June 2020 — Novels With a Summer Theme

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I indeed needed to constantly be skimming as my massive irritation with this sailing jargon and also the rather incessant repetition of it really did increase exponentially the mo..."

Probably not, but if I am being honest, much of my frustration with jargon and with overly long descriptions is that I had to read oh so many mega long tomes of classic German literature for my degrees that I now just tend to get impatient if or when there is narrative that rambles on too long and with too much repetition.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

The reason I made that comment was because many years ago, I read a humorous little tome called American Lit Relit by Richard Armour. In this book, he gave synopsis of several American classics, including Moby Dick. I remember that he said that the reader could skip pages (or chapters) x - xx because there was nothing but descriptions of nautical goings on. I thought it was funny, and I never bothered trying to read the original classic.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Beverly wrote: "The reason I made that comment was because many years ago, I read a humorous little tome called American Lit Relit by Richard Armour. In this book, he gave synopsis of..."

And he is right, as much of Moby Dick is nautical verbal diarrhoea.

[QNPoohBear]

I don't mind slang or jargon for something I am interested in or know a lot about. As for Moby. Dick, read Cozy Classics: Moby Dick eliminates all unnecessary words and gets right to the point. I feel like a bad New Englander for never having read the original. I am familiar with the whaling industry though.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

QNPoohBear wrote: "I don't mind slang or jargon for something I am interested in or know a lot about. As for Moby. Dick, read Cozy Classics: Moby Dick eliminates all unnecessary words and gets right t..."

That is the same for me.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "Swallows and Amazons

Many readers do seem to have both very much enjoyed Arthur Ransome's 1930 Swallows and Amazons and also tend to possess nostalgic remembrances of the novel from ..."

This is pretty much what I felt as I was reading it several years ago... it sounded like it would be my cup of tea (I love stories about children adventuring and playing outside, being imaginative... I even love sailboats!) but, it was just so dull for me, I couldn't connect with it at all and ended up bailing about 1/3 of the way through. I am sorry you didn't enjoy it more but also somewhat selfishly relieved I was not the only one who wasn't completely charmed by it. I will still keep it on my radar for my boys as they may be into it down the road but I don't feel any enthusiasm to pick it up myself again.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "Right, the epidemic serves just to set up the frame of the story. I'm not sure I'd describe the rest of the story as particularly fun or cozy though, either. The alternate title, The Growing Summer..."

Thank you. It may end up being an issue of timing for me as the due date is coming on fast (it's much less time than our usual books which we have a minimum of three weeks). ILL has annoyingly erratic due dates, it all depends on the library of origin and what their policy is. I know I should just be grateful for the service, and I am, but there are times when I've had barely a week to check out and return the book and it just seems rather a waste of energy and money to send a book for so short a time. Now that we have to allow so much extra time for books to be checked in and "quarantined" before they are off the record I am not sure I will even get to read much of this before I have to take it back...

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Swallows and Amazons

Many readers do seem to have both very much enjoyed Arthur Ransome's 1930 Swallows and Amazons and also tend to possess nostalgic remembrances ..."

I am also very much relieved that I am not the only one of my GR friends who has found the novel dull and uninspired. And really, if the only part of Swallows and Amazons I had found dull were the sailing jargon use, I think I still could have probably managed to enjoy the other parts, but I really found everything about Swallows and Amazons a tough slog. And the only reason I did not abandon Swallows and Amazons was because I have abandoned quite a lot of books lately and felt I needed to push through (and indeed my one star ranking shows that I just have not really enjoyed anything about Swallows and Amazons, as even the ending I was annoyed with and skimming over impatiently). And while I do own the entire series on Kindle, I am at present not really keen on continuing.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Just started a summer vacation themed novel I came across on Open Library, Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point (but also seemingly with a very intense focus on art and on how to get better, how to improve one’s artwork). Thus far am finding the novel really enjoyable and also delightfully old fashioned in tone of narrative voice (so much so that when a cell phone is mentioned, I actually had to check the publication date). Narration is a bit distant but in this case I do not at all mind this, as main character Kate herself is obviously also rather introverted and totally focussed on herself, her family and her art. It will thus be interesting to read about how she handles spending the summer near the beach visiting friends of her mother’s and taking art lessons with Alison (the daughter of her mother’s friend), as it does seem as though Kate might have some issues adjusting to strangers and to changes.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

And I am also going to be reading Katie John, a 1960 middle grade novel by Mary Calhoun which I also have on my to read list (but forgot that I did) and which looks like a fun combination of summer thematics and moving issues.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I'll add both those to my list!

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "ILL has annoyingly erratic due dates, it all depends on the library of origin and what their policy is. I know I should just be grateful for the service, and I am, but there are times when I've had barely a week to check out and return the book and it just seems rather a waste of energy and money to send a book for so short a time...."

When I use ILL, it is almost always for a picture book that I cannot get locally, for all the reasons that you mention, and because I can read a picture book in only a few minutes.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "And I am also going to be reading Katie John, a 1960 middle grade novel by Mary Calhoun which I also have on my to read list (but forgot that I did) and which looks like a fun combin..."

That's been on my list for awhile now. It looks great.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "And I am also going to be reading Katie John, a 1960 middle grade novel by Mary Calhoun which I also have on my to read list (but forgot that I did) and which looks..."

It does and there is an entire series.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Beverly wrote: "When I use ILL, it is almost always for a picture book that I cannot get locally, for all the reasons that you mention, and because I can read a picture book in only a few minutes."

I use it for novels that are too expensive for me to purchase so I'm very grateful for the service. It usually works as most of the time I get at least a few weeks but sometimes it is just ridiculously too short especially if I am not able to make extra reading time.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Beverly wrote: "When I use ILL, it is almost always for a picture book that I cannot get locally, for all the reasons that you mention, and because I can read a picture book in only a few minutes."..."

ILL is always an issue because you cannot renew books. And each library has different policies. My local system almost decided to cut ILL a few years ago and now it is actually rather limited and what I used to be able to get through ILL often is no longer available due to increasingly strange rules (such as for example they no longer look out of province).

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

So even though both Swallows and Amazons and The Vanishing Point use a lot of genre specific jargon (the former sailing, the latter art), I am not bored with The Vanishing Point, and mostly because Susan Bonners does not have her whole entire story focus on art, and that the scenes where Kate and Alison are taking art classes are divided into small chapters interspersed with other stories, like the hurricane and Alison taking care of the orphaned birds, while it does seem that with Swallows and Amazons, almost everything is about sailing or related to it.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I was looking for a summer vacation themed middle grade novel to read (and to analyse in the Children's Literature Group June Fiction Club which general topic for June has indeed been summer). And since The Vanishing Point was from the book description on Open Library also supposed to be showing an intense focus on art and on how to get better, how to improve one’s drawing skills, my interest was definitely sufficiently piqued to sign out The Vanishing Point (and to read the entire almost 300 page story in one continuous sitting).

And most definitely, The Vanishing Point has been really and truly a very much enjoyable and also delightfully old fashioned in tone of narrative voice reading experience for me (and in fact so much so that when a cell phone was mentioned, I actually ended up checking the publication date, as to and for me The Vanishing Point feels much older time and place wise than 2005, and that is indeed meant to be very much a compliment).

Now the third person narration of The Vanishing Points is generally a bit distant and removed, but in this case I do not at all mind, as main character Kate Harris herself is obviously also rather introverted and as such often rather majorly focussed on herself, her family and her art (and yes, part of The Vanishing Point does present how Kate becomes a little less introverted and self-absorbed, how she learns to accept constructive criticism regarding her art appreciatively and that friendship is also an important part of really anyone's life (and yes, I do love and applaud how Kate and Alison's at first a bit tenuous companionship grows and flourishes button course also not without hurdles and misunderstandings). A sweet little summer (and art school) tale is The Vanishing Point (with just enough excitement and mystery in the form of a summer hurricane and Kate trying to figure out who was the artist of the soot-covered painting she purchased at an estate auction), nothing earth-shattering and spectacular but simply just a gentle and caressing little tale with a cadence that is actually very similar to the tides and waves off of the New England coast.

And finally, I do have to leave the caveat that the art school lessons which Kate and Alison attend are very meticulously described and yes, sometimes it does feel almost as though author Susan Bonners (in the guise of art teacher Laura) is indeed giving her readers detailed art lessons. But yes, because I am in fact both very much interested in art and have for years been looking for reading materials which decribe concepts like gesture drawings, perspectives, vanishing points and the like in a way that makes sense and is not overly complicated, I do in fact really and totally appreciate the art school lessons of The Vanishing Point (and also point out that they are actually very nicely interspersed and as such also easy enough to handle, and indeed, that readers can easily even skim over and even skip these chapters and still find The Vanishing Point a most engaging and delightful novel).

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I look forward to making time to read this!

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "I look forward to making time to read this!"

I really hope you enjoy the book, I know I did and was surprised at how much.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Just a question, has anyone else had a chance to read Breakout? I did not get much out of Kate Messner's writing style and found the imagined text messages etc. distracting and annoying. Anyone else also feel that way?

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Manybooks wrote: "Just a question, has anyone else had a chance to read Breakout? I did not get much out of Kate Messner's writing style and found the imagined text messages etc. distracting and anno..."

I hadn't heard of it. Looking now, it def. looks like something I am *not* interested in, regarding both content and style.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Just a question, has anyone else had a chance to read Breakout? I did not get much out of Kate Messner's writing style and found the imagined text messages etc. di..."

It was a totally frustrating reading experience and really superficial.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

This is likely a bit off topic, but after rereading and totally loving once again Jane of Lantern Hill, I do have to admit that L.M. Montgomery had an absolute knack for writing wonderfully descriptive passages about the weather, not only in Jane of Lantern Hill but in ALL of her novels (and in her poetry as well). With Montgomery, the weather is often almost like a literary character, like an actual person, who can be sweetly delightful and also horrid and threatening but is always interesting. And if an author is able to descriptively and interestingly write about the weather, he or she is usually also someone who captures the magic of the four seasons, something that L.M. Montgomery certainly does with and in her oeuvre.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "Just a question, has anyone else had a chance to read Breakout? I did not get much out of Kate Messner's writing style and found the imagined text messages etc. distracting and anno..."

Nope, it didn't strike my fancy so I didn't even try it. I've enjoyed her picture books but I haven't really been all that captivated by her novels so far.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "This is likely a bit off topic, but after rereading and totally loving once again Jane of Lantern Hill, I do have to admit that L.M. Montgomery had an absolute knack for writing wonderfully descriptive passages about the weather, not only in Jane of Lantern Hill but in ALL of her novels (and in her poetry as well). ."

Yes, she really does this well. (In the same way I've always felt that places are very much characters in her novels, too.) One of the (numerous!) qualities I so admire in her work :-)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

I've started Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea and am really enjoying it so far. I don't think I'll get to The Magic Summer given the due date and that it just is not captivating me in a way that makes me want to stay up late and read it.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "I've started Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea and am really enjoying it so far. I don't think I'll get to The Magic Summer given the due date and that it just is not c..."

I kind of thought you would enjoy Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea and I totally do not recommend Breakout, but was just curious if anyone else had read it and had perhaps liked it more than I did.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "This is likely a bit off topic, but after rereading and totally loving once again Jane of Lantern Hill, I do have to admit that L.M. Montgomery had an absolute knack for writing w..."

Yes, both nature and the weather seem to actively be particpating in Montgomery's fiction (like that thunderstorm in Anne of Avonlea fealing almost like the description of a raging ogre).

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

So far, I am enjoying Katie John, but reading it is a bit of a pain because I can only borrow it for one hour at a time on Open Library (will try to see if that has changed but to keep having to reborrow the book is definitely not fun if reading a novel).

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "So far, I am enjoying Katie John, but reading it is a bit of a pain because I can only borrow it for one hour at a time on Open Library (will try to see if that has changed but to ke..."

That sounds very annoying.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Just remembered a vintage gem I read and liked very much several years ago has a summer setting: The Secret of Saturday Cove

My review at the time:

Absolutely wonderful! It's a shame this gem isn't better known. I found it in the library discard sale, chose it for the charming sketched illustrations, and knew when I read the first page that the story would be a keeper in its own right.

As there are no written reviews, I'm going to take my time and try to write a good one in the hopes of enticing more lucky readers to this tale of adventure, friendship, courage and humanity. So fitting that the story is about children seeking lost treasure, for the book itself is a lost treasure. Highly recommended!

This story is perhaps "dated"--but in the very best way--for in the early 1960s, most children were allowed a freedom to explore and wander, and to do meaningful adult work (and to do meaningful adult things with their earnings), that few children in America today are able to experience. For here is a tale of adventure and intrigue, in which children try to solve a mystery that adults had long ago given up on, and they face real danger along the way. They are brave, but not reckless. They face threats, perhaps none more troubling than the one to their reputation. They know when to turn to the guidance of adults--yet they also learn that poignant childhood discovery, that sometimes "grown men, even the finest of them, were not always right." I love that the parents are present, offering strength when needed, but not intrusive. The brother and sister squabble at times, like all do, but there is a strong sense of love and loyalty that is most refreshing. And the friendship between the boys feels so fully realized, so complete and nuanced. The atmosphere of summertime in the Penobscot Bay area of Maine is tangible--I could feel the salt spray, the sparkling sunlight after thick fog. The story is fun, exciting, thoughtful and well-written. I loved everything about it, except the lobstering, and highly recommend it to those looking for a quality middle-grade read. I've probably talked it up too much, for indeed I had no preconceived notions about it when I started reading, but it makes my heart ache that it's being discarded from libraries and has so few reviews here on GoodReads. It deserves a new and wider audience.

Here is the blurb from the cover, it is more accurate than the one currently listed on GoodReads, though it contains very minor spoilers:

"David Blake and his sister Sally have grown up with the legend of the Blake treasure, buried on one of the islands off Saturday Cove, a fishing village on the coast of Maine.

One day, while lobstering in the bay, David and Sally seek shelter from a summer storm in an abandoned house on Blake's Island. There they find a musty chart that seems to be a definite clue. Curious and excited, they decide to solve the family mystery.

But Sally loses the chart, and David reckons without the troublesome interference of Roddy McNeil, a newcomer to Saturday Cove. Roddy's father threatens to buy Blake's Island and the children fear the treasure will be lost to them forever.

The mystery is heightened with the discovery of an unidentified eavesdroppers, the disappearance of a rare pewter button, and the fishermen's growing suspicion that it is David who is stealing lobsters from their traps.

Barbee Oliver Carleton successfully captures the special flavor of the Maine coast, and brings to children a story of unusual imagination and excitement."

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "So far, I am enjoying Katie John, but reading it is a bit of a pain because I can only borrow it for one hour at a time on Open Library (will try to see if that has..."

It most definitely is annoying but the story is enjoyable so for now I will preserve.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Kathryn wrote: "Just remembered a vintage gem I read and liked very much several years ago has a summer setting: The Secret of Saturday Cove..."

I've been trying to get a copy of that since you first mentioned. I have just now added it to my wishlist and paperbackswap.

Your review does remind me of another you may like, one of my youngest son's favorites, Meg of Heron's Neck.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I was looking for a summer vacation themed middle gr..."

Oh thank you for alerting me to this! I enjoyed it so very much and would have treasured it as a child, too. And the art lessons are wonderful! I can't imagine how much richer my life would have been if I'd learned this stuff when I was a child.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I was looking for a summer vacatio..."

I was so surprised how much I enjoyed this. Kind of want my own copy.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "Your review does remind me of another you may like, one of my youngest son's favorites, Meg of Heron's Neck


Thank you for the recommendation and I hope you'll be able to get a copy of Saturday Cove :-)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I was looking for a summer vacatio..."

This does sound really good. I'll try to find a copy.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I was looking for a..."

I read this on Open Library but kind of which I could find a copy for myself.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Manybooks wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is basically that I w..."

I found a hard copy and ordered it :-) It sounds like a keeper and I vastly prefer paper books if I can get my hands on them.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "The Vanishing Point

So the main reason why I actually ended up reading Susan Bonners’ 2005 The Vanishing Point is ..."

I just do not really have any book shelf space at present, but I am definitely considering a copy.

[QNPoohBear]

I may read The Forget-Me-Not Summer. The author must be local. She has many books set on Cape Cod.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

QNPoohBear wrote: "I may read The Forget-Me-Not Summer. The author must be local. She has many books set on Cape Cod."

That looks great!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Kathryn wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "I may read The Forget-Me-Not Summer. The author must be local. She has many books set on Cape Cod."

That looks great!"

I found it at one of my libraries as an ebook. I'm over halfway, and I find it engaging, though the themes are not subtle, and the girls not particularly likable at first.

[QNPoohBear]

Cheryl wrote: "I found it at one of my libraries as an ebook. I'm over halfway, and I find it engaging, though the themes are not subtle, and the girls not particularly likable at first..."

Thanks for the input. Niece #2 isn't always likable. Perhaps she'll like the story when she's ready for "big" books. ;-) I found it as an e-book and in print. I'll probably opt for print. My current books are due the 15th so I'll make a library run next week.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

I will definitely say that for me, The Vanishing Point has been my hands down favourite specifically summer book this month (and I might even like it a tad more than Jane of Lantern Hill, and for me that says a lot). And this was totally a chance discovery on Open Library.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

A new brand-fantasy is also being marketed as a summer-themed book, The Book of Fatal Errors. Just fyi, as it does look worth considering, after libraries have had a chance to buy and catalog it.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

So, I do find it kind of funny that most camping stories I have read to date seem to deal with hijinks, disasters and boy/girl issues, kind of standard I guess, but I find it also a bit boring and predictable, such as for example the fact that most horse camp stories often have some weather related causing some of the riders to be lost and then usually they are found by the least popular camper who thus also redeems him or herself.

[QNPoohBear]

Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story doesn't quite follow that pattern. It mirrors WWII with the girls having a color war. Molly has to overcome some personal challenges (view spoiler)[fear of swimming underwater (hide spoiler)] to save the day. There is a sort of mean girl but Molly is super bossy and I don't think she gets along well with other bossy girls. Hers is one of the only Saves the Day book where the heroine doesn't get into stupid trouble.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

QNPoohBear wrote: "Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story doesn't quite follow that pattern. It mirrors WWII with the girls having a color war. Molly has to overcome some personal challenges [spoilers remo..."

Is the story actually set in WWII? Not sure I would like a story about super bossy girls, but if Open Library has a copy I might take a look.