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Publisher’s synopsis:
It’s the first real summer since the devastating accident that killed Cedar’s father and younger brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theater festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. One: the mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. Two, the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar.
Summerlost is the middle-grade debut from Ally Condie, the author of the Matched series, that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.
My Review:
3.75/5 stars. This is a simple and cute story, but it’s almost too simple. There are a lot of emotional themes, but it lacks the emotional depth I think the author was going for. You could chalk it up to being middle grade, but I’ve read some great middle-grade novels that are very emotionally rich. I liked the disability representation in this story, though. It’s not a major plot point, but it’s very important to who the main character is.
My favorite part of this book is how personal the narrator’s voice is. It really felt like I was hearing a 12-year-old girl talk. The way she describes things is simple and funny, yet still carries the weight of someone who’s experienced tragic loss at a young age.
As I already mentioned, disability representation is always great. It’s not explicitly stated in the story, but the main girl had a younger brother with autism. It’s not portrayed as a negative thing, but it also points out that there are a lot of challenges to it sometimes. It is very realistic in that way.
The plot is charming, about two kids becoming friends in a cozy, summer atmosphere. Summerlost is not an edge-of-your-seat adventure, but it wasn’t supposed to be. It was supposed to be a fun middle-grade story, and that’s exactly what it is. A little bit lacking in depth, but still good.
Rated: None
