Summer on the Short Bus

by Bethany Crandall

Overview

Cricket Montgomery has been thrown under the short bus. Shipped off to a summer camp by her father, Cricket is forced to play babysitter to a bunch of whiny kids — or so she thinks. When she realizes this camp is actually for teens with special needs, Cricket doubts she has what it takes to endure twenty-four hours, let alone two weeks.

Thanks to her dangerously cute co-counselor, Quinn, there may be a slim chance for survival. However, between the campers' unpredictability and disregard for personal space, Cricket's limits get pushed. She will have to decide if suffering through her own handicapped hell is worth a summer romance — and losing her sanity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762449514
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,002,482
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Bethany Crandell writes young adult novels because the feelings that come with life's "first" times are too good not to relive again and again. Summer on the Short Bus is Crandell's debut. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two daughters, one of whom is differently-abled. Visit Bethany online at bethanycrandell.com and Twitter @bethanycrandell.

Editorial Reviews

04/14/2014
When 17-year-old Cricket's self-serving behavior crosses a line (she hosts a party in the riding stables), her father sends her to Camp I Can for two weeks. There, she's removed from her privileged life and thrust into the role of counselor for teenagers with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy—to Cricket, "a bunch of retards." Meeting Quinn, a fellow counselor (and a Zac Efron lookalike), and an intense roommate temporarily distract Cricket from what she's certain is her own worst nightmare incarnate. But her narrow-mindedness and insensitive comments (she refers to the campers as "dog-faced") alienate her few potential friends. In her debut novel, Crandell draws from her experience raising a daughter with cerebral palsy, sensitively conveying the impact of stereotypes and hurtful comments without resorting to moralizing. Uncomfortable moments, unflinchingly conveyed, are gingerly balanced with a sense of humor. Crandell creates a maddening yet sympathetic character in Cricket, who is realistically slow to learn her lessons in compassion and human kindness. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rachael Dugas, Talcott Notch Literary Services. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"In her debut novel, Crandell draws from her experience raising a daughter with cerebral palsy, sensitively conveying the impact of stereotypes and hurtful comments without resorting to moralizing. Uncomfortable moments, unflinchingly conveyed, are gingerly balanced with a sense of humor. Crandell creates a maddening yet sympathetic character in Cricket, who is realistically slow to learn her lessons in compassion and human kindness. "
—Publishers Weekly

"[Cricket's] growth is a reminder that acceptance of others is hard work, but good work, too."
—Booklist

“The novel is heartwarming and funny... Highly entertaining—this book will appeal to reluctant readers.”
—School Library Journal

“A surprisingly genuine title in an industry known for spewing out pre-manufactured crap".
—Library Journal

From the Publisher

2014-02-26
Constance "Cricket" Montgomery is horrified when, as a semipunishment, her wealthy father nixes her vacation to Maui and sends her to work at Camp I Can "with a bunch of retards" and a strict counselor who knows Cricket mysteriously well. The only thing keeping her sane in a "[h]andicapped hell" of "[s]mashed-in, dog-faces who can actually use the toilet" is Quinn, a Zac Efron look-alike who sees beyond her privileged upbringing and spurs her to notice the funny and poignant "moments" that highlight the campers' human qualities. Cricket's moments, though refreshingly unsaccharine, nonetheless fail to portray the campers as three-dimensional teens. Filtered by her spoiled obliviousness, the campers' jokes and interests—among them Edward Cullen, Hannah Montana and Midol—often come across with a head-patting air of "How cute." Her patronization is especially unsettling considering that she and the campers are of similar age. The campers are little more than Cricket's teachable moments, her change of heart for them notwithstanding—ironically, even as she learns to leave her "posh, fancy bubble," it's still all about her. Though this novel is undoubtedly well-intentioned, it's exasperating, as the emphasis on the message that people with disabilities are people too resigns them to the position of plot devices, not people. Readers who want "moments" should spend time with the campers in Harriet McBryde Johnson's Accidents of Nature (2006), who are already human beings. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

05/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Rich, spoiled, and entitled, the last thing 17-year-old Constance, aka Cricket, wants to do is work as a counselor at a special needs summer camp. She had been planning on spending her vacation in Maui with best friend Katie, but after the ill-advised party she hosted at the riding stables, her furious dad ships her off to Camp I Can for a two-week stint as a counselor. Cricket spends the first part of her stay scheming escape routes while trying to have as little to do as possible with the campers, who, for the most part, have Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. On the bright side, there is fellow counselor Quinn, a Zac Efron doppelgänger, who is as nice as he is cute. Over the course of two very bumpy weeks, Cricket develops an appreciation for the camp and its denizens and matures a great deal—largely due to Quinn's positive influence. The special needs kids are not particularly well-developed characters, although they are endearing and quirky—and two weeks is perhaps an unrealistic amount of time for the protagonist's personality transformation. Despite this, the novel is heartwarming and funny, mainly because of Cricket's scathingly honest politically incorrect internal and external dialogue. Highly entertaining—this book will appeal to reluctant readers.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY

School Library Journal