Customer Reviews

Lost Summer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Divorcee Kathryn informs her sixteen years old daughter Caitlin that they will spend the summer on Danbroke Island on the North Carolina Outer Banks because she feels her two children are out of control. Caitlin is outraged as she planned to sing backup with her boyfriend's band while her eleven years old brother Luke accepts a four wheel bribe from his wealthy mother.

After traveling from La Jolla, California the three Rosses reach their destination, the Pirates Lodge, owned by Bill Collins, Kathryn's high school boyfriend. Her two children realize they are across the country because their prescription crazed mother was hoping to renew an old fling. The teen makes friends with an out of place Goth Danielle, but as a hurricane approaches she fears Bill, who always leers at her when he is not "accidentally" touching her. She has no one to turn to as her mom hides behind her drug stupor, her brother continues to be the same lunatic he was on the west coast, and her dad abandoned the family last year.

LOST SUMMER is an interesting family drama starring a beleaguered female teen with no place to turn to except to a degree another isolated peer as Bill increasingly tries to take unwanted liberties with her while her mom pretends all is well. Kathryn and Luke are purposely made extreme out of control stereotypes so that their hedonistic destructive behavior negatively impacts Caitlin especially during the isolated LOST SUMMER.

Harriet Klausner

After reading Lost Summer by Alex McAulay, I was at a loss for words. This book was amazing! It captured me with its words. It kept me hanging off the edge of my seat. And some scenes were so descriptive, I actually thought I was there. The genre is teen fiction, making it perfect to read for students like me.
This book was about a 16-year-old girl named Caitlin, her deranged brother Luke, who was always getting into mischief, and her drug-addicted mother. After her dad left, her mother decides to take Caitlin and Like to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, far from their mansion in La Jolla. During a long trip, Caitlin finds out this trip was not meant for a family vacation. It was actually an attempt for her mom to rekindle a high school fling she had with Bill Collins, the owner of The Pirate's Lodge (and the only place on the island for them to stay). Meeting new friends, staying clear of Bill, and trying to occupy herself on a deserted island is all Caitlin can look forward to this summer. Until a new group of friends changes her life, dramatically.
Caitlin would have to be my favorite character. She's my favorite because she has to deal with her family, her boyfriend, and new friends on the island and she somehow makes things work. When Caitlin confided in her mother about Bill, and she refused to believe her, I couldn't believe her nonchalant reaction. I would have totally lost if my mother didn't listen, but she kept it together.
Having read Lost Summer, I have a new perspective about the importance of family. I would recommend this book to teenaged girls who enjoy dramas and horrors. But my strongest reason for recommending this book, is that after you have read it you will have a better understanding of how to make the most of a bad situation.

i picked this book up because i fell in love with mcaulays 1st book Bad Girls two years ago. Lost Summer exceeded my expectations! The characters are very realistic (trust me, I live in San Diego, I know all about the spoiled rich kids here b/c i am one (La Jolla is a small township in san diego) Luke is a perfect replica of what can happen to unsupervised, neglected rich kids out here! or probably anywhere!)

this book was also very informative about the Outer Banks region in North Carolina. I believe the island they stay on is modeled after Ocracoke but i could be wrong. I do want to visit the OBX one day and when I do I'll definitely bring this book along to re-read!

what is the book about? bascially caitlin's mom is a refugee from the valley of the dolls, shes so cracked out on perscription pills shes lost complete touch with reality. apparently she gets in touch with an old b/f from high school and decides to drag 16 year old caitlin and 11 year old luke cross country to the outer banks in North Carolina which are a set of islands. theyre not like the hamptons or the caribbean, theyre barely populated! the biggest one has maybe 1000 people in it total! they dont even have a movie theater. it's really horrifying for someone who is used to the luxuries a city has to offer (i mean they dont even have a starbucks!!!) and worst of all you can only get to the island by ferry or helicopter or you are trapped! oh... and did i mention hurricane season??? (for contrast just imagine la jolla as laguna beach but wealthier, way more cosmopolitan and way more stuff to do)

so yeah, caitlin and luke are miserable. but ill leave it there, you find out for yourself what happens next!!!

one thing that bugs me though... why were the filipinos speaking SPANISH? they should be speaking Tagalog.

I thought this sounded like a great summer thriller novel for teens, and it was.

I just thought some of it was a bit to unrealistic. Caitlin's mother was way out of control and I dont believe that she'd have custody of the kids when everyone knew about her drug abuse. You'd think her dad would want to save her and her brother Luke from the disaster. Another very unrealistic thing is Luke, who's 11 talks and acts like he's 18 or older. Yes, it's a work of fiction, but I tend to like books which have a bit of a realistic feel to them.

Another thing, it reminds me a lot of V.C. Andrews types of books. Horror and thriller mixed with troubled teens in a deserted type place.

Lost Summer is the second MTV Books title from author Alex McAulay. He is the author of the book Bad Girls. Bad Girls should be coming to movie theaters sometime in the future. Gossip blogs have been having a field day tossing around names of young starlets who may appear in the screen adaptation of the book.

Lost Summer is a really fantastic read. Alex is a very strong writer and his novels are suspenseful and engaging. Lost Summer is about a young girl named Caitlin who had her entire summer in California planned out when her mother drags her across the country to the remote Outer Banks of North Carolina. Caitlin's mother has issues it would be safe to say and Caitlin is pretty much on her own as far as entertainment. She meets a strange friend named Danielle. Then she meets some cool guys and it seems like the summer might not be so bad after all--until she witnesses a murder. To top things off a dangerous hurricane is headed their way. Lost Summer is an awesome book and hopefully this title will also be adapted into a movie.

Caitlin Ross's mother believes that Caitlin and her younger brother, Luke, need a change of scenery. That the lavish, free life they live has gone to their head, and that they need something to help change their attitude. Why wouldn't she feel that way, since Caitlin's dad divorced her and now the family is even more messed up than before? Caitlin is still seeing her rocker boyfriend, Ian, who doesn't really seem to care that much about her, and Luke is speaking like a rap song.

So mom decides to take them to North Carolina's outer banks for the summer, ruining Caitlin's plans. But of course Caitlin's dad will save her from her mother's summer plans. That is, until she finds out that her father, the one person that had always backed her up, has already agreed to her mother's travel plans. Goodbye, singing in her boyfriend's band and all the partying - hello to an island that she has never heard of.

Yet who knew that Caitlin's ordinary teenage life would be replaced with Nancy Drew's. Caitlin just so happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when she accidentally witnesses a murder right in front of her eyes. And these supposedly new friends she has made are at the top of her suspect list. Now all she needs is a little help. The only problem is that staying on a stormy, isolated island isn't much help in solving a murder mystery when the weather just so happens to cut off all ties to the mainland. So it's up to Caitlin to save the day, or at least her life.

LOST SUMMER is just another one of Alex McAulay's awesome books that should be on everyone's to-read list. Caitlin's adventure is just so gripping and suspenseful that you wish you had her life; well, maybe not really. It is the perfect book to have with you on the beach, during the summer, to take your mind off all the drama - if you have any. Another great novel in the MTV line of books.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

I picked this book up because the cover is great, and what I read on the back sounded interesting. However, I had no idea that this would turn out to be such a well written, compelling novel.

Lost Summer is a thriller, but also a sharp analysis of a teen trying to make sense of her disintegrating family. As it builds to its disturbing finale, you can't help but feel part of Caitlin's tangled life. Alex McAuley has written a subtle and complex character here, one that I would like to see in more books.

One word of caution is that this novel deals with mature themes, including sex, some drug use and violence, which means it is appropriate mainly for readers 15 and up.

16-year-old Caitlin Ross is having some big issues with her seemingly insane mom, who moves Caitlin and her brother Luke to an island for the summer, for no reason. On the island, Caitlin becomes friends with a group of guys and then her troubles get even worse. The ending has a great surprise and twist, which is not to give anything away, because the whole thing is like that. I did not have high expectations for this book but I couldn't put it down.

This book is about a girl named Caitlin who runs into some serious trouble and drama on an island off the coast of North Carolina. It is by Alex McAulay, who wrote Bad Girls. Lost Summer is a seriously intense book with some great characters in it. Reading it felt like watching a movie in places. I want there to be a sequel because I was sad when the book ended, and I want to find out more about what happened to Caitlin. If you like some intense drama and some suspense as well then this is the book for you!