The Summer of Bad Ideas

by Kiera Stewart

Overview

In this funny, big-hearted friendship story, perfect for fans of Wendy Mass and Linda Urban, twelve-year-old Edie and her impossibly cool cousin, Rae, set out to complete a mysterious list of “Good Ideas for Summertime” that their eccentric late grandmother wrote back when she was their age.

But good ideas? Most of them seem like bad ideas. Reckless. Foolish. Ridiculous. Still, by accomplishing everything on the list, rule-abiding Edie feels certain that she can become the effortlessly brave adventurer she dreams of being, just like her daring cousin and bold grandmother. For this one summer at least, bad ideas are the best shot she has at becoming who she wants to be.

Bad Idea Number One: It’s time for a new set of rules.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062360212
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kiera Stewart is a writer for teens and tweens. Her qualifications include never having gotten wisdom teeth, and having the same best friend since eighth grade. 

Her most exciting years were between birth and age four, when she lived in three different countries. After a whirlwind toddlerhood, she settled into the suburbs of Washington, D.C., where she stayed through college. After graduating from The American University with a degree in psychology, she moved to Savannah, Georgia, and stayed for seven interesting but bug-infested years, before returning to the DC area to work in television publicity. 

She now lives in Sonoma County, California, but spends a lot of time in Latin America, where she is working on her next novel and learning Spanish. When she's not writing, Kiera teaches yoga and English as a Second Language. 

Kiera is the author of three novels: Fetching; How to Break a Heart; and The Summer of Bad Ideas. You can learn more and connect with Kiera at www.kierastewart.com.

Editorial Reviews

With charm, wit, and just the right amount of awkwardness, Stewart offers a fresh take on the classic coming-of-age tale, one that remembers with ease a time when summer meant freedom and freedom meant finding yourself. — Booklist

A bright, funny gem that charms with its spot-on sarcasm and wit. — Kirkus Reviews

 Stweart’s whimsical contemporary coming-of-age story is full of sweetness and moments of sheer chutzpah.     — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

With charm, wit, and just the right amount of awkwardness, Stewart offers a fresh take on the classic coming-of-age tale, one that remembers with ease a time when summer meant freedom and freedom meant finding yourself.

Booklist

With charm, wit, and just the right amount of awkwardness, Stewart offers a fresh take on the classic coming-of-age tale, one that remembers with ease a time when summer meant freedom and freedom meant finding yourself.

Booklist

05/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Edith, her academic parents, and her eight-year old twin siblings (both already members of Mensa) together return to rural Pinne, FL, to prepare Edith's recently deceased grandmother Petunia's house for sale. In the Florida swamp, surrounded by her grandmother's pet snakes and lizards, Edith meets her cousin Rae for the first time. Rae is everything Edith wishes she could be: brave, glamorous, and popular—with a viral Instagram feed and a long-distance boyfriend she met while doing a Shakespeare play. When Edith discovers her grandmother's long-lost list from childhood, "Petunia's Good Ideas for Summertime," she sets out to create "Edie," a new version of herself. These adventurous challenges, though seemingly "bad ideas" at first glance, once actualized allow Edith to find out who she is and what she values in ways that are both comforting and somewhat unexpected. Stewart's whimsical contemporary coming-of-age story is full of sweetness and moments of sheer chutzpah. VERDICT A fine supplementary addition to medium and large collections in need of summer reads.—Alpha DeLap, St. Thomas School, Medina, WA

School Library Journal

2017-03-15
Sometimes getting grounded is the first step to freedom, especially when you're using bad ideas to guide your path. Edith and her quirky, offbeat family travel to Florida for the summer after the passing of her grandmother Petunia. Though she never met her grandma, she feels an odd kinship with the nontraditional woman, especially after finding Petunia's old list of goals, which comes with a warning: "Not for the Fainthearted!!!" Feeling abandoned by her back-home friend, Taylor, and lost in her family dynamic—overprotective mother, wannabe cool dad, and obnoxious, genius younger twin siblings, she is desperately in need of an identity of her own. Preferably one that does not include "boring" as a description, a moniker she overheard at a recent social gathering where Taylor was accepted but she was not. Renaming herself Edie and working with her almost-famous cousin Rae (she's acted in commercials) for the summer as the family repairs Petunia's old house to sell forces the reluctant dare-taker to want to push her limits. However, a mishmash of lies and half-truths between Edie and Rae threatens to destroy their budding friendship. Through Edie's candid voice, Stewart pens a bright, funny gem that charms with its spot-on sarcasm and wit. Readers will appreciate the clever way she re-creates the awkwardness of trying to figure yourself out. This middle-grade friendship book makes a fun, quick read. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews