She'd planned her
entire school vacation in the early days of spring, but the summer of
1979 doesn't turn out to be what 12 year old Annie expected: her best
friend is away at camp, Connor Bartlett barely notices her anymore, and
her family, trying to protect her from the reality of her grandmother's
illness, only seem to further isolate her.
Struggling to navigate the crossroads of young adulthood, Annie turns to an unlikely confidant: a reclusive young veteran at war with his own past.
As the summer days pass and her 13th birthday edges closer, Annie discovers that growing up has little to do with age and everything to do with letting go and moving on.
Struggling to navigate the crossroads of young adulthood, Annie turns to an unlikely confidant: a reclusive young veteran at war with his own past.
As the summer days pass and her 13th birthday edges closer, Annie discovers that growing up has little to do with age and everything to do with letting go and moving on.
In the summer that Annie turns from twelve to thirteen, her life is confusing, yet comforting. She's trying to find her way and understand why her parents are still treating her like a child, when they aren't her younger sister.
She has a crush on the neighbor boy and spends a lot of her free time panning for gold in the nearby creek or laying out in her 'fort', created by laying on the ground between all of the laundry hung on the line. She misses her grandma.
Her grandma broke a hip and then was put into a nursing home. Her family is struggling with the fact that she also has Altzheimer's but her parents still won't take Annie to see her. She doesn't care that grandma won't know who she is, it's still her grandma.
She begins to spend more and more time with the Vietnam vet down the street. He doesn't treat her like a baby and the two share many conversations. As the world changes around Annie, she balances on the precipice of still being a kid and growing up.
She begins to spend more and more time with the Vietnam vet down the street. He doesn't treat her like a baby and the two share many conversations. As the world changes around Annie, she balances on the precipice of still being a kid and growing up.
An easy to read coming of age novel, Gold in the Days of Summer brings back memories of childhood and the complexities of friendship, family and growing up. Annie is a likable character who I really came to admire, in a time of her life that juggles different emotions and changes. Highly recommend!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.
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