SOLVED. YA novel - girl with mentally challenged bro Charlie [s]

[bup]

I read this in the late 70's - a youth novel about a girl whose brother (who is developmentally disabled in some way, can't remember - I don't think he could talk) gets lost.

She talks at one point about her new sneakers that are the color 'puce' which is a new word she's learned.

I think the brother's name was "Charley" (or "Charlie") and it was in the title of the book.

TIA.

[Joanie]

Is it "Summer of the Swans" by Betsy Byars? I remember having to read it for summer reading.

[bup]

I looked up "Summer of the Swans" and I'm pretty sure that's not it.

The majority of the book is about (I think) the search for her brother.

[Susan]

Flowers for Algernon - he had a brain operation to become smart and then it wore off and he was retarded again.

[[deleted user]]

Flowers for Algernon doesn't feature a sister, though. The book was about Charlie (and Algernon, of course). That couldn't be it.

Unfortunately, I don't know the book you're talking about, bup. Good luck in finding it, though.

[Sarah]

Bup, I remember that book, and I'm certain it's Summer of the Swans. Charlie does get lost in that book, and they have to spend a lot of the book looking for him. She had bright orange sneakers that everyone teased her about, so she dyed them puce. Here's a summary from teachervision.fen.com:

"In the Newbery Award winning book The Summer of the Swans, Sara's life is turned upside down when her mentally retarded brother disappears. Her brother Charlie loves to go to the lake and watch the swans. Late one night he gets out of bed to follow them and becomes lost in the dark. What follows is a desperate search for the young boy and an unexpected friendship."

[bup]

Wow.

Joanie, I apologize - the "Amazon" writeup sounded nothing like the book.

But SixtyForty, you're right. That corresponds exactly.

I wonder if it's ever been published with a different title, because I have this memory of "Charlie" being in the name.

Thanks, everyone.

[Sarah]

Yeah, that Amazon writeup didn't sound like what I remembered either. Apparently what they think I should have gotten from the book isn't anything that resonated with me! I also turned up a few different covers for the book along the way, and they were all fairly different. Of course, that didn't help =).

[rivka]

The Amazon writeup looks like it actually belongs to a book guide, NOT to the actual book.

Bizarre.

[Rainbowheart]

The Summer of the Swans for the link.