I was able to read Eli, the Good at the age of 18 and heck did I regret this so much. It has been sitting in my shelf for two years straight, picking up dust and jealousy as I picked up other books who captured me by their covers.

Well, it’s not like Eli, the Good’s cover is bad. It just didn’t stand out like the rest of the books I’ve read this April.

After putting down Diana Renn’s Latitude Zero, I decided, finally, to pick this one up. Finally open it and read it and forget about how unattractive the cover was. So, I did.

Here are the reasons why I could give twenty bucks to parents who want to educate their kids through stories and decided they’d start on this book. Why this book is essential as the kids crawl their way out of their childhood:

It teaches about the bad in the world and locks it up with resolution.

Eli grew up having his dad in the Vietnam War, witnessing his sister, Josie, screw her way to rebellion and his mom getting colder and desolate only to abandon her children when it comes to parental love. Eli has seen much of the bad side of the world at such a young age but in his young heart, there was a leaking goodness overall. This goodness was so infectious that it was the resolution itself.

It talks about the good in the world, ignores it to give it up for the wise in the world.

Even though Eli was a good kid, he mostly prioritized seeking wisdom in the life swelling around his family. Being good is not enough. Ignorance can still beat kindness. Seek for wisdom.

It teaches that all lives around us are the best teachers.

The best trait of this book is that Eli and his bestfriend, Eddie, are in constant return to their “trees”. These trees are personal as they grew up with it. They believe they can communicate to it and therefore, could understand it. We may not be aware of this, but all life around us—the trees, the plants, the animals—are wiser than humans when it comes to understanding life. They understand the system that runs around its fibers and they respect it. All these creatures are masters in keeping life. They’re the best teachers we’ve got.

It teaches us that the best we’ve got are not material things.

There’s this part in the book when his aunt, Nell, told him, “The sky is bigger in our side of the world. We may not have much, but we’ve got the stars.” Teach your children to not be dependent in material things as these things are not going to last.

It teaches us the importance of family.

All throughout the book, the main conflict was his family breaking apart in their own personal conflicts. But in the end, each of the members hold fast to each other, knowing that each of them are the only people they’ve got and that they need to stick together. Humans are better off in effective bonds. Family members compliment each other. This is why they’re better off whole.

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I can wrap it up in five points but there are a heckload of reasons why this book will stick to your child’s heart. If this is something you enjoy reading, let me know by giving this post a boost. Let's talk in the comments!

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One quick thing before you leave, my debut poetry book, Subway Teeth, is out now on Amazon and other retail stores. Check it out here and we'll see each other next time!