The cottage on the lake is always the same, but Luke is changing. At thirteen he’s excited. At fourteen he’s cool. At fifteen he’...
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Jan 28, 2012
Jodi
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Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers follows Luke from ages 13-16 as his family makes their annual trip to their summer home. Each summer, Luke's family will spend 2 weeks at the lake and for Luke at 13, that's nowhere near long enough. He would stay all year if his parents could afford it. However, as Luke ages, he begins to dread the annual trip there. Suddenly what once seemed magical is boring. Where he once loved the isolation, he soon grows frustrated with the lack of cell ph
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Nov 09, 2008
Katharine
rated it:
"The cottage on the lake is always the same.
But Luke is changing. At 13 he's excited. At 14 he's cool. At 15 he's pissed off. At 16 he's in love."
That's the premise. Cute idea, a little slow getting into it, but pretty decent by the end.
But Luke is changing. At 13 he's excited. At 14 he's cool. At 15 he's pissed off. At 16 he's in love."
That's the premise. Cute idea, a little slow getting into it, but pretty decent by the end.
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Dec 04, 2011
This book is not something I would normally read. I was intrigued by the title and that is why I chose to read it. The story tells of a boy named Luke. He is 13 at the beginning of the novel and as the novel progresses he comes to the age of 16. The story tells of his family's summer trips to their cottage and portrays how he grows each summer that he visits. His reactions to his life and environment change over time. The writing sytle is particularly good, although slightly flawed, but
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Jun 02, 2009
Kelly
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I really liked this book. Runyon again delivers a book about teen males which is not cliched and very definitely focuses on what is important to teen males. (yes, sex, etc.) What makes this different is that Lucas, the main character, is seen over a four year period of time - like vignettes - from age 13 - 16. What I especially like about the book are the everyday-ordinary-life-events and topics. And the novel's cohesiveness works - each stage of Lucas' life revolve around the family's annual su
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Sep 21, 2009
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
Luke's parents own a cottage by the lake, and his family has been coming there for two weeks every summer ever since they moved out of the area.
When Luke is 13, he's extremely excited to be back at his most favorite place in the world. Running over the rocks on their beach, climbing the creek up to the waterfall, and fishing in the pond by the dairy farm... Each of these experiences holds a memory for him, but none seem to More...
Luke's parents own a cottage by the lake, and his family has been coming there for two weeks every summer ever since they moved out of the area.
When Luke is 13, he's extremely excited to be back at his most favorite place in the world. Running over the rocks on their beach, climbing the creek up to the waterfall, and fishing in the pond by the dairy farm... Each of these experiences holds a memory for him, but none seem to More...
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Jun 02, 2009
Sandy
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This was kind of a cool book. I loved seeing the passage of time and how Luke reacts to his family's annual summer vacation differently as time goes on. There isn't exactly an ongoing plot to be resolved in this book, so you won't close it with a satisfying sigh at the end, but this is a pretty good snapshot and how while some things are constantly changing, some things always stay the same.
I was slightly bothered that at the age of 13, our main character swore just as much as he d More...
I was slightly bothered that at the age of 13, our main character swore just as much as he d More...
Feb 16, 2011
Karilibrary
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- amazon descrip: The cottage on the lake is always the same, but Luke is changing. At thirteen he s excited. At fourteen he s cool. At fifteen he s pissed off. At sixteen he s in love.[return][return]Through four summers worth of trips to the emergency room, campfires and house fires, parties and feuds with neighbors, Luke is doing his best to navigate life. He makes discoveries, makes mistakes, freaks out, and comes to see things in a new light. [return][return]Brent Runyon has crafted
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Sep 19, 2011
Beth
rated it: 
I expected more. This story spans 4 summers of a teenage boy's life, and I suppose I was looking for something that never surfaced by the end of this book. Not sure what I was exactly looking for though.
As an aside, I was totally confused about when this book took place. There were references to ET posters in his room and that his parents were children of the 1960s, so I was thinking mid-1980s was the timeline for the story. If your parents were children of the 1960s (think Fam More...
As an aside, I was totally confused about when this book took place. There were references to ET posters in his room and that his parents were children of the 1960s, so I was thinking mid-1980s was the timeline for the story. If your parents were children of the 1960s (think Fam More...
Jun 03, 2009
Paige
rated it:
At first, I didn't think I liked this book. After some reflection, though, I realized each part left me with distinct feelings about a memorable episode the main character experiences. For 13-year-old Luke, I felt fear as he desperately tried to retrieve his favorite fishing lure only to be bitten by a snapping turtle. I felt 14-year-old Luke's bewilderment about being around Eliza and trying to make sense of how to react around her. Felt mad at 15-year-old Luke for turning into such a jerk w
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Jan 09, 2010
Zumana
rated it:
This is an interesting book about how a young boy grows up into adulthood. The protagonist is Luke, and he is thirteen years old in the beginning. As the books goes on, Luke becomes sixteen years old. It is amazing to see how he goes through so many different changes in his life. Luke and his family always take a trip to a cottage near a lake in the summer, and they leave on his birthday. I really enjoyed reading about all his experiences, and I am sure that some teenagers can relate to his thou
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Jan 25, 2010
TheSaint
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What worked for me in Runyon's third literary endeavor is that the voice of Luke seemed so authentic. And this is important because of the setting. In fact, I can't think of a recent YA novel in which both the time and place play such an important role. Because we only know Luke from the two week vacations he takes with his parents, the reader is tasked with filling in the blanks for the other 11 1/2 months. A ballsy move for an author.
And yes, Luke becomes more foul-mouthed the older he More...
And yes, Luke becomes more foul-mouthed the older he More...
Oct 02, 2009
Thomas
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"Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers" is about Lucas, a normal causcasian teenage male who goes to his family's little cottage every summer. The book shows him and how he progresses through the summers of ages 13-16. At age thirteen he is just a developing young man. At fourteen puberty is beggining to take a toll on him. At fifteen he starts to become angry and disconnected. And at sixteen, the world seems to be falling apart at the hands of love.
Well, as a teenage bo More...
Well, as a teenage bo More...
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Nov 16, 2009
Anne
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Luke's family has a cottage on the lake and they go their every summer for vacation. They do lots of fun things: go for ice cream, hike to a waterfall, fish, swim, read and relax... It's a great place; one of Luke's favorites.
Each summer is different though, especially when you are between the ages of 13-16. This story covers those four summers, skillfully changing Luke's voice to accurately portray what a boy that age might actually do, say, and think. However, certain events we More...
Each summer is different though, especially when you are between the ages of 13-16. This story covers those four summers, skillfully changing Luke's voice to accurately portray what a boy that age might actually do, say, and think. However, certain events we More...
Aug 04, 2009
Anna
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From the author of The Burn Journals, this is a fantastic concept...showing a teen boy over the the four summers he spends at his family's cabin. Unfortunately, I got really stuck on a few things. It's set modern day (he mentions ear buds and Jackass), yet the teen mentions his mom and dad protested the Vietnam War and marched for Civil Rights. Did I miss something? They don't seem to be in their 60s. Added to that, sometimes the dialogue felt stilted and unnatural. I really wanted to like thi
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Jan 11, 2011
Carrie
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When Luke is thirteen, he can’t wait until his family vacation at their lake cottage. There are so many things he wants to do – swimming, skipping stones, visiting the waterfall – and only a few weeks to do them. The next summer, he’s too cool to do anything and bored with everything. The summer after that, he’s angry. And after that, in love. Four short vignettes chronicle the attitude and emotions of the same boy at different times in his life. Runyon captures both the excitement of vaca
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Nov 04, 2009
Melissa
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Surface Tension by Brent Runyon (Knopf). In this novel told in four summers, Luke goes from 13-16 years old, and we follow him on a two-week vacation at a family lake cottage every year. Runyon’s teen-boy voice is pitch perfect (well, I think it is anyway), and the nuances of each summer are alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. That’s vague and reviewery, I know, but it’s hard to nail down a plot on this one--it’s just a fantastic read, full of honest emotion.
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Oct 05, 2009
Donna
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This novel is about Luke, and the summers he spends at his family's cottage by the lake when he is 13, then 14, 15, and 16. The author really captures the essence of the teen years for Luke (told in the first person), and his coming of age as he changes from being excited about his two weeks at the lake to becoming a little less enchanted by the same things that used to excite him when he was younger.
Brent Runyon is also the author of The Burn Journals.
Brent Runyon is also the author of The Burn Journals.
May 30, 2009
Keri
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I've been reading some of Landon's young adult fiction, and I must say it's a sweet break. Landon read this book in two nights. I think it took me three nights. A sweet study of growing up from a boy's perspective. There are 4 chapters..age 13-age 16. I must admit it made me a little sad that the inevitable will happen and my own son will someday be focused on boners and boobs more than the innocent joy of spending time in nature with his parents.
Feb 12, 2009
Emily
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Nothing stays the same. Every summer, Luke and his parents enjoy a two week vacation at their cabin on the lake. The story of four summers develops as Luke does: at thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. From early teen excitedness to mid-teen pretension, Runyon offers a pleasant portrait of how age influences our outlook on life. Friends, parents, girls… Luke deals with the expected unexpectedness of everyday life. Like Runyon’s earlier work, our protagonist is drawn as a likeable and re
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Apr 11, 2011
Sam
rated it:
This book was pretty good. It was about a boy named Luke, and the book was split into 4 sections. Each section was a year apart, and they all took place at the 2 weeks at their summer cottage. Like I said, this book was good, but I didn't think it was great. I'm not really a fan of realistic fiction, but it was very well written with a good story to keep the reader interested.
Apr 30, 2009
Amy Griffeth
rated it:
This book is told in 4 different parts. It's told over four summers that a teenage boy spends at the lake with his family. It goes from age 13 to age 16. It shows how his life changes as he gets older, and how the teenage years can change everything so fast. This was an okay book for me. I didn't really care for the profanity at all.
Jul 10, 2009
Julie
rated it:
This book is written in the voice of a strong male personality, reminiscent of how boys I knew that age spoke, but I feel like it only scratches the surface without addressing much inner dialogue. However, it may be a good, quick read for a reluctant reader.
Apr 08, 2010
Melody
rated it:
I enjoyed this episodic novel, but it didn't leave me breathless. The writing is engrossing, the protagonist fairly believable but not compelling, and the plot is labored in places but amusing. I enjoyed it but didn't love it.
Feb 27, 2010
Amara
rated it:
Actually one of my favorite three books. It's good, it's griping. Very interesting Goethe kid changes in just four years, and really you can see yourself in him. Everyone changes, and life isn't as great as it once seemed.
Jun 12, 2009
Lisa
rated it:
Interesting glimpses into 4 summer vacations in a teenage boys life with insights into the changes that take place from year to year. The first summer is so uneventful that I wonder how many teens will keep reading.
Jul 09, 2011
Alison
rated it:
A unique novel about a teenaged boy gradually growing up during four summers spent at his lake house. The writing could use a little work and it was a bit slow at the beginning but I liked it nonetheless.
Sep 05, 2011
Anna
rated it:
It was a great book to finish off my summer. It had nice sweet lesson, and it was a very mellow down to earth book. A little bit too much cursing for my taste, and wasn’t the most eventful, but I still liked it.
May 25, 2009
Kenzie
rated it:
This book was strange for me. I thought that Luke was cute at 13, estranged at 14, disturbed at 15, and then not so cute anymore at 16. I put it down several times, bored out of my mind.
Jul 15, 2009
Kara
rated it: 
Could not get into it. I tried to keep reading but kept getting distracted by other things. The minimal amount of dialogue didn't help either.
Mar 14, 2009
Mindy
rated it:
I started out really enjoying this one, but lost interest fairly quickly. Finished it reluctantly since it was so short.
