Memories of Summer

This is a great book for people who like to read about familes and who havew members that have health problems. This story starts off with a family of three, a father, and two sisters, who live in Glory Bottom, which is located in Virginia. The father's name is Poppy, and the youngest daughter's name is Lyric. The oldest daughter's name is Summer. They don't have a mother. One day, on Summer's sixteenth birthday, Poppy tells the great news. They were all moving to Michigan, where they rented a little apartment, from Poppy's friend, Henry. School started, and Lyric got used to it, but Summer decided to drop out because she hated the school. Now, Summer started to act different. She started to have thoughts about wovles and inner voices, telling her to do things. One night, she was in the room all alone, and Lyric and Poppy were having dinner. Summer ran into the kitchen, and she had all these scratches on her face! Blood was pouring down her face, and they had to admitt her to the hospital. The doctor treated her, but then he said that Summer was having delusions and hallucinations. The doctor wasn't sure, but he said that Summer might be seeing the dead. That was why she kept saying that her mother was right next to her. The main thing that surprised Lyric and Poppy was when the doctor said that Summer had gone mental. Now Lyric had to live with a mental sister, and Lyric had to watch her all the time, because she wouldn't know what she's doiong, and she might run away, or maybe even burn the house! One day, Lyric was asking Summer things, and Summer said that the voices inside her were telling her to do things. Poor Summer had to take many medicines, to control her. After a while, the medicine stopped controling her, because it didn't effect her. They had to put her in the Pontiac, where the doctors would watch her, and take proper care of her. Lyric and Poppy weren't able to watch out for Summer, so now they had to live without her. Without telling anyone, the doctors did an electric shock therapy, which was supposed to be effective, but it didn't effect her, because she was extremely afraid of electric things. Now the doctors told Lyric that she had no sister anymore. She was dead. She died from the disease called schizophrenia. It was a relief to not have to look after her every second, but it hurt inside to not have a family member present with them. Lyric and Poppy got used to living without Summer, but they would never forget her.
I liked this book a lot, because it was a very unique book, compared to other ones. It had many different emotions, sometimes it made you cry, and sometimes it made you laugh. "She's gone mental, and that's all there is to it." This quote is important because it told a lot about Summer and what kind of problems she was facing. It made me feel sad for Lyric and Poppy. "The candle makes me look so big!" This quote sounds very funny, but it's not supposed to be funny. At this time, Summer was facing one of her mental problems. She doesn't know what she's saying, because it's the "voices" inside her that are telling her what to do.
My favorite part of the book was when Lyric and Summer (before she had mental problems) went out to fairs and parties the first week they moved to Michigan. They ate cotton candy, and spent a lot of time together. It made me want to have a great time with my brother. All I can say is that this is one of the best books that I have ever read!


Summer   January 6, 2004
Memories of summer is a touching,funny,happy,sad,sometimes
freaky novel. A family is moving to Michigan from Virginia,
but one of the members, Summer, has an emerging mental illness
problem. Captures many moods (mostly sadness) in a perfect way,
as you are swept into the family's world. Now the family is
forced to watch Summer deteriorate in front of their eyes.
The lingering feel of sadness is felt throughout. I recommend
this to all potential readers.