Summer at Meadow Wood

by Amy Rebecca Tan

Overview

From the author of A Kind of Paradise comes a beautiful and heartfelt middle grade novel for fans of Ali Standish and Sally J. Pla, about a girl who finds comfort in the warm traditions and unexpected friendships of summer camp.

Vic Brown did not want to go to camp this summer.

Even though it’s nice being back with her friends at Meadow Wood, Vic still can’t forget about the secret reason her mom wanted her and her brother out of the house—or how much her family is going to change. When her home life is blowing up, it can be hard to focus on campfires and canoeing.

But there is something about summer and surprises that go together like blueberry pancakes and maple syrup. And soon, Vic starts to feel like—just maybe—a summer at Meadow Wood was exactly what she needed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062795458
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/19/2020
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	621,461
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Amy Rebecca Tan is the author of A Kind of Paradise and Summer at Meadow Wood. She currently works in a public library and an independent bookstore. Amy lives in New Jersey with her family. You can visit her online at www.amyrebeccatan.com.

Editorial Reviews

Vic’s engaging first-person narrative lets readers feel her emotional distress as well as her intellect, which actively seeks inspiration, hope, and practical coping strategies. An inviting choice, particularly for readers who enjoyed its companion book, Tan’s A Kind of Paradise (2019).

Booklist

Vic’s engaging first-person narrative lets readers feel her emotional distress as well as her intellect, which actively seeks inspiration, hope, and practical coping strategies. An inviting choice, particularly for readers who enjoyed its companion book, Tan’s A Kind of Paradise (2019).

Booklist

★ 04/01/2020

Gr 3–7—Thirteen-year-old Vic is furious that her mother shipped her and her little brother to camp in New Hampshire. Meadow Wood used to be a place Vic looked forward to returning to every summer, but this year is different because Vic knows the real reason she is at camp—her mother needed the kids out of the house to deal with her "big secret," Darrin. Feeling betrayed and confused, Vic begins searching for answers in Meadow Wood and finds them in the least expected places. This title is a true tween read. Vic and her friends are girls on the brink of many teenage moments including crushes, peer pressure, and realizing that parents are far from perfect. Vic looks for guidance in many people at camp. Earl, the camp director's husband, teaches Vic the importance of hard work through gardening; Chieko, the angsty-yet-wise college counselor, teaches Vic about her idol Eleanor Roosevelt and that your first love can crush you but won't break you; and Vera, a seven-year-old first year camper, whose quirky self adores Vic wholeheartedly. VERDICT This exceptional summer read is a true middle school novel—gentle enough for preteens and layered enough for teens through eighth grade. Hand to fans of Rebecca Stead, Jenny Han, and Sarah Dessen.—Anna Taylor, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
Eleanor Roosevelt and gardening both prove to be unexpected sources of inspiration for 13-year-old Vic, who finds herself reluctantly back at the summer camp she's attended for years after she learns her parents are having marriage difficulties.

Despite the friends Vic has made over the years at Meadow Wood, she'd hoped to spend a laid-back summer at home with her bestie, Jamie (whose story is told in A Kind of Paradise, 2019, which is not a prerequisite for this stand-alone), and is furious that she and her brother were shipped off as a matter of convenience for her mom. Slowly, with the help of her curmudgeonly but caring counselor Chieko, who is brooding over her own recent breakup with her girlfriend, and the mentoring of diligent camp co-director Earl, Vic begins to see a way through her struggles. If at times these worthwhile life lessons are a bit heavy-handed, many other elements in this warmhearted novel are likely to charm middle-grade readers, including the quirkily funny, brainy younger camper Vera whom Vic takes under her wing and a kind Latinx boy named Angel, who becomes a sweet first love interest when she meets him at the local farmers market. Vic and Vera are white, and there is some realistic ethnic diversity represented in secondary characters, conveyed both via description and naming convention (Chieko is likely of Japanese heritage, for instance).

A gentle novel perfect for middle graders looking for a summer read. (Fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews

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