Eugene is remembering the summer of 1938 in Frenchtown, a time when he began to wonder “what I was doing here on the planet Earth.” Her...
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reviews
Aug 23, 2010
Patrice
rated it: 
GENRE: Fiction, realistic fiction, verse.
SUMMARY: Eugene experienced a busy summer. He had a paper route, got glasses, endeavored to learn more about his family, and visited the cemetery, among many other adventures. So much happens to Eugene during that summer, and he is hyper-aware of it all, from how his piano teacher smells to the few things that his older brother cares about.
EVALUATION: Written in verse and told through a first-person perspective, Frenchtown Summer t More...
SUMMARY: Eugene experienced a busy summer. He had a paper route, got glasses, endeavored to learn more about his family, and visited the cemetery, among many other adventures. So much happens to Eugene during that summer, and he is hyper-aware of it all, from how his piano teacher smells to the few things that his older brother cares about.
EVALUATION: Written in verse and told through a first-person perspective, Frenchtown Summer t More...
Nov 18, 2009
Charlotte
rated it:
poetry, coming-of-age
I stumbled across this book of free verse poetry written by Robert Cormier and didn't really know what to expect. Apart from the fact that this book is written in verse, the narrative style is different from Cormier's other work. Each chapter is a separate vignette about some aspect of the narrator's summer, so it's a little hard to piece together what this boy's life is really like. He has a brother and spends his summer exploring the areas around the Frenchtown More...
I stumbled across this book of free verse poetry written by Robert Cormier and didn't really know what to expect. Apart from the fact that this book is written in verse, the narrative style is different from Cormier's other work. Each chapter is a separate vignette about some aspect of the narrator's summer, so it's a little hard to piece together what this boy's life is really like. He has a brother and spends his summer exploring the areas around the Frenchtown More...
Jan 21, 2012
Josiah
rated it: 
Enter the world of Eugene, who, like many of the characters about whom author Robert Cormier writes, resides in the quiet recesses of Frenchtown. It's a town like most others in Massachusetts, populated by hard-working career men and filled with an assortment of secrets that simmer just below the surface.
Take a walk or two with young Eugene along his paper route as he observes the people around him in the habitats of their regular lives; nothing too fancy or unusual, for the most More...
Take a walk or two with young Eugene along his paper route as he observes the people around him in the habitats of their regular lives; nothing too fancy or unusual, for the most More...
Jun 12, 2010
Rob
rated it:
Young Eugene reminisces on the summer of '38 when he really began wondering about life, and the meaning of it. The verses in this poem paint vivid images of the places and people he encounters on his daily paper route.
I enjoyed this novel in verse. I felt like I could really relate to Cormier's poetic style. The poetry just made sense, and flowed very nicely. The story was interesting, but the psychology behind the characters is what makes this book truly wonderful to read. The More...
I enjoyed this novel in verse. I felt like I could really relate to Cormier's poetic style. The poetry just made sense, and flowed very nicely. The story was interesting, but the psychology behind the characters is what makes this book truly wonderful to read. The More...
Jan 11, 2011
Laurel
rated it:
This was an interesting, very quick book about a boy's summer in the 1930's (I believe), and his struggle to define his relationship with his father. It is written in verse form and has some beautiful writing. I have to give it four stars because I thought the writing was great, even though poetry isn't my thing so much. I really enjoyed how Robert Cormier used metaphors in his writing, and how the feel of the book did make me think it was a story being told by a young boy.
Apr 08, 2009
Chris
rated it:
While I wasn't sure about the whole poems-as-novel thing, Cormier still managed to do what every writer strives for: pull some emotion from these hardened bones.
There are a few moments in this book that are just gorgeous, some of which I wish were expanded upon. But all things considered, Cormier compacts a heartfelt story into these 113 pages, that are made even more sparse by the poem format.
Truly, Cormier is one of the better writers you've probably never heard of, and More...
There are a few moments in this book that are just gorgeous, some of which I wish were expanded upon. But all things considered, Cormier compacts a heartfelt story into these 113 pages, that are made even more sparse by the poem format.
Truly, Cormier is one of the better writers you've probably never heard of, and More...
Feb 25, 2010
Beth
rated it:
This book takes place in the summer of 1938. Eugene is a young boy, coming of age in a small MA town. The theme of the book is death and growing up. Each chapter is a vingette, in free-verse poetry form, of what Eugene observes about those around him.
Mar 16, 2010
Mrs. Revier
rated it: 
i am a HUGE Cormier fan but this one was just ok. i loved i am the cheese.
this is written in free verse which i usually really like.
this is written in free verse which i usually really like.
Sep 10, 2010
Wendy
rated it:
The uncle is a killer and the father is dysfunctional- explaining this to an eighth grader was harder than I thought!!
Nov 10, 2011
Kim
rated it:
Short lines of concentrated wording spin a deep story of family life from a snapshot in history.
May 21, 2010
Lindsey
rated it:
This is the story of summer in frenchtown. The comb factory is the center of life, and all the members of town work there. The story is told in poetry, so it is a different sort of read, but I found myself enjoying it nonetheless. There is not really a coherent plot to this novel, it is more like a collection of impressions throughout the summer. Since it is told through poetry the narrator can tell the sensory perceptions of his childhood summer, and even the terrible events that are portrayed
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