Skip to main content

The Summer I Learned to Fly


The Summer I Learned to Fly is a YA coming-of-age novel by Dana Reinhardt.

Drew is thirteen-years-old in 1986 as this story takes off. We get the sense that an older Drew is telling the story.

She’s a loner and an obedient daughter to her single Mom, working diligently at their cheese shop. Drew carts around her best friend, her rat, everywhere with her in her backpack – against the rules - and has been reading her deceased dad’s Book of Lists without her Mom’s knowledge. She found the Lists by accident, but savors every second of getting to know a father that died before she had any memory of him.

As she spends her days in routine, happy to spend her days with her crush, Nick, who is older and works behind the counter in-between surfing – one night at closing, things change. Drew meets Emmett Crane.

He’s eating the cheese shop’s castoffs because he apparently likes their food, has a cut on his cheek, and is very friendly with Drew’s rat – not to mention oddly knowledgeable about rats in general. He intrigues Drew.

This new kindling of friendship is so unfamiliar for Drew, but also exciting. She may have found her first real friend – that is, if he’ll ever tell her what he’s hiding.

The Summer I Learned to Fly is the epitome of a coming-of-age story, and the summer setting only increases the tender nostalgia of it. I found Drew to likable and believable in her young teen years, realistically portrayed as a cautious loner. The fact that the story is told in past-tense, from an older perspective, brings a level of maturity and depth to it as well.

Dana Reinhardt definitely makes the novel emotionally magnetic. It’s a slice-of-life, lessons-learned type of book done very well. There’s a raw simplicity to her portrayal of the ordinary tragedies of life in motion. Without giving away the various plot developments, I will say that The Summer I Learned to Fly was at times very painful to read, sad, and touching as are the real-life growing pains of learning to make decisions that hurt and moments you’ll always remember.

It was enough to make you cry, sob, and look back on your own childhood – or maybe remind you of your current one. I don’t always love these kinds of books, because sometimes I feel like they purposefully pull on your heartstrings, and I didn't adore the end of this one – but it’s impossible to deny the excellent storytelling of this author and worth of this slim but memorable little novel.

Bring a box of Kleenex.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar