The Summer of the Swans
Betsy Byars (Juvenile Fiction)
Fourteen-year old Sara Godfrey is having the worst summer of her life. She hates her orange sneakers, she has the biggest feet in school, and don’t even mention her nose. “I just feel like nothing,” she tells her sister. But all that changes when her ten-year old brother, Charlie, goes missing. Suddenly, Sara realizes what is truly important and what really matters.
Sara not only struggles with her own adolescent issues, but is dealing with an absentee father, meddling aunt, and a brother suffering from a mental impairment. Byars accurately captures and conveys the angst, anger, and anxiety that most teens endure and provides readers with a realistic sense of Sara’s desperate desire to fit in, to be liked, and to be accepted. More than just a coming-of-age book, The Summer of the Swans also provides an insight into Charlie’s mind and reveals his own desire for stability and security. Byars shows us how love requires no words and perhaps is more accurately spoken not through the mouth, but by the heart.
Rating: 4/5
The Dusty Jacket 