What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

A Summer to Die
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SOLVED: Children's/YA > SOLVED. YA/Childrens read in late 70s, the one scene I remember vividly was the protagonist visiting neighbors and finding out they were married and being confused about why they didn't have any children. [s]

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message 1: by Sandy (last edited Feb 13, 2018 11:30AM) (new) - added it

Sandy (slcronin) | 4 comments I read this in elementary school in the late 70s/early 80s, and I don't think it was a NEW book then. I thought for a while it was "bridge to terabithia" or "where the red fern grows", but I found PDFs of those and searched, and it doesn't seem to be them (but it might be similar in "feel", dealing with death and loss, or something similar?).
The scene I remember was the protagonist kid visiting a neighbor couple (maybe going through some woods to get there?) and at some point asking them why they weren't married (maybe because they had different last names?), at which point the neighbors let the kid in on a "secret" by showing them their wedding photo album. Once the kid digests that they are married, the kid wants to know why they don't have any children of their own. IIRC, it was an aside to the main plot of the book, but it's all I remember of it.


message 2: by Juels (last edited Feb 13, 2018 11:40AM) (new)

Juels | 3312 comments This could be a stretch... I remember there was a neighbor couple that didn't have the same last name and others assumed they weren't married. The main story is about a young girl, Meg. Her elder sister is dying of leukemia (or something like that).

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry


message 3: by Sandy (last edited Feb 13, 2018 12:11PM) (new) - added it

Sandy (slcronin) | 4 comments Juels wrote: "This could be a stretch... I remember there was a neighbor couple that didn't have the same last name and others assumed they weren't married. The main story is about a young girl, Meg. Her elder s..."

Hm. That definitely *could* be it, though in the description I saw, the couple with different last names are pregnant, which is not how I remember it. Everything else fits, though; I'll have to track down a copy to know for sure.


message 4: by Sandy (new) - added it

Sandy (slcronin) | 4 comments Yup, just found it, and that is indeed the book I'm remembering, Thank you! Interesting that I mis-remembered that they didn't have/didn't want kids!


message 5: by Juels (new)

Juels | 3312 comments You're welcome. There was an older man that grew up in the house they rented for the summer. I believe he and his wife never had kids. Maybe you confused the secondary characters.


message 6: by Sandy (new) - added it

Sandy (slcronin) | 4 comments That could be it! Now I'll have to re-read the whole thing. :)


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A Summer to Die (other topics)

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Lois Lowry (other topics)