The Summer I Got A Life
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"Andy's mishaps with custard and cows left me laughing out loud! Mark Fink peels back the curtain on the mind and heart of a teen boy, a smart, funny guy any girl would love as a boyfriend. The Summer I Got a Life is a guy book that girls will love to read.”
-- C. Leigh Purtill,
author of Love, Meg and All About Vee
Andy Crenshaw has reason to sulk when his big summer trip is hijacked from Hawaii to Wisconsin. Instead, this kid rolls with the punches, embraces his funky relatives, avoids the cows in the road and sees beauty beyond surface appearances. Andy is a hoot and The Summer I Got A Life is hilarious - as well as sensitive and insightful. I loved the characters, who are perfectly drawn in all their imperfections.
-- John Foley,
author of Hoops of Steel and A Mighty Wall
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A Review From Kristin, A Middle-School Student
This is Kristin. You came to my school the other day and gave me your e-mail and the book. Thank you so much for that. I was extremely happy all day.
I really enjoyed the book. All of the major characters were well developed. My favorite, though, probably had to be Laura. She was interesting, she made me laugh, and her relationship with Andy was really cute. She was strong, and didn't really let others look down on her. I liked that, seeing as those types of female characters can be hard to find. I often am a bit nit-picky when it comes to characters having flaws, because
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when a character is perfect, it can get rather irritating, and while she didn't seem to have many, they stood out enough to make her human. I liked her personality, mainly because it's fun reading about someone who's a little nuts.
I also really enjoyed seeing Andy's relationship with Brad, and how that developed, particularly the situation on the Suicide Rock, which I have to admit was one of my favorites, for some reason. Maybe because it humanized Brad a bit, and I actually started to like him after that, as to before that, where he seemed a bit...harsh? Shallow? Jock-ish? (I don't think that's a word.) Well, either way, I liked seeing his character development.
Uncle Jim and Aunt Karen were wacky (The image of Margaret the pig running around the mall comes to mind), and definitely made me laugh a lot. I found myself liking the dog, Clyde, too. (Though for the life of me, I can't imagine a dog turning down an oreo.)
I liked how the comedy was branched out throughout the book. I could probably quote some of the lines that stuck in my head, but you wrote them, so I won't bother.
The only thing I'd have to say about the book is that Brad's relationship with Jim and Karen, nor his friends, were gone through with much detail, but the book really isn't about Brad, so I guess it really doesn't make a difference.
I could definitely say a bit more (mainly about Andy), but I actually have to go eat dinner, so for a quick wrap-up: I loved it ^_^ I'll definitely try to pick up the other book you showed us, Stepping Up, whenever I can.
-Kristin |
School Library Journal, December 2009
Andy is pumped that his freshman year is over and his vacation is about to begin. Then his dad’s promotion changes everything. Instead of Hawaii, Andy is spending two weeks on a farm in Wisconsin with his somewhat odd, but well-meaning, aunt and uncle.
Once there, though, he finds that things aren’t so bad, particularly when he spots “the most incredible-looking girl he has ever seen.” After a disastrous first impression (Andy runs into a lamppost and drops ice cream all over himself), they meet and Andy discovers that an accident at age four has left Laura confined to a wheelchair.
Her indomitable spirit and optimism captivate him, and for the next two weeks they are inseparable.
This is an engaging novel filled with life lessons, a little romance, humor, sports, and fraternal love. Laura’s disability is dealt with matter-of-factly and doesn’t dominate the story or her relationship with Andy. The characters are fresh and memorable, the teen voices are authentic, and the plot moves along at a good pace.
– Kelley Siegrist, Farmington Community Library, MI
Library Lounge Lizard Book Review
made me laugh, and her relationship with Andy was really cute. She was strong, and didn't really let others look down on her. I liked that, seeing as those types of female characters can be hard to find. I often am a bit nit-picky when it comes to characters having flaws, because when a character is perfect, it can get rather irritating, and while she didn't seem to have many, they stood out enough to make her human. I liked her personality, mainly because it's fun reading about someone who's a little nuts.
I also really enjoyed seeing Andy's relationship with Brad, and how that developed, particularly the situation on the Suicide Rock, which I have to admit was one of my favorites, for some reason. Maybe because it humanized Brad a bit, and I actually started to like him after that, as to before that, where he seemed a bit...harsh? Shallow? Jock-ish? (I don't think that's a word.) Well, either way, I liked seeing his character development.
Uncle Jim and Aunt Karen were wacky (The image of Margaret the pig running around the mall comes to mind), and definitely made me laugh a lot. I found myself liking the dog, Clyde, too. (Though for the life of me, I can't imagine a dog turning down an oreo.)
I liked how the comedy was branched out throughout the book. I could probably quote some of the lines that stuck in my head, but you wrote them, so I won't bother.
The only thing I'd have to say about the book is that Brad's relationship with Jim and Karen, nor his friends, were gone through with much detail, but the book really isn't about Brad, so I guess it really doesn't make a difference.
I could definitely say a bit more (mainly about Andy), but I actually have to go eat dinner, so for a quick wrap-up: I loved it ^_^ I'll definitely try to pick up the other book you showed us, Stepping Up, whenever I can.
-Kristin |
Stepping Up
“Short, shy, stuttering and worst of all, average, Ernie Dolan learns at Basketball camp the real moves that make a man. Inspiring.”
-- Robert Lipsyte, author of The Contender and Yellow Flag
“Mark Fink’s Stepping Up is an insightful, moving and funny novel about basketball—and much more. Fink knows the game, nails the voice and populates his work with realistic characters. You can’thelp cheer for Ernie Dolan as he takes his best shot.”
-- John Foley, author of Hoops of Steel
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