. I felt like I could really picture it and I got an amazing over all feel for the book. The only thing I wasn't totally sold on was the ending, just because I was hoping for a few more answers. I had so many questions about the boy and some were answered, some weren't -- but then again, maybe I was also overthinking things! For all you fans of WALK TWO MOONS, it's definitely a bit of a younger feel so you can't really compare there, but I loved reading Sharon Creech's work all the same!