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A Really Weird Summer
While staying with relatives who live in an old inn, twelve-year-old Nels finds a secret passageway to a part of the building that no longer exists and meets a strange boy whose family is trapped in a leftover pocket of time
216 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 1990
About the author
Eloise Jarvis McGraw
36 books318 followersEloise Jarvis McGraw was an author of children's books. She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels Moccasin Trail (1952), The Golden Goblet (1962), and The Moorchild (1997). A Really Weird Summer (1977) won an Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America. McGraw had a very strong interest in history, and among the many books she wrote for children are Greensleeves, Pharaoh, The Seventeenth Swap, and Mara, Daughter of the Nile.
McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum, writing with her daughter Lauren Lynn McGraw (Wagner) Merry Go Round in Oz (the last of the Oz books issued by Baum's publisher) and The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, and later writing The Rundelstone of Oz on her own. The actual writing of the books was done entirely by Eloise; Lauren made story contributions significant enough for Eloise to assign her co-authorship credit.
She lived for many years in Portland, Oregon before dying in late 2000 of "complications of cancer".
McGraw was married to William Corbin McGraw, who died in 1999. They had two children, Peter and Lauren.
-Wikipedia
McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum, writing with her daughter Lauren Lynn McGraw (Wagner) Merry Go Round in Oz (the last of the Oz books issued by Baum's publisher) and The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, and later writing The Rundelstone of Oz on her own. The actual writing of the books was done entirely by Eloise; Lauren made story contributions significant enough for Eloise to assign her co-authorship credit.
She lived for many years in Portland, Oregon before dying in late 2000 of "complications of cancer".
McGraw was married to William Corbin McGraw, who died in 1999. They had two children, Peter and Lauren.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 22, 2011
This was on the For Sale stack at the library, and I snatched it up because I've loved every other book by this author which I've ever read.
It's a story about four siblings who have been sent to spend the summer with a great aunt and uncle while their parents are working out the details of their divorce. All of the kids are miserable at being removed from their home, friends, and neighborhood. And they are sooo bored. And then certain elements creep into the story which seem to indicate that this will either be a fantasy or a book with supernatural bits. But alas! It all turns out to be merely psychological.
The eldest, Nels, is coping with the pressures of having to parent the younger children while himself grieving over his parents' abandonment. And he's secretly worrying about where and with whom they'll all be living after the summer ends. Unbenownst to his siblings, their father has privately proposed that Nels go to live with him in Alaska after the divorce. Nels doesn't know what he wants to do, and as the summer progresses, withdraws further and further from his brothers and sister. Then he discovers a wonderful secret and a perfect friend. Or has he?
I think the book would have been much improved if it had been more ambiguous about whether Nels' adventures with Alan had really taken place. But to be baldly informed at the very end that it was "all in his head" was deeply disappointing and far too didactic for my taste.
And I was kind of repulsed by the book's "lesson" which was that kids must stick together because adults cannot be depended on for anything. Family identity has shrunk to kids only. As he tells his younger brother on the last page, "All us kids have to to stay together, that's the big thing. We've got to promise> each other. If we stick together, then whatever happens outside -- whatever the grown-ups do -- it won't matter so much D'you see? We'll still be us."
Perhaps this was not a surprising conclusion for the children to have come to since their parents had shuttled them off to spend their summer in a holding pattern. (And by the way, I wondered why the children had to be sent away even though their mother was now working. Nels was 12, and their mother had planned that during the school year he'd take care of the other children after they got home from school. So why couldn't they have spent the summer in the security of their own home? I'm sure there were latch-key children back in 1977. I felt that the whole dislocation thing was just a clumsy device by the author to set her characters up for a particular psychological response.
It's a story about four siblings who have been sent to spend the summer with a great aunt and uncle while their parents are working out the details of their divorce. All of the kids are miserable at being removed from their home, friends, and neighborhood. And they are sooo bored. And then certain elements creep into the story which seem to indicate that this will either be a fantasy or a book with supernatural bits. But alas! It all turns out to be merely psychological.
The eldest, Nels, is coping with the pressures of having to parent the younger children while himself grieving over his parents' abandonment. And he's secretly worrying about where and with whom they'll all be living after the summer ends. Unbenownst to his siblings, their father has privately proposed that Nels go to live with him in Alaska after the divorce. Nels doesn't know what he wants to do, and as the summer progresses, withdraws further and further from his brothers and sister. Then he discovers a wonderful secret and a perfect friend. Or has he?
I think the book would have been much improved if it had been more ambiguous about whether Nels' adventures with Alan had really taken place. But to be baldly informed at the very end that it was "all in his head" was deeply disappointing and far too didactic for my taste.
And I was kind of repulsed by the book's "lesson" which was that kids must stick together because adults cannot be depended on for anything. Family identity has shrunk to kids only. As he tells his younger brother on the last page, "All us kids have to to stay together, that's the big thing. We've got to promise> each other. If we stick together, then whatever happens outside -- whatever the grown-ups do -- it won't matter so much D'you see? We'll still be us."
Perhaps this was not a surprising conclusion for the children to have come to since their parents had shuttled them off to spend their summer in a holding pattern. (And by the way, I wondered why the children had to be sent away even though their mother was now working. Nels was 12, and their mother had planned that during the school year he'd take care of the other children after they got home from school. So why couldn't they have spent the summer in the security of their own home? I'm sure there were latch-key children back in 1977. I felt that the whole dislocation thing was just a clumsy device by the author to set her characters up for a particular psychological response.
December 19, 2020
When I was a kid I read "Mara, daughter of the Nile" and "Greensleeves" soon after they were published in the 1970s. Both of them made a deep impression on me. Even now I remember distinct details from both books. Recently "Greensleeves" was available in print again. I re-read it and remain impressed by what a good book for kids it is. The main character of that book is very well realized. She is both mature and yet silly in the way you would be at that age. . . I mentioned the books to my brother who found this one at a library book sale. He read it with his son, they both liked it, and then they sent it to me.
Well. Hmmmm. It is similar in writing style to the other two, but in tone - quite different. While both Mara and Greensleeves had very spunky, female leads, this book has 2 lonely and depressed male main characters. I had expected the story to mostly revolve around Nels, but as I kept reading it was hard to decide if Nels is really the main character or if it's Stevie. Even though we are in Stevie's head for lots of the book, I finally decided Nels is the only protagonist who has a chance to change, so I guess he is the main character.
Some of the other reviewers questioned the set-up, i.e. they ask "Why are the kids sent away just because the parents are getting divorced?" As a child of the 70s I can answer that question. Back then you could get divorced, and move thousands of miles away from your kids (if you were the Dad) and no one said nothing. If it was a mom who moved away though - wow - people SAID things, and not nice things. In this story it seems like that is what the Dad is contemplating. He's (maybe) gonna totally split. At 12 years old Nels is a little too young to be solely responsible for his 3 siblings all summer long by himself. The mom appears to have gotten a job, so by the time school starts she will be able to make it - but finding full time child care for the entire summer for 4 kids is challenging. Thus the family decides to send all 4 of them the stay with elderly relatives who are not unkind, but not entertaining either.
Little Stevie goes through some very believable scenes. McGraw is exceptionally skilled at getting inside a young person's head and reporting events in the way a child would interpret them. That said, Stevie has such a Terrible Summer! It's so sad. Realistic. But sad. I think if you are a 10 to 12 year old and your parents are getting divorced you may like this book because you can relate to it. . . But then again, maybe you can't, because no one has a cell phone and cable TV doesn't exist. They can't even skype their mom. Maybe you would like it as a period piece, as insight to a lost world.
If you are an adult you might want to read it before your kids do - - just because it's heavy! Maybe you don't want your kids reading such a sad book. Even if it is realistic. Or maybe you do, because it could create talking points. If you've never read anything else by McGraw I would not recommend starting with this book. It's not her best.
Well. Hmmmm. It is similar in writing style to the other two, but in tone - quite different. While both Mara and Greensleeves had very spunky, female leads, this book has 2 lonely and depressed male main characters. I had expected the story to mostly revolve around Nels, but as I kept reading it was hard to decide if Nels is really the main character or if it's Stevie. Even though we are in Stevie's head for lots of the book, I finally decided Nels is the only protagonist who has a chance to change, so I guess he is the main character.
Some of the other reviewers questioned the set-up, i.e. they ask "Why are the kids sent away just because the parents are getting divorced?" As a child of the 70s I can answer that question. Back then you could get divorced, and move thousands of miles away from your kids (if you were the Dad) and no one said nothing. If it was a mom who moved away though - wow - people SAID things, and not nice things. In this story it seems like that is what the Dad is contemplating. He's (maybe) gonna totally split. At 12 years old Nels is a little too young to be solely responsible for his 3 siblings all summer long by himself. The mom appears to have gotten a job, so by the time school starts she will be able to make it - but finding full time child care for the entire summer for 4 kids is challenging. Thus the family decides to send all 4 of them the stay with elderly relatives who are not unkind, but not entertaining either.
Little Stevie goes through some very believable scenes. McGraw is exceptionally skilled at getting inside a young person's head and reporting events in the way a child would interpret them. That said, Stevie has such a Terrible Summer! It's so sad. Realistic. But sad. I think if you are a 10 to 12 year old and your parents are getting divorced you may like this book because you can relate to it. . . But then again, maybe you can't, because no one has a cell phone and cable TV doesn't exist. They can't even skype their mom. Maybe you would like it as a period piece, as insight to a lost world.
If you are an adult you might want to read it before your kids do - - just because it's heavy! Maybe you don't want your kids reading such a sad book. Even if it is realistic. Or maybe you do, because it could create talking points. If you've never read anything else by McGraw I would not recommend starting with this book. It's not her best.
August 11, 2025
A Really Weird Summer
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw was part of my trek down memory-lane. . .trying to read all her books because of my thrill as a youth with her story Mara, which to this day I read every few years. She wrote many books, and libraries back in the day didn’t usually carry the entire works of an author of young folk. At least that was my experience. Hence my ongoing quest to find as many of the books as I can and knock them out.
The Anderson family has the typical two parents, four children, and a great-uncle and aunt. Those elderly two live at the ancestral property in Reeves Ferry – an Inn – where the two parents sent the four while they sorted out things. Nels, the oldest, then Stevie two years behind Nels, sisters Jenny and Rory were lodged with the amiable elders and only the older two sussed out the idea that a divorce was in the offing. Both tended to fight with each other, as they were rather different in their personalities and a little bugged at the sisters who followed them everywhere (or wanted to).
The really weird stuff? The old historical Inn had lots of empty rooms upstairs where an older brother could escape for a while. Nels finds his way through the shadows and dust, exercising his rights of exploration (no one said he couldn’t!). In one room was an old-fashioned standing tall oval mirror on legs, and when Nels stops and looks at it, a boy is reflected back. . but the angle’s not quite. . .he looks closer and there’s nothing. But still. . .it’s time to show up downstairs before anyone comes after him (from the end of the first chapter):
[Blond-haired] Nels glanced at the bedroom door, the one with the mirror. Surely he’d seen a dark-haired boy. Wearing something RED. He glanced down at his own shirt: a pale, checked blue. His heart began a slow, deep thudding that disturbed his breathing. He was still standing there when he’d heard Stevie calling him to lunch.
Another enjoyable, mysterious read by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. [NOTE: I put the where of this story in Oregon - Reeves Ferry is fictional, but Oregon has no lack of historical Ferry runs. Also in my favor on this is that the author lived not far from my Clackamas County work place in her latter days, and in the text of the story Coos Bay gets a mention as a close to home favorite place to go.]
25|52:16c
The Anderson family has the typical two parents, four children, and a great-uncle and aunt. Those elderly two live at the ancestral property in Reeves Ferry – an Inn – where the two parents sent the four while they sorted out things. Nels, the oldest, then Stevie two years behind Nels, sisters Jenny and Rory were lodged with the amiable elders and only the older two sussed out the idea that a divorce was in the offing. Both tended to fight with each other, as they were rather different in their personalities and a little bugged at the sisters who followed them everywhere (or wanted to).
The really weird stuff? The old historical Inn had lots of empty rooms upstairs where an older brother could escape for a while. Nels finds his way through the shadows and dust, exercising his rights of exploration (no one said he couldn’t!). In one room was an old-fashioned standing tall oval mirror on legs, and when Nels stops and looks at it, a boy is reflected back. . but the angle’s not quite. . .he looks closer and there’s nothing. But still. . .it’s time to show up downstairs before anyone comes after him (from the end of the first chapter):
[Blond-haired] Nels glanced at the bedroom door, the one with the mirror. Surely he’d seen a dark-haired boy. Wearing something RED. He glanced down at his own shirt: a pale, checked blue. His heart began a slow, deep thudding that disturbed his breathing. He was still standing there when he’d heard Stevie calling him to lunch.
Another enjoyable, mysterious read by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. [NOTE: I put the where of this story in Oregon - Reeves Ferry is fictional, but Oregon has no lack of historical Ferry runs. Also in my favor on this is that the author lived not far from my Clackamas County work place in her latter days, and in the text of the story Coos Bay gets a mention as a close to home favorite place to go.]
25|52:16c
January 18, 2018
I think I'd understand a bit more about depression if I'd read this book as a kid. Lots of symbolism. Yes, it's a kids book, but I think adults would get something out of it as well.
September 3, 2019
My only notes from my journal of 1985 was that the title seemed to fit the summer I'd just had pretty well.
February 5, 2023
So-so. One of Marika’s old books I think. Definitely for boys with pre-adolescent angst.
Yep, read it before…around 1985.
Yep, read it before…around 1985.
Read
October 27, 2013I actually read this book along time ago. I remember it being a good read. I cannot remember how old I was though.
December 20, 2013
not quite time travel. sad atmosphere.
October 6, 2014
I liked it, sort of, but probably not enough to re-read. The writing was good, as always with this author, but the story was depressing. And rather a bit more unsettling than an "ordinary" fantasy.
February 27, 2016
C-. fantasy, children's fiction
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews