Customer Reviews

A Summer to Die

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read this book in 6th grade (or so) when it first come out. It had an impact on me (I feared a friend had leukemia because she was getting nosebleeds), and I never forgot it. I reread it yesterday and realized how powerful and well-written it truly is. It's an amazing first novel (from someone who went on to write other of my favorites).

While the book rarely mentions Meg's school life (and never any contemporary friends), it still conveys a sense of her whole life. I cried for her, for Molly, for their whole family. And I was angry with the parents for not sharing the seriousness of Molly's illness with Meg sooner.

It's a keeper (and I wish I'd kept my copy!)

"A Summer to Die," was a great book. It was about two girls who have to face the new challenges, changes and having to make new friends when they move out of the city. Fifteen year old Molly has always been pretty, populair, and had an easy time making new friends. Molly already has a boyfriend in the first week they move their. But it does not come as easily to Meg, her sister. She can't make a single friend, and she is depressed. Her dad sits in his study all day writing a book, her sister is her usual, annoying, self. But one day Molly is rushed to the hospital and it is then that Meg knows that something is terribly wrong with her sister. Molly comes home and has a new drug she has to take. But Meg notices that Molly's long hair is falling out, Molly is loosing weight and she gets sick again. Read this story for yourself to find out the ending.

I read this book many years ago and became completely immersed in it. The story was so well written and moving that it has had a truly lasting effect on my life. I am 23 now and it remains to be one of the few books that still evokes feelings and emotions simply by thinking of it. I could hardly wait to read it then and can hardly wait to read it all over now. I highly recommend it to a person of any age - it's message and values can be appreciated by adults and children alike.

A Summer to Die
"It is so good to have friends who understand how there is a time for crying and a time for laughing, and that sometimes the two are very close together," announced Lois Lowery in her fictional story, A Summer to Die. Throughout this story, Lois shows how important it is to always, at anytime, love and care for your family, because you never know when it could be the end. Could you ever imagine loosing a family member? As soon as Meg's family moved to a new house in the country, she knew nothing would be the same again. Meg went from having her own room, to having half of a room, divided by a thick white line of chalk, shared with her older sister Molly.
Meg and Molly couldn't of been more different. At times it was hard for Meg to hide her jealousy of Molly's beauty and popularity. There was Molly, beautiful with wavy blond hair. Then there was Meg, not quite as pretty with glasses, and what some kids called "different." Meg loved photography, and she was very good at it. She enjoyed all the colors, lightings, and facial expressions of the photos she took. Just as the girls adjust to their new home, Molly is diagnosed with a very rare disease. Meg, her family, and some very close friends don't know how much longer Molly will live. Meg now regrets her relationship with her sister, and wishes it as better.
This book is written for the teenage soul and older minds too. A Summer to Die is a great book for someone that enjoys happy friendships, twisting events, and sad endings. This book's intriguing events pull in the reader, and hook them like a fish. Now, I will always remember to love and care for my family, because I never know when it could be the end.

A Summer To Die is a very sad book, but it was great. 13 year old Meg envies her older sister, Molly, who is beautiful, practically perfect, and has a great boyfriend. One night Molly gets really sick and tells Meg to get their parents. Molly is rushed to the hospital and Meg feels as though it was all her fault. Finally Molly comes home from the hospital, but still can't go back to school, but she seems to be getting better, until one morning Meg got mad Molly was still in bed at 11 o'clock and when Molly goes to get out of bed, Meg sees something is wrong again. Molly asks that Meg not say anything about it, but she does and Molly is sent back to the hospital. Toward the end of the book Meg realizes that Molly isn't going to be coming home. Will Meg be able to tell her sister that she cares? Read the book to find out. This is a wonderful book I am sure you will like it!

A Summer to Die is a great book. It is about two sisters that have just moved to a new house in the country. They have finally settled in to their new home when Molly, Meg's beutiful, popular older sister starts having nosbleeds. They are a pain, because Molly gets all the attention and is constantly worried about how she looks. But when MMolly's hair starts falling out from the drugs she takes, and she gets stuck in the hospital again from a MAJOR nosebleed, Meg starts to realize what her parents knew all along. That Molly had cancer and was going to die. This is a sad but also happy book, because while Molly dies, there is a new beginning when a baby is born. I loved this book, and you will too!

Although many books have happy endings, some books do not. Some stories have split endings, part of the story ending happily and the other part ending sadly. As Meg and her sister Molly have to move from the city to the country and have to share a room, they start to notice their differences. As Meg starts to dislike Molly something happens to bring the two of them together. Do you ever get mad at your mom, dad, or sibling? Well Meg does and she soon realizes that sometimes you will run out of time to forgive or apologize. As you read A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry, you will learn that you need to love, car, appreciate, and be grateful for everything and everyone around you.
Once you read A Summer to Die, I recommend you to read Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. The stories are very similar in the way that Meg is feeling at the end of the book and how the main character Kira is feeling at the beginning of the book. I recommend this book very strongly to all girls eleven and older who like sad and happy endings, because if you don't like sad endings you will probably cry at the end. I recommend this book to all people eleven and older as well, but not as strongly, but I think that you will still enjoy it.
In A Summer to Die, like I mentioned in the beginning, Meg and Molly begin to notice there differences, and very quickly. "It was Molly who drew the line [...] and said, ` There. Now be as much of a slob as you want, only keep it on your side.' " You can't always forgive and forget or apologize, and Meg learns that. So, as you can see in Lois Lowry's book, there is a silver lining in every cloud.

Lois Lowry did an amazing job in writing A Summer to Die. This book is about a teenaged girl, Meg, whose father is a writer. Their family moves to a quiet place so he can finish his novel. Meg finds many friends during their stay, but loses her closest one. Meg's sister, Molly, dies of Leukemia and Meg finds it hard to move on.

For someone who likes drama mixed with relaxation, I would definately recommend this book. We can all relate to it in some way.

I had almost every word of this book memorized when I was 11. The blue chalk line that they used to divide the room. The house, the walks, the photography. I read and reread this book and cried deep sobs throughout. 17 years later, I still see an amazing story of two sisters and loss and coping.

I just finished reading "A Summer to Die", it was a touching story, one that made me, a person who never cries, cry. The Ending and everything, was very surprising. This story is also written in first person, which helps you realize how the character felt and thought. If I were you I would buy this book, it will be one of those you can read over and over again, and cry over it every single time too!