Oprah ruins a good thing? You tell me!

So - Oprah has just announced that The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski, is the new selection for her Book Club. In the past, such pronouncements have been the kiss of death for me, as I found that so many of her books were just continual doom-and-gloom --- about people who had horrible depressing lives (who often raised themselves up, so there's hope for us all!) -- but you still had to wade through a lot of description of depravity.

Edgar Sawtelle has been on my "TO READ" list since I started hearing and reading rave reviews from various people and publications. It is listed as amazon.com's "Best of the Month June 2008". The story sounds intriguing -- a young boy, forced to escape into the wilds of far-northern Wisconsin to avoid his possibly murderous uncle, has three dogs as his only companions. He is mute, and communicates via sign language. The reviewers praise the novel for its use of language, and descriptions of the young boy, his striving to survive against formidable odds, and the relationships that are described in the book. Well, it SOUNDS like something I'd like, but do I change my prejudice against "Oprah books" and give it a try? If any of you have read this one, let me know your opinion.