Summerlost

by Ally Condie

The first middle grade novel from internationally bestselling author Ally Condie comes to paperback.
 

It's the first real summer since the accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. 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 theatre 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. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar. 
 
Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching new novel from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy. Great for fans of Bridge to Terabithia and The Thing About Jellyfish.

“Kids are awesome. And they are diverse. There are children with different abilities and backgrounds and experiences, and every one of them deserves to find themselves in children's literature and to know that they matter.” –Ally Condie, on Summerlost
 
“Funny, sad, sweet, and heartwarming.” –Parents.com, Special Needs Now blog

★ "Condie is at her best . . . grabbing readers’ interest from the first page." —Publishers Weekly, starred review 

"A nuanced portrait of grief deeply grounded in the middle-school mind-set." —Booklist

"Honest, lovely, and sad." —Kirkus Reviews

★ "Thoughtful, poetic chapter endings guide readers new to psychological depth toward meaningful connections between plot events and thematic reflections." —BCCB, starred review

• ISBN10: 0399187219
• ISBN13: 9780399187216
• Publish Date: 9 May 2017 (first published 29 March 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Puffin
• Format: Paperback (US Digest)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399187216

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

A year after losing her brother and her father in a car accident, Cedar's family was still in the healing process. They return to her mother's hometown after buying a summer home, and Cedar becomes swept up in the Shakespeare as she forms a friendship with her neighbor, Leo. This friendship may have started as a distraction, but eventually leads to some healing for Cedar, her mother, and her brother, Miles.

You know about me and grief books - I LOVE them! This one really pulled at my heartstrings. Cedar was dealing with some really complicated feelings regarding her father and brother's death. From all the descriptions, it appears that her brother, Ben, was somewhere on the spectrum, and though she loved him, there were times he frustrated her, and she was left with some guilt about that after he died.

I thought the festival storyline, the tours, and the soap opera were all really fun parts of this story, but those moments, when Cedar would share a memory about her father or her brother were among my favorites. Many were beautiful and tender and warmed my heart, and I just couldn't get past what a tragedy this was for this family.

But this summer was good for Cedar and her family, as they were able to work through some of their feelings and come to terms with their new normal. Overall, I thought this was a very touching and heartwarming story, which I really enjoyed.

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[mrs_mander_reads]

This book is heart-wrenching. I love Condie's style, and was initially attracted to the book because of that. It didn't disappoint, but is so different from her Matched series. I recommend this for upper elementary and middle grade readers, especially those who may be dealing with loss. Cedar is so delicate in the way she talks about losing her dad and brother, and yet, she has knowledge about loss that I could never dream of. So, so good.

[Bianca]

The end is what people talk about. How they died. Why does the end always have to be what people talk about? Think about? Because it’s the last thing we knew of you. And it breaks our hearts because we can picture it. We don’t want to, and we know we might get it wrong, but we do. We can’t stop. Those last moments keep coming to our minds, awake, asleep. At the end, everyone is alone. You were alone.

— About grieving, growing up and healing. The family and friendship aspects are great, the "mystery" not so much. An okay read overall.

[sstaley]

This is a cute story with a mix of humor and very real issues dealing with sadness and grief.
It was all handled very well in the talented hands of Author Ally Condie.