Skip to main content

The Summer of May

Image
By Lauren
The Summer of May
By Cecelia Galante
Aladdin, 2011. 252 pages. Fiction.

May (short for Maeve) is an angry girl. Can you blame her? She's 13 years old, her mother is gone, and she's been ordered by the principal to attend summer school. She graffitied the dreaded Ms. Movado's classroom and, as punishment, has to repaint her room and study poetry all summer one on one with "Movado the Avocado." May's relationships with her grandmother and father are strained, and they all live separate lives though they reside together in a very small apartment. There is a great sense of pain, as they all react differently to May's mother's departure and May's subsequent outbursts. Olive, her even-tempered best friend, is the calm in the storm.

Much is revealed throughout the story, and there is some subtle foreshadowing as to the conclusion. May is flawed but her trouble-making is endearing. All the characters, including Movado the Avocado, contribute to her healing over this crazy summer. She's temperamental, but author Cecelia Galante eloquently writes a story that reveals the root of her pain. Possibly an early Newbery contender!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

By
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Enigma Girls

By
  The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma
Post a Comment
Read more

Books That Take You There: The Pond

By
 Spring, with its abundant rain, is the perfect time to talk about ponds and pond life. From the diverse reptiles, fish, and amphibians who live in the water itself to the vast array of birds, insects, and mammals who depend on them, ponds are an ever-changing and interesting ecosystem to observe and study. What is your favorite thing about ponds?  The Noisy Puddle: A Vernal Pool Through the Seasons Written by Linda Booth Sweeney Illustrated by Miki Sato  Toronto: Owlkids Books, 2024. Picture Book. A vernal pool, also known as an ephemeral pond, is a seasonal phenomenon that occurs when rainfall temporarily creates a wetland or pond. This beautifully collaged picture book follows a brother and sister as they observe one such pool through the seasons and how the area and wildlife changes with the weather. The Book of Turtles Written by Sy Montgomery  Illustrated by Matt Patterson New York: Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023. Informational.  While turtles are a we
Post a Comment
Read more