Summer of Fear in Never too Late to Read Classics

Aug 16, 2018 Manybooks rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature, book-reviews, horror

While yes, I did mildly enjoy Lois Duncan's 1976 young adult horror novel Summer of Fear when I read it as a teenager in 1982, revisiting Summer of Fear as an older adult has not at all been even remotely either a pleasurable or a rewarding reading experience for me. For sorry, but Summer of Fear is really so blatantly predictable that you not only are more than aware without even the shadow of a doubt right from square one that ALL of Rachel Bryant's fears with regard to her orphaned cousin Jul While yes, I did mildly enjoy Lois Duncan's 1976 young adult horror novel Summer of Fear when I read it as a teenager in 1982, revisiting Summer of Fear as an older adult has not at all been even remotely either a pleasurable or a rewarding reading experience for me. For sorry, but Summer of Fear is really so blatantly predictable that you not only are more than aware without even the shadow of a doubt right from square one that ALL of Rachel Bryant's fears with regard to her orphaned cousin Julia are one hundred percent justified and true (that Juila is an imposter and later turns out to be an an actual and bona fide witch), but also that while I found Rachel a positive and generally likeable character when I read Sumer of Fear as a teenager, rereading the novel now rather shows her as in many ways a bratty and nastily opinionated individual.

And while of course it is fake cousin Julia/Sarah who turns out to be the witch-like main villain of Summer of Fear, personally, I have been almost feeling a wee bit sorry for her this time around, as not only does Rachel from the very beginning act extremely negatively towards her supposed cousin, the author's, Lois Duncan's attitude towards the inhabitants of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri has indeed also made me personally very much annoyed and uncomfortable (because truly and in my opinion, Duncan with her text, with her narrative and especially with the main villain of Summer of Fear, seems to continuously insinuate and claim that if the established, the original long-term inhabitants of the Ozark Mountains are not uncouth, uneducated, superstitious hillbilly types, they are cold and calculating witches like Julia/Sarah who will even resort to murder and mayhem in order to obtain and keep their desires). So therefore, even though I do have to admit that Summer of Fear is well enough written and as a teenager, certainly kept me up all night reading with suspense and appreciation, I really can and will now only grant a one star ranking at best for Summer of Fear (and yes, Summer of Fear is thus also and sadly most definitely a novel that I actively regret having revisited, for what was mildly entertaining, suspenseful and readable in 1982 has now completely dissipated, and really, Lois Duncan's obvious authorial and personal disdain for the people of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri does majorly make me cringe and rub me the wrong proverbial way). ...more

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May 28, 2008 Frannie Burd rated it liked it

This was one of my favorite books when I was a young teen - I couldn't get enough of Lois Duncan! I made my daughter read it and she liked it as well. ...more

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