The Bridges of Summer

by Brenda Seabrooke

Overview

Zarah hates to miss ballet classes. What is she going to do all summer without electricity, microwave, refrigerator, INDOOR PLUMBING? Why does her young cousin Loomis rake dirt all day? And why is that chicken so frizzled?

"A sophisticated New Yorker returns unwillingly to her roots when her mother sends her for a summer with her grandmother Quanamina off the Carolina coast."-Kirkus

"Stong, smart, and creative, Zarah is a memorable heroine."-The Horn Book

"Fine character development lends credibility to this rich and compelling story of clashing cultures and human understanding."-SLJ

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780595437207
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/03/2007
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	10 Years

About the Author

Brenda Seabrooke is the author of 19 books for young readers. Awards include the 2006 WV Children?s Book Award, BOSTON GLOBE HORN BOOK Honor, IRA Children?s Choice.

Please visit her website at www.childrensbookguild.org.

Email her at [e-mail].

Teaching Guides gratis at www.childrenslit.com.

Editorial Reviews

Zarah Brown has spent most of her life in New York City, going to a private school, studying ballet, dreaming about her future career. But her irresponsible mother sends her off to South Carolina for the summer, with uncertain prospects for a return trip. On the tiny island of Domingo, Zarah comes face to face with her heritage: her grandmother Quanamina is the daughter of slaves, and has never been outside her Gullah community. Seabrooke ( Judy Scuppernong ) presents a compelling look at a rapidly disappearing way of life. But what may disturb readers is the fact that, even as Zarah gets to know her grandmother, the girl is driven essentially by ambition and selfishness. When the grandmother dies, Zarah ends up forging her signature and selling the island to an unscrupulous developer in order to get herself and her cousin back to New York. Her decision is meant to show Zarah's strength of character, but it may leave the reader wondering whether she really had to burn those bridges she crossed in going to her grandmother. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 6-9-- Sarah Jane Brown--or Princess Zarah as she prefers to be known--goes, against her wishes, to spend the summer with her grandmother, Quanamina, on an island off the South Carolina coast. Zarah is a New York City girl, an aspiring actress and ballet dancer; her not always reliable mother has gone off to pursue her singing career. On Domingo Island, Zarah confronts her roots in the guise of the Gullah, descendants of slaves who were able to buy and keep land after the Civil War. She is is at once fascinated and repelled by their slow- paced lives and superstitions. Practicing ballet to the rhythm of the waves, she meets Benicia, a white girl visiting from California, who feels equally displaced on her grandparents' family's nearby island. When their friendship is tem pered by their elders' needs to have them be have in traditional roles, Zarah and Benicia understand that the issues are not only those of black and white, but also of old and new and the fear of change. By summer's end, Zarah has realized her grandmother's considerable strengths and has not only learned about her heritage, but also feels a personal connection to it. Seabrooke has keenly crafted the setting to reflect societal values and specifically the cul ture of the Gullah. Fine character development lends credibility to this rich and compelling sto ry of clashing cultures and human understand ing. --Sylvia V. Meisner, Allen Middle School, Greensboro, NC

School Library Journal