School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-After his father dies, Andy Parker, 10, and his mother spend the summer with the boy's grandmother in rural upstate New York. Andy, used to the fast-paced city life of St. Paul, MN, and dreading a summer with nothing to do, also has to say good-bye to his best friend, who is moving. This sweet, gentle story is about Andy's "Summer of Courage," when he learns to appreciate country life and realizes that change doesn't have to be so scary. Finding it difficult to cope with her loss, Mrs. Parker tells her son that "-when you need courage the most is when you realize what's happened in your life and you decide to get up the next morning anyway." Praying to a God he is not sure is listening, Andy connects with an old friend of his mom's and discovers the joy of fishing for perch, doing chores for his grandma and her optimistic and eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Sackets, and picking up and peeling ground apples for Crow's Nest (recipe included). This is an upbeat, positive story in which faith and resilience are accentuated in the face of life's dark clouds. The author breathes wise, hopeful life lessons into her novel with a subtle simplicity sure to touch hearts.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.