Summertime offers a chance for many kids to relax, hang out with friends, maybe read a good book. For the latter activity, I recommend The Summer of Hammers and Angels, which is a delightful story about a girl whose summer begins badly. Very badly.
Delia is an only child who lives with her mother in a ramshackle house in the small town of Tucker's Ferry, West Virginia. They have no relatives, but Mama, who works hard at the local diner, has always been there for Delia even if her homemaking and maintenance skills are not quite up to community standards. Mama believes in being independent and equates praying with wishing to someone specific. But Delia finds herself wondering if prayers -- and even angels -- might help people when things go wrong.
And everything does go wrong after an inspector shows up and delivers a long list of repairs that must be done within nineteen days or their house will be condemned. While Mama is still reeling from the news, a storm as angry as she is punches a hole in the roof, and lightning strikes her, putting her into a coma. With her mother in the hospital, Delia must live with the neighbors, including their son, her classmate, Tommy, who is decidedly not her friend. Delia makes up her mind to fix up her house and embarks on this task with the help of her best friend, Mae. But how can two kids do this overwhelming job all alone?
Delia tells her story about this special summer in a distinct voice. Each character is brought to life through small but revealing details or appropriate similes. Mr. Parker, Tommy's dad, has callused hands. Her friend, Mae, flits from here to there like a soap bubble. Old Red's voice is like coarse sandpaper and his ancient dog is better than a Keep Out sign. The setting, too, feels real because of Delia's descriptions. Old Red's yard makes her think of a prison for flowers. The pool is a spot in the creek that's about twice as wide as a grandfather's clock and deep enough for hiding -- as long as you can hold your breath.
Although The Summer of Hammers and Angels contains some serious moments and thought-provoking issues, from the beginning readers will sense its underlying optimism expressed by Delia's old friend, Miss Martha from the post office. She tells Delia that she believes things will turn out right even though she can't know for sure. And she's going to go on believing as long as it takes.
Readers can decide for themselves what to think. Is it believing and praying that help Delia?. Or is Mama right about praying being no better than wishing? And what can happen when praying becomes asking?
Mama loves sunflowers because they are the hardest working flowers -- growing so tall and following the sun each day. And determined Delia proves to be a lot like a sunflower.