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29th out of 59 books
—
45 voters
My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer
by
Jennifer Gennari (Goodreads Author)
Twelve-year-old June Farrell is sure of one thing—she’s great at making pies—and she
plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition.
But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security
and their business. Even when faced with bullying, June won’t give up on winning the
blue ribbon; more importantly, she won’...more
plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition.
But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security
and their business. Even when faced with bullying, June won’t give up on winning the
blue ribbon; more importantly, she won’...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
May 8th 2012
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
(first published May 7th 2012)
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3 1/2 stars. This book feels like an issue book with a story wrapped around it. However, I do understand that this is an important issue and that we need books like this available. And, for what it's worth, I even enjoyed the story. June puts a face on this issue. She's a normal little girl caught in the middle of an ugly fight where a lot of adults who ought to know better act like bratty, I-will-get-my-own-way children. So here's the problem. Gay rights is the civil rights issue of this genera...more
My manager came to me with this book and said he'd written a review of it for the library system's magazine, and it was turned down because of the subject matter. WHAT?!? This book features a librarian as one of the main positive and accepting adult figures, and the library system is shutting it down? Because it's about gay marriage? Oh, I am so ashamed! I know it's Oklahoma, and people here are homophobic (way more than Vermont, which is where the story takes place). But still! Libraries and li...more
Although the book has aspects that are a tad didactic and some of the disharmony is resolved too easily, I still enjoyed this title, in part because of its honesty and in part because of its exploration of a topic not often tackled in books for middle graders. June and her mother have lived happily on Lake Champlain in Vermont all of their lives. But now that Eva, her mother's significant other, has moved in, and the two women plan to wed, everything seems to change. As the women's relationship...more
It's difficult to find good LGBTQ themed books for middle school students, so I was excited when a bookseller gave me an advanced copy of this at NCTE last month (publication date 2012). The story: All twelve-year-old June wants is to enter her first pie in the regional summer fair. Her efforts are complicated, however, when a local group begins to protest Vermont's new law permitting civil unions. At first June tries to ignore what's happening, but when the group's actions start affecting her f...more
This is the first middle grade book I've read that discusses the marriage of two women and the discrimination and prejudice they face. The story is told by June, a 12 year-old, who lives with her mother and her mother's fiance in Vermont. June is not sure how she feels about her mother marrying Eva, and she isn't sure what to think about all of the flyers being stapled around town by those who are against same sex civil unions. June is also an accomplished pie baker who desires to enter (and win...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Twelve-year-old June Farrell's life isn't complicated. She swims and boats in Lake Champlain with her friend Luke, helps her mom at the Stillwater Marina Shop, and plans to win this year's pie-baking contest at the Champlain Valley Fair. However, when her mom's girlfriend Eva moves in, June finds herself unwillingly drawn into the controversy over Vermont's new civil union law -- a controversy that divides communities, families, and even June's own mind.
Set in the summer of 2000, when the Vermon...more
Set in the summer of 2000, when the Vermon...more
June has lived on Lake Champlain with her mother forever. They run the marina with its supplies and café. That’s where June learned to make pies, and she is determined to enter the fair this summer to prove what a great baker she is. But this summer is going to be very different from other summers. First, her mother’s girlfriend has moved in with them. Then there is the pressure from Vermont’s new civil union law that has their small town divided. There are people who won’t shop at the marina an...more
A tiny bit didactic at times, this tells the story of 12-year-old June whose life changes over the summer. It has always been June and her mother until Eva, her mother's girlfriend, moves in. Her mother and Eva tell June they will be getting married. Vermont law recently changed to allow this but local opinion is divided and this affects June as her mother's business is boycotted and friendships are strained. Some of June's feelings are typical (stereotypical?) anti-stepparent while she also is...more
Things I liked:
~Realistic portrayal of some of the attitudes and discrimination towards gay people.
~Realistic (I thought) portrayal of a girl whose mom is marrying a woman and adding a stepparent to the family. June has total mixed-feelings about it the way I'd expect a kid to feel about their single parent marrying anybody, regardless of gender. Sometimes June hated that someone else was going to be part of her family when she and her mom had been doing fine by themselves. Sometimes June wishes...more
~Realistic portrayal of some of the attitudes and discrimination towards gay people.
~Realistic (I thought) portrayal of a girl whose mom is marrying a woman and adding a stepparent to the family. June has total mixed-feelings about it the way I'd expect a kid to feel about their single parent marrying anybody, regardless of gender. Sometimes June hated that someone else was going to be part of her family when she and her mom had been doing fine by themselves. Sometimes June wishes...more
Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...
June Farrell is 12 years old wants this summer to be perfect. She is going to spend her time with her best friend Luke, swimming and boating, and entering her delicious pies into the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But this summer was more than she bargained for. Everything changes for June when her mother's girlfriend Eva moves in with them and they decide to get married as Vermont has just passed civil unions.
My Mixed-Up Berry Blue S...more
June Farrell is 12 years old wants this summer to be perfect. She is going to spend her time with her best friend Luke, swimming and boating, and entering her delicious pies into the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But this summer was more than she bargained for. Everything changes for June when her mother's girlfriend Eva moves in with them and they decide to get married as Vermont has just passed civil unions.
My Mixed-Up Berry Blue S...more
Hmph. I only read the first line from the jacket flap (see above) when I took this out of the library, and was expecting something about summer adventures and pie-baking, all light-hearted and whatnot, not an Issues book about a girl with two moms. It IS quite issue-driven, with a couple of seriously out-of-step scenes (I really think only the craziest of the crazy think two lesbians can give each other AIDS, not regular people), but better than most books I've read with this theme. It's a prett...more
Twelve-year-old June looks forward to another summer on Lake Champlain, but her mother's plans to marry her girlfriend, Eva, cause trouble in their small Vermont town.
Many children face the same issues in their own families and I am grateful there is a MG novel about civil union laws and the prejudice many gay couples and their children endure. I think any reader can learn from this book's message about tolerance, family, and community.
A few of the word choices (particularly the hate speech on s...more
Many children face the same issues in their own families and I am grateful there is a MG novel about civil union laws and the prejudice many gay couples and their children endure. I think any reader can learn from this book's message about tolerance, family, and community.
A few of the word choices (particularly the hate speech on s...more
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First of all, kudos to the author and publisher for writing abook on marriage rights for school age children. I almost gave the book a three because I didn't want to come down on a book that was on a topic that is so important to me. In the end, I had to be true to my literary gut though. The book is ok, but it has no magic, no shivers, no character development, nothing to make the reader feel the stakes here. Kids might read it if they have to read an "issue" book for an assigment, because it i...more
June is a fairly typical country/lake side type of twelve year-old. She worries about people making fun of her and she's good at baking pies. In fact she wants to enter the contest at the fair. Her mother is a single parent and owner/manager of a marina shop. June has some typical angst to deal with relating to her age and peers and then she has a-typical problems also. First her Mom has a new partner living with them and then she has a new step-parent to make matters worse - it is a same sex ma...more
I thought this was a sweet story, but like a friend suggested, it may be trying a bit too hard to address issues typically not seen in a book for upper elementary school. Some of the cute (sweet?) parts like the pie baking may be a little too cute (sweet?) but they lead to interesting adventures in looking for berries and the social aspects related to competition and same-sex marriage. I was a little surprised to find that much opposition to June's mom's marriage in Vermont but I guess that even...more
Aug 06, 2012
Nicole
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young middle grade girls
Shelves:
middle-grade,
lgbt-etc
Quite well done, I say, and not just because one friend was the editor and another the cover illustrator! (Was that bragging? Indeed it was!)
This was a pitch perfect middle grade family fiction selection. You have a girl who wants to be older and more independent, you have a male best friend on the verge of being more (maybe?), you have some parental tensions but ultimately you know that the parent(s) love said girl. Oh, right, and you have a legal and social battle over gay marriage splitting t...more
This was a pitch perfect middle grade family fiction selection. You have a girl who wants to be older and more independent, you have a male best friend on the verge of being more (maybe?), you have some parental tensions but ultimately you know that the parent(s) love said girl. Oh, right, and you have a legal and social battle over gay marriage splitting t...more
In My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari, June Farrell just wants to bake pies and hang out with her best friend. Instead she has to contend with her mother wanting to get married to her longtime girl friend and the neighbors taking sides against civil unions for same sex couples.
June spends a good chunk of this novel bouncing between anger and fear. Her anger is directed not only at the friends and neighbors she feels has betrayed her and her mother, but also at Eva, her soon to be...more
June spends a good chunk of this novel bouncing between anger and fear. Her anger is directed not only at the friends and neighbors she feels has betrayed her and her mother, but also at Eva, her soon to be...more
I agree with most the reviews on this site. I read this as the Amendment 1 vote was happening in NC. This book is certainly timely and will generate much discussion with regards to tolerance, family, discrimination, friendship, and love. This book kept my attention the entire way through. (Side note: I will make the prize winning pie!)
Good story about a girl coming to terms with her mother's partner and the state of Vermont's civil union law. Deals with prejudice against and acceptance of homosexuality. Wished there were some author note about her inspiration for writing the story. I enjoy knowing where author's ideas come from.
It's refreshing to find a book that's exactly the right length. This slim volume follows the main character's struggle with understanding and accepting her mom's pending wedding to another woman. People in the community are kind and awful, by turns, and all the main character wants to do is just bake a tasty pie.
This story of a young girl living in Vermont in 2000, when the legalization of same-sex marriage was an issue, is quite applicable to life in Minnesota in 2012. Highly recommended to children in LGBT families and to anyone who wants to know what it might be like to be.
The message almost overwhelmed the story. I got irritated at June's mom for being oblivious. The portrayal of rural life, small business, and country fairs is authentic. I might not have been as devoted to finishing had there not been blueberries involved.
Twelve-year-old June's biggest worry is winning the pie competition at the fair until her mom and girlfriend decide to get married under Vermont's new civil union law and become the object of prejudice. A great debut novel deftly tackling a timely subject.
June's mom is getting ready to marry her girlfriend and some people in their small lake-side Vermont town are not happy. A good realistic fiction book about friendship and standing up for what's right. Could be used for PCC moral courage
I liked this - it is, perhaps, a tad predictable in its plot and the way things get wrapped up. But it's a sweet easy read and I'm glad a book exists on this topic for this age group.
It's very rare to find a book that is based in queer issues for mg readers. Quite sweet with believable family and town issues. Also, a pie recipe is included.
Hot dang, this one was good for a book about pie and if you know how muchI hate pie, you know how much that means. So good. Longer review to come.
Not chosen for its relation to my Family Law class, but oddly in sync with the syllabus: considerations of gay marriage and societal views on custody of children by gay couples as observed from the eyes of the child.
Overall, I think this book provides a valuable reading experience for kids dealing with prejudice and hatred toward their own families, and perhaps also a lesson for kids who might repeat hateful comments they hear in their own homes. The message took over the story for me, and felt kind of heavy-handed at times, which is too bad, but I think this author has a wonderful way with words, and I’m looking to forward to seeing what else she might write in the future.
Read my full review on my blog: ht...more
Read my full review on my blog: ht...more
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Hi!
I haven't been able to give up Goodreads, so I've made a couple of rules about being here. One, buy your books from independent bookstores or support your local library! Two, I only give between three and five star reviews because telling a story, however it comes out, is hard and good work.
Here's what you should know about me:
• If there is water (ocean, pool, river, lake), I am jumping in
• I l...more
More about Jennifer Gennari...
I haven't been able to give up Goodreads, so I've made a couple of rules about being here. One, buy your books from independent bookstores or support your local library! Two, I only give between three and five star reviews because telling a story, however it comes out, is hard and good work.
Here's what you should know about me:
• If there is water (ocean, pool, river, lake), I am jumping in
• I l...more
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