Plot Summary: Summer's older sister Shannon was perfect. She was pretty and nice and smart as all get out. And then she died. Summer has always known she was her parent's replacement kid, they literally had her to replace Shannon and that's a lot for a kid to deal with. This summer things are differnt though, she's turning 17, the same age Shannon was when she died, and her aunt has given her the journals Shannon kept the summer before she died. As she reads the diaries and learns more about her sister, she finds out new things about her whole family, including some uncomfortable truths. Is there any way she can find peace in these journals or are they just going to bring her pain? Summer's waited so long to find out more about Shannon, but it seems she might have bitten off more than she can chew.
Critical Evaluation: This novel is nice overall, but relies on a bit of a heavy hand to get it's point across at times. In case the reader missed it Summer is an important time of discovery in the novel. Our protaganist is named Summer, it was Summer when Shannon died, it's Summer when Summer is learning about Shannon - it was all a little bit much. That anvil like touch on that point was a disappointment in commparison to the beautiful writing style and touching characters of the rest of the novel. Hopefully Hurley Deriso has gotten that out of her system and her future novels will let her storytelling do the heavy lifting. The premise of meeting your dead family member through their writings is not original, but the slant Hurley Deriso gives it makes it feel fresh. A lovely story if you can get past the summer of it all.
Reader's Annotation: Summer's always had to live in the shadow of her older sister Shannon, even though Shannon died before she was born. This summer though, things will be different, this summer she'll finally meet her sister.
About the Author: Christine Hurley Deriso lives in North Augusta, South Carolina with her husband and children, and she graduated from the University of Georgia College of Journalism in 1983.
She has written extensively for magazines and newspapers in addition to her fiction novels. She has also worked in public relations and marketing for Georgia Health Sciences University since 1988.
Information retreived from christinehurleyderiso.com
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Diary as personal artifact. Dealing with siblings.
Reading Level: 11+
Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why is This Included: An interesting take on the traditional teen overshadowed by sibling story.
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