The Blossoming Summer

by Anna Rose Johnson Narrated by Charley Flyte

Overview

When English thirteen-year-old Rosemary is evacuated to her grandmother in America at the start of World War II, she uncovers the family secret-they are Anishinaabe and passing as white.

Life in England is all Rosemary has ever known . . . but as WWII changes the world, no one's life is left unscathed. Suddenly, she's sent away to escape the devastation of London. Her grandmother's house on Lake Superior is safe, but unfamiliar, especially as she discovers her parents have kept a tremendous secret.

Rosemary and her family are Anishinaabe-and no one is supposed to know.

Far from home but newly connected to a once-hidden part of her family, Rosemary develops a warm, close relationship with her grandmother . . . and a local boy whose love of gardening helps her to see the beauty in her unexpected circumstances. As Rosemary grows into her new life like a flower in bloom, she realizes that maybe she's not as far from home as she thought.

Tender, sophisticated, and sweet, this is a beautiful story about memory, family, and identity. Rising Ojibwe author Anna Rose Johnson addresses the trauma of World War II and the legacies of hidden indigeneity alongside coming-of-age milestones like first crushes, new schools, and beginning to imagine the life you want. Hand The Blossoming Summer to fans of Christine Day, L.M. Montgomery, and Kimberly Brubaker Bradley!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Rosemary’s contending with worries regardingrelocation, familial tensions, and war add tenderness to this gentle historical read.
—Publishers Weekly

Johnson’s novel sensitively unpacks the generational trauma of injustices and discrimination against Native peoples both in the U.S. and abroad. . . .An uplifting and heartwarming novel that celebrates family and heritage.
—Kirkus Reviews

This story, with its plucky, do-gooder protagonist who learns lessons about looking for the good in others, will please readers who have already torn through the American Girl series.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Johnson's atmospheric writing captures both the beauty and tumult of the time. Rosemary's quiet voice and steadfast perseverance are a strong companion to themes of weighty parental expectations and the difficulty of healing from identity-related trauma. Rosemary's bicultural perspective offers a fresh, new take in the historical fiction realm.
—Booklist

A sweet story of unity with a World War II backdrop. . . . The inclusion of Anishinaabemowin words brings authenticity to the story, and Rosemary’s urge to learn more about her background rings true. . . .This is well suited for fans of cozy historical fiction, such as Anne of Green Gables.
—School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-16
During World War II, a 13-year-old girl who always tries to keep the peace within her family discovers her Indigenous cultural roots and long-suppressed family secrets.

Rosemary and her two younger brothers have been scattered across England for the past three years while their parents have sought stable employment. Rosemary has lived in London with critical Aunt Katie and Uncle John, who have little good to say about Rosemary’s American father. Given the imminent threat of Germany’s Luftwaffe bombing campaign, Dad, who’s a veteran of the Great War, decides to reunite the family. They’ll sail for America to stay with his estranged mother in Wisconsin. Grandmother Charlotte, whose mother was “a full-blooded Ojibwe woman” and father was from Scotland, introduces the children to Anishinaabemowin vocabulary and Ojibwe ways. Her grandmother proposes a private bargain to Rosemary: If she helps with her garden so she can win at the county fair, she’ll lease Dad some land to build a home where the family can remain together, as Rosemary has long dreamed. The well-drawn rustic Wisconsin wilderness setting is enriched by the introduction of Anishinaabemowin terms for local flora, supplemented by a glossary. Johnson’s novel sensitively unpacks the generational trauma of injustices and discrimination against Native peoples both in the U.S. and abroad. Rosemary and her father’s side of the family are, like the author, of Indigenous and European descent.

An uplifting and heartwarming novel that celebrates family and heritage. (map, author’s note)(Historical fiction. 9-14)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940190851489
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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