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70th out of 119 books
—
316 voters
What Dies in Summer
by
Tom Wright
Jim has a touch of the sight. It's generally useless--until the summer his cousin moves in with him and their grandmother. When they discover the body of a girl--brutally raped and murdered--an investigation begins that will put both their lives in danger.
Paperback
Published
June 4th 2012
by Canongate Books
(first published May 1st 2012)
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A slow paced poignant story of loss and the innocence of a boy Jim. He narrates to you the trials and tribulations that he faces and how they prove to be testing. He does feel an air of failure about himself, a naive boy at heart not highly intelligent. He posses more than the average strain of innocence and kindness for a man. Unspeakable horrors are brought to him and deaths arise. Amongst all the failure he feels he's had, he does prove to do an act that he can look back at as an achievement...more
Tom Wright’s debut novel chronicles one summer in the life of Jim Bonham, who lives in Texas with his grandmother (having been estranged from his mother and her current partner, and his father having passed away), and has frequent visions of a dead girl standing by his bed. At the start of the novel, Jim finds his cousinL.A.(Lee Ann) sitting, shaking on the porch; she becomes part of his and Gram’s household, and what happened to her will be revealed over the coming months. That summer will also...more
‘I woke up in a cold sweat, knowing for a definite fact that death was a teenage girl and that she had been standing silently by my bed during the night…’ Jim Beaudry, or Biscuit as he’s known, is a teenage boy trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble has a way of finding him. Especially after his cousin L.A. turns up on his doorstep to live with him and his Grandmother.
When one summer afternoon Biscuit and L.A. discover the body of a teenage girl in the Texas wilderness, an investigation begi...more
When one summer afternoon Biscuit and L.A. discover the body of a teenage girl in the Texas wilderness, an investigation begi...more
This book spends much of its time being a charming, coming of age story about a boy and his cousin growing up in Texas decades ago. It is extremely well written, and the voice of James(the boy in question and the narrator) is distinct and engaging. There is absolutely no problem with picking this book up and getting lost in the world.
The bones of the plot, however, are lacking. The real thrust of the story is the mystery of a serial killer bent on murdering young girls, even while James' cousin-...more
The bones of the plot, however, are lacking. The real thrust of the story is the mystery of a serial killer bent on murdering young girls, even while James' cousin-...more
Here's the review I submitted for my library's book-reading club. We read books pre-publication and offer recommendations to the librarian for purchasing them.
The author, Tom Wright, who is a practicing psychologist, seems to be a writer in search of a believable plot line. The reader gets the feeling that Mr. Wright has spent many years studying psychological profiles and thinks it would be a simple task to put them altogether in a Southern coming-of-age novel. Add in some backwoods gospel, an...more
The author, Tom Wright, who is a practicing psychologist, seems to be a writer in search of a believable plot line. The reader gets the feeling that Mr. Wright has spent many years studying psychological profiles and thinks it would be a simple task to put them altogether in a Southern coming-of-age novel. Add in some backwoods gospel, an...more
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It was a slow burner to be sure. I liked the narrator but the book seemed to pull its punches a bit too often. Yes there were some horrific things that happened in the story and to the characters but it almost seems as though the author shied away from these moments once they arrived. Perhaps I'm used to authors like Gillian Flynn, who goes stomping toward the horror with big black boots, but this seemed too gentle, even as grotesque or unspeakable things are happening.
The writing style was lush...more
The writing style was lush...more
I seem to have enjoyed this more than previous reviewers. I've noticed many referring to the serial killer storyline but to focus on that detracts from the real story which is the central character's development and loss of innocence.
Biscuit has had a difficult life, his Mum is alive but he lives with his Gram and shortly his cousin L.A joins them. Along with his girlfriend Diane these are 3 main people in Biscuit's life and it's his conflicted feelings about being the only man and protector whi...more
Biscuit has had a difficult life, his Mum is alive but he lives with his Gram and shortly his cousin L.A joins them. Along with his girlfriend Diane these are 3 main people in Biscuit's life and it's his conflicted feelings about being the only man and protector whi...more
Jul 23, 2012
Heather Boustead
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
audiobook,
crime,
drama,
horror,
mature-young-adult,
mystery,
romance,
thriller,
suspense,
paranormal
What Dies in Summer
By Tom Wright
Jim Beaudry is a teenage boy whose dreams are haunted by a young woman, a dead young woman. One day Jim and his cousin L.A. stumble upon the dead body of the girl that has been haunting Jim’s dreams she had been brutally raped and murdered. Over the course of one summer these teenagers who have been through so much in their short lives find out that there is more hell that they must eventually endure.
Tom Wright creates two characters whose lives are so troubled t...more
By Tom Wright
Jim Beaudry is a teenage boy whose dreams are haunted by a young woman, a dead young woman. One day Jim and his cousin L.A. stumble upon the dead body of the girl that has been haunting Jim’s dreams she had been brutally raped and murdered. Over the course of one summer these teenagers who have been through so much in their short lives find out that there is more hell that they must eventually endure.
Tom Wright creates two characters whose lives are so troubled t...more
Wow! This book starts out like an innocent, small town, memoir and escalates into a serious triple murder with heavy incestous tones. The point of view is first person told by a Jim, more commonly known as Biscuit, who lives in 1970s Texas. Biscuit has a touch of what his grandmother calls "the sight." The inciting force is when his first cousin, L. A., moves in with him and their grandmother. Their mothers are sisters, Grandmother's daughters, and right away you realize something must be wrong...more
I debated if I should give this book 3 or 4 stars. I wish there were half star increments. I chose 3 because there were some things about this book that weakened it IMO. The character of L.A. was very vague. More should have been done to build upon this character; to let us into her mind a bit. She always was a bit of a mystery and seemed very detached and uninteresting. As such it was kind of hard to care about her. You only cared at all because the main character, her cousin, cared so much. Ma...more
A long hot summer casts long dark shadows. And dark shadows hide pitch black secrets.
And there are plenty of shadows cast over Biscuit, a teenage boy who lives with his grandmother. His father is dead and his mother is shacked up with a violent thug. And then his cousin arrives in a state of distress, not saying why she has run away from home.
As the sweltering, hazy summer stretches out to snapping point, we find out more about Biscuit, L.A. and their fragile adolescent world. And the secrets th...more
And there are plenty of shadows cast over Biscuit, a teenage boy who lives with his grandmother. His father is dead and his mother is shacked up with a violent thug. And then his cousin arrives in a state of distress, not saying why she has run away from home.
As the sweltering, hazy summer stretches out to snapping point, we find out more about Biscuit, L.A. and their fragile adolescent world. And the secrets th...more
The story is narrated by Biscuit, a teenage boy from Oak Cliff, Texas, who tells us about the summer he and his cousin LA found the raped and mutilated body of a young girl. It soon it emerges that the girl is not her killer's first victim, nor, it seems, will she be the last if Biscuit’s psychic visions are to be believed. The race is on to find the killer before he claims another life.
Biscuit and his cousin LA, live with their grandmother, both families broken by abuse and violence. You do beg...more
Biscuit and his cousin LA, live with their grandmother, both families broken by abuse and violence. You do beg...more
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Feb 04, 2013
Danielle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in the real challenges facing the youth of society
I really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down over a long weekend and was hooked from the start by the story of this dysfunctional family and the clear narrative voice of the young man at its core. Biscuit is every teenage boy you've ever known in so many ways, but his life has been far from conventional and he has a feeling it's only going to get worse. Throughout the novel he tells us he's both physically and mentally inadequate to cope with the pressure of his circumstances but in reality...more
Biscuit lives with his Gram and his cousin L.A. In Oak Cliff, Texas. He supposedly has inherited the Sight and gets flashes of visions or disturbing dreams. The summer he and L.A. Discover the body of a teenage girl, he realises he has been seeing her at his bedside. The girl had clearly been tortured and the community is on tenterhooks as the summer heat increases.
It takes a long time for anything to really happen. There are quite a lot of characters in Biscuit's extended family to be introduce...more
It takes a long time for anything to really happen. There are quite a lot of characters in Biscuit's extended family to be introduce...more
Innocence...that is the answer...at least I think it is. What Dies in Summer is told from Tom's point of view. He tells us of the summer when he and his cousin find a dead body and what happens next. He also tells us a whole bunch of stuff that just seemed irrelevant to the story. I liked Tom's character. For a teenager, he is a pretty good kid, but he is also very innocent. That is what makes this book good. It is the story of how he learns more about the world. The sad part is the way in which...more
This was one of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time. Not for the faint of heart, it grapples with issues of child physical and sexual abuse, and the reactions of adults to it, all told from the point of view of an adolescent boy in 1970 Texas.
Why do children accept abuse and protect their tormentors; how to adults who should know NOT know; are things any different or better now that the subject is not so taboo? Not one of the easiest books to read, but I thought it was extremely w...more
Why do children accept abuse and protect their tormentors; how to adults who should know NOT know; are things any different or better now that the subject is not so taboo? Not one of the easiest books to read, but I thought it was extremely w...more
Wow! What a wild ride of a book! A little like To Kill a Mockingbird, a little like Member of the Wedding - this book takes place in the area of Dallas, Texas. Cousins Jim (aka Biscuit) and L.A. (Lee Ann) live with Gram - L.A. has a deep dark secret and Jim just wants to learn more about girls. Their discovery of a dead girl leads to an explosive ending which changes both of them forever. There are several deaths in this story but the death of innocence is the one mourned and celebrated at once....more
Hmm. I feel guilty giving this 2 stars, since it just came out and it's a 1st novel by a new author and it wasn't terrible. But there were a lot of problems with it.
There was a lot to like about this book- it was very evocative of a haunting time and place, with some deliciously creepy moments to it. It was simultaneously a thriller/mystery and loss of innocence/coming of age novel, but didn't really succeed at either. Ultimately the plot was too loose and the writing too weak for me to conside...more
There was a lot to like about this book- it was very evocative of a haunting time and place, with some deliciously creepy moments to it. It was simultaneously a thriller/mystery and loss of innocence/coming of age novel, but didn't really succeed at either. Ultimately the plot was too loose and the writing too weak for me to conside...more
Sometimes I wonder why we all do this - review books, I mean. All these opinions floating out there in the ether. Do they help people find books to read? Do books that deserve to sell really sell more if we say we liked them? Fortunately, whenever I start wondering that too much a book like What Dies in Summer comes along and I remember why I do this - I like blathering about books and I really like it when I find a debut author who impresses me.
What Dies in Summer almost immediately reminded me...more
What Dies in Summer almost immediately reminded me...more
Jun 20, 2012
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
crime fiction and horror readers
Original review posted at Layers of Thought.
With a down-to-earth writing style and in-depth human insight, this page-turning crime fiction novel is a quintessential summer read for those who like dark paranormal twists and a Southern Gothic flavor to their novels.
About: In a Southern town during the early 1970’s, a young teenage boy named Jim (aka Biscuit) lives with his grandmother after his stepfather has beaten him badly enough to leave him in the hospital; and it’s not the first time. When h...more
With a down-to-earth writing style and in-depth human insight, this page-turning crime fiction novel is a quintessential summer read for those who like dark paranormal twists and a Southern Gothic flavor to their novels.
About: In a Southern town during the early 1970’s, a young teenage boy named Jim (aka Biscuit) lives with his grandmother after his stepfather has beaten him badly enough to leave him in the hospital; and it’s not the first time. When h...more
A serial killer is stalking young women, and Biscuit, a.k.a Jim, and L.A., a.k.a. Lee Ann are closer to the killer than they know. As cousins, L.A. and Bis are close as siblings when they are both adopted into the care of their Gram, who is the steadying and loving influence in both their lives. Bis has the gift of foresight and sees these tortured young women, hears their voices, and knows the killer is near. It is Bis and L.A. who ultimately discover the rapist/killer in this coming-of-age sto...more
This book had such gruesome details of the murders of young girls that I would have stopped reading had I not wanted to know the ending. What's up with this being a major plot line over the last 10 years or so? Reading this book was like reading a Stephen King novel: a series of bad events happening to unfortunate people. The redeeming thing was the depth of the good characters: Biscuit, the protagonist; his grandmother; her friend, the physicists; Dan, the cop; and, Biscuit's cousin L.A.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I loved this. Tom Wright uses first person to tell this story of Biscuit, or James, and his summer with his cousin L.A. and his other friends. There is a killer in the community, and L.A. has secrets that she will not share, and Biscuit struggles to understand the female mind, support L.A., love Diane, and protect himself, his Gram, and L.A. against the various threats from family and the unknown. Wright's descriptive prose hooked me just as much as the story did.
This is a novel in the same vein as Stand by Me, or The Lovely Bones…it is narrated by “Biscuit” one of two cousins who are living with their grandmother. He recounts the details of their living situation, their family life and what happens as they leave their innocence behind (both by choice and by force) in a small Texas town over the course of one summer. This is part thriller, part teenage memoir. It’s well written and a quick read.
I really enjoyed this book. I'll grant you, the plotline can be a bit of a mess at times, but there are some excruciatingly lovely passages of writing throughout, where complicated sensations and emotions are described with deceptive simplicity. It actually brought tears to my eyes a few times, particularly in the passages with Dr. Kemp (Kemper? I can't quite recall exactly) as she's in her decline. I'll read whatever Wright puts out next!
I really enjoyed the book, in fact I found it hard to put down. I thought the story line was very engaging, and the characters well developed. Biscuit and LA are both very believable characters that were raised in disfunctional homes. The addition of the "second sight" that Biscuit possessed added an even more interesting element. I would recommended it! In fact if there was a 4.5 I would probably rate it that way.
I wasn't impressed with this book at all. The writer goes all out for detail on gory bits but the rest of the narrative is lacking and the characters and plot are not well developed. He also has an annoying habit of describing half of the female characters as "smart" ( why do we need to be told this??? if the character is well developed we would pick this up ourselves!) and the other half are dead bodies mmm.....
One of those beautifully sad, simply complex kind of books. Had I been reading instead of listening, it surely would have been a page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed the moments of simple profundity that only a teenage boy character seems to have. Mostly though, the book was scary and sad. It's the kind of book that makes you wish these real-life monsters could and would be confined to fiction for the sake of humanity. But this book reminds us that humanity is flawed, sometimes beyond repair.
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| What did I miss???? | 1 | 4 | Nov 05, 2012 06:54pm |
Tom Wright is a practicing psychologist and received his doctorate from Texas A&M University. What Dies in Summer is his first book. He lives in Texarkana, Texas.
More about Tom Wright...
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