Summer's End

by Audrey Couloumbis

Overview

The summer Grace turns thirteen is when everything changes. The Vietnam War is raging, and Grace's brother, Collin, is drafted. But Collin decides to take a stand and burn his draft card, igniting a war within the family. Grace suddenly finds herself bewildered and angry, thrust into a turbulent political climate. The war is everywhere, and Grace quickly learns that she cannot escape it, no matter how hard she tries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101563465
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/01/2007
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	369 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Audrey Couloumbis’s first book for children, Getting Near to Baby, won the Newbery Honor in 2000. Audrey is also the author of several other highly acclaimed books for young readers, including The Misadventures of Maude March, which was named a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Booksense 76 Pick, a New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, and a National Parenting Publications Gold Award Winner.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6-9-This novel poignantly captures the tensions, uncertainties, and rifts caused by the Vietnam War. When 13-year-old Grace's brother, Collin, burns his draft card, his stepfather throws him out of the house and the teen heads to Canada. Grace's mother, whose first husband died in the Korean War, supports her son's decisions. Grace is confused about who is right and where her allegiance lies. When the arguing gets to be too much for her, she retreats to her grandmother's farm, where she encounters her large extended family, among them her teenage cousins, who have older brothers whose lives have also been impacted by the war. When Uncle Milford dies in an accident, his relatives recognize the fragility of life and the importance of family. In its touching examination of loss, grief, and the power of families to heal, this novel is reminiscent of Getting Near to Baby (Putnam, 1999). The first-person, present-tense narrative conveys powerful emotions with the simplest of words. Grace's jealousy of her brother, her confusion, and her simultaneously missing and being mad at him all ring true. She comes to realize that all choices are hard, and that while people you care about don't always do what you think is right, it is important that families stay together. Couloumbis's spare, strong writing aptly conveys a difficult time in America.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

In the summer of 1965, Grace's brother Collin is growing his hair long, reading Johnny Got His Gun and becoming involved in anti-war protests. When he torches his draft card, his father puts his belongings out on the front porch, effectively disowning him. Collin heads to Canada; his father wonders if he can hold up his head in town anymore; Grace's mother is caught in the middle; and Grace's primary concern is that her 13th birthday party won't happen now. Couloumbis traces the ripple effects of Collin's action throughout Grace's extended family and expertly navigates the ebb and flow of family relationships in a time of stress. Grace's journey from self-absorption to empathy is well drawn, as is the family drama in which each character changes in a realistic way, and hope proves to be made of "really tough stuff if it was still able to draw breath around here." A strong Vietnam War-era and coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 11+)

Kirkus Reviews