Customer Reviews

Memories of Summer (Readers Circle)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book I have ever read. This book gives you it all laughs, tears and the fun of reading it! It deals with many different important issues throughout the book which make all your emotions seen. Once you pick this book up you can't put it down because you just have to know what ends up happening! A great beggining, middle and end! You can't get any better!

Lyric, a thirteen year old girl, re-tells the story of her move with her family from rural Virginia to the city of Flint, Michigan. Just as Lyric is discovering herself as a young teen, she is disappointed to find that her sister is lapsing into a deep struggle with mental illnes. Seen through the eyes of Lyric, this story is both heartwarming and sad. The descriptive writing of Ruth White and the voice of Kate Forbes, invites the listener to imagine what life was really like for a teen that has been uprooted from the peacfulness of a rural community only to take on the struggles of city life at school and at home. This book would be an excellent book for any young reader. (This review is based on the audio version).

Memories of Summer is about two girls named Lyric and Summer.
The sisters' mom died about a year after Lyric was born. Their grandfather died in a mining accident. On Summer's birthday, they got a surprise from their Poppy telling them that they were moving to Flint, Michigan.
When they got to Flint, they moved into a two- bedroom apartment. About a week later Lyric and Summer started school. Lyric liked it but Summer didn't so she dropped out. When Summer started staying home, she began talking to imaginary people and having episodes of paranoia. The family decides to take Summer to the doctor. The doctor tells them that Summer has a disease called schizophrenia and that they should take her to Pontiac so they could focus on only Summer. Lyric and Poppy say no and bring Summer back home. Everyday Summer gets worse. One day she cussed out her babysitter. One day she tries to burn her arm!
What happens next....... well read this book Memories of Summer by Ruth White to find out.

I think the book Memories Of Summer by Ruth White is a great book! It is about a girl named Summer that is schizophrenic. Her sister, Lyric, cares a lot about her and tries to do everything she can, but just cant do it. Summer does not listen to anything her
sister says. She refuses to go to school, get dressed, take a bath and eat. Summers sister and her father have only one choice. Read the book to find out about there difficult decision.

In Memories Of Summer,by Ruth White,a young girl called Lyric,loves her older sister Summer,even though Summer has a mental illness. All their life Summer, Lyric, and their father have lived a happy and peaceful life in the hills of Vigina, where Summer has always been a little odd. When they move to Michagan in search of a job, they face hard times. Also,Summer's strangeness turns into a mental illnesss. Summer Lyric,and their dad prove that love and faith will get them through anything.In my opinion, I admire Lyric.She loved Summer even when the illness took over and she was hard to love.She was a brave little girl who had to stand up to the entire school, and defend her sister.Every day before their father got home from work at 11:00 at night,Lyric took care of Summer. Their dad was a kind-hearted man also. He loved Summer just as much as Lyric did, and he protected both his daughters. If you are a middle schooler who loves great stories about people your age, I recommened this book for you. It is wonderfully writtenand and a great book.

This book was great, but a little too sad for me. It is about a girl, Lyric, with a beautiful and smart sister, Summer, with a couple of strange habits. But then the family moves, and it becomes obvious that Summer has a problem. First she is just strange, but then she becomes dangerous-to herself and to others. Will she ever become the enthusiastic teen she used to be? Read this exciting book with a bittersweet ending!!--MSJ

Ruth White, known for her Appalachain characters does a wonderful job displacing a family from the mountains to the "big city" without overexaggerating the consequences. The real story is that of Lyric's sister, Summer. The stress of moving has intensified her mental illness. Now Lyric and her father must deal with the results. But how does a teenager have a social life in a new place with a sister who behaves beyond strange? And what happens when that sister becomes a danger to herself and others? Lyric must come to terms with her sister's illness, telling her friends, and starting a new life. A good read for anyone who is teaching about mental illness or mental health. Sometimes disturbing and a little humorous, White correctly portrays both sides that many families encounter. A good book to put on the summer reading list.

Jessica Kruscinski October 31, 2002

Memories of Summer Ruth White 0-440-22921-9

"Before I could react, she had smashed me over the head with the coffee cup. I was stunned with the blow. The cup shattered and the pieces went flying all over the room. I touched my head gently and felt a stickiness in my hair. At first I thought it was only Kool-Aid, but when I looked at my fingers they were covered with blood. I wobbled in my tracks. Summer just stood there glaring at me."
That is a scene from Memories of Summer which is about a girl named Lyric who moves to Flint, Michigan with her dad and sister, Summer. It takes place in 1955. Summer talks to imaginary people and goes crazy. Lyric tries to help, but the doctor's tell her dad and her that it's not safe for a thirteen girl to be taking care of someone like Summer and that they should send her to an insane asylum. The genre of this book is realistic fiction.

I recommend this book to mostly female young adults because the main characters are both girls. Lyric is thirteen and Summer is sixteen so many females, I think, can relate to it because they talk about growing up and finding new friends in a new town. It was a page-turner because you wanted to see what happens next to Lyric and Summer. I enjoyed this book genre very much because I liked that is could actually happen in real life so it was very easy to connect to the characters. It wasn't hard to concentrate on this book at all because there was some kind of event happening at all times.

This book was VERY sad, but I loved it. I kept wondering if this book was about Ruth White's own sister. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a lot of sadness thrown in with all the happy parts.

From the time they were very young, Lyric was always aware that her sister Summer was strange, with her fear of electricity and her need to whisper to the mountains that surrounded their coal mining town. But Lyric and her father have always just overlooked these strange behaviors and haven't thought much of them.

Then, when Lyric is thirteen and Summer is sixteen, they move to a Minnesota city where their father is going to try to find work in an automobile factory. Once there, things start to go downhill for Summer, who becomes more adamant about her conversations with people who aren't there. She spends much of her time in a fog, then begins to neglect her own hygiene. Summer becomes more and more difficult to live with, especially when Lyric and her father try to control her.

Eventually Summer is diagnosed with schizophrenia and after she develops a fondness for fire and for sharp objects such as razor blades, Lyric and her father realize that Summer's disease is more than they can handle, and they need help from doctors. The decision to seek help is difficult for Lyric, who still remembers the wonderful big sister she had as a child. She feels guilty for being embarrassed by Summer but finds it hard to feel any other way.

I liked that Lyric's feelings were portrayed realistically, especially her guilt about being ashamed of her sister. I liked that the characters weren't poor throughout the book. They had enoug problems without the author adding financial troubles to their story.

I didn't like that there was so little resolution in this book. I kept expecting some sort of big blowout that never happened.