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What Members Thought
A gentle middle reader of family, grief and friendship wrapped in mystery. Set in a certain small town in Utah that has hosted a successful Shakespearean Festival for the past 53 years--fictional Thorn Creek. Tender and delightful.
Equally beautiful on the second reading, for our Flashlight Reader’s Book Club. Lots of interesting extended metaphors and descriptions of grief and pain that I didn’t notice so much on the first reading. Loved it again.
Equally beautiful on the second reading, for our Flashlight Reader’s Book Club. Lots of interesting extended metaphors and descriptions of grief and pain that I didn’t notice so much on the first reading. Loved it again.
4.5 I've read at least 50 books since I read this one, and I had forgotten to write a review when I finished it, but here's what I remember. I remember a lot, which I usually don't after this much time has gone by (it's now April, '17). I listened to this in the car riding around PA with Ella last summer. She loved it. I liked most of it. I was disconcerted by the amount of things the kids actually got away with without letting their parents know. Sneakiness bothers me, but what they did was for
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This book was not what I expected at all -- a pleasant surprise!
“Kids are awesome. And they are diverse. There are children with different abilities and backgrounds and experiences, and every one of them deserves to find themselves in children's literature and to know that they matter.” –Ally Condie, on Summerlost
After the sudden deaths of her brother and father, Cedar's mom buys a home in her hometown to stay in over the summer. Along with her youngest brother, they are all trying to figure ou ...more
“Kids are awesome. And they are diverse. There are children with different abilities and backgrounds and experiences, and every one of them deserves to find themselves in children's literature and to know that they matter.” –Ally Condie, on Summerlost
After the sudden deaths of her brother and father, Cedar's mom buys a home in her hometown to stay in over the summer. Along with her youngest brother, they are all trying to figure ou ...more
Ask any teen girl to name a favorite YA author, and chances are that you will hear Ally Condie's name mentioned-a lot. This is Condie's first foray into the middle grade bunch, and I liked it. It's the story of a family struggling to heal itself from the deep wound of grief and loss, it's the story of a young girl struggling to come to terms with her conflicting feelings of a special-needs brother gone too soon (and its accompanying guilt), it's the story of friendship and how kids can be cruel
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I liked this story about Cedar Lee who is dealing with the death of her dad and her younger brother in a terrible car accident. It has some interesting plot points-dealing the with the sudden death of a parent and sibling, survivor's guilt, but also finding your own way and making choices and taking responsibility for them. I really like Allie Condie's writing style and I think I a lot of kids will find Cedar a character they want to read about.
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9.5- a nice coming of age story-friendship, love, loss, grief, a tiny bit of mystery, and Shakespeare make this story move quickly.
A sweet, subtle and interesting reflection on loss and the power of a caring individual to help buffer some of the pain associated with losing a loved one. The story is also a nice coming of age tale of a 12 boy and girl that resists overdoing 12 year old kid relationships.
I found Cedar a likable and appealing character. Struggling to cope with the lose of her brother and father, Cedar is not happy when her mom moves them to a new house in her hometown for the summer. Cedar finds a friendship with the neighbor boy Leo, who helps her land a job at the summer theatre. Leo's friendship and the theatre provide Cedar with a path back to herself, and her struggle to move past her loss is softly woven into this tale of friendship and hope.
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This is clearly the year of middle grade grief books. But I still love it!
Sep 10, 2015
Marianne
marked it as to-read
Nov 20, 2015
Laura Harrison
marked it as to-read
Dec 14, 2015
Regina
marked it as to-read
Feb 02, 2016
Malissa
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2016
Kelly Austin
marked it as to-read
Apr 08, 2016
Angie
marked it as to-read
Apr 14, 2016
Kristen
marked it as to-read
May 29, 2016
Scot
marked it as to-read
Aug 30, 2016
Erinn
added it
