Memories of Summer

In 1955, thirteen-year-old Lyric finds her whole life changing when her family moves from the hills of Virginia to a town in Michigan and her older sister Summer begins descending into mental illness.

Schizophrenia is a weighty topic, especially for children, but Ruth White handled the subject with great sensitivity. I would highly recommend this book to people who are trying to educate under-12s about mental illness -- with the caveat that the outlook for schizophrenics is better than it was in

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the 1950s at the time this book was set. Side issues in the book -- homesickness and racial prejudice, for example -- are handled well without sounding artificial or intruding into the story too much.

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I gave this book 5 stars because it was simply.....amazing! Did I like it? Can you like something that rips your heart out? That makes you cry so much you have to take your contacts out? This author really speaks to me. Her writing grips me. Her words stay with me. I am a better person for having

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read this. I don't think I will ever look at mental illness the same way again. Now I will think of the families in the background, struggling to hold on to that person they love, even though it's not the same person anymore. There is a part towards the end that is so powerful, where Lyric (the little sister who is the voice of the book) goes through so many emotions - embarrassment, humiliation, anger - before she remembers the love she has for this sister who took care of her and always loved her. Oh gosh, I'm crying again just thinking about it. I highly recommend this book to adults and teenagers, but I'm not sure about children. And now I have to go look at one of those Youtube videos where a baby is laughing at tearing paper or something.

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