Hi everyone, in the spirit of all things summer, I give you a teen story set over a summer vacation in Spain. I know what you’re thinking, my connecting theme is ‘Summer’ but I would have to vehemently shake my head and reply, ‘Just a happy accident!’ Any-who, I hope to see you below soon…
Title: The summer of broken things by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Genre: Fiction – contemporary
ISBN: 9781481417648 (Hardcover)
Publication details: Simon & Schuster BFYR; NY, 2018
What this book is about: Avery Armisted is an athletic and pretty fourteen-year-old. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts has been called the “butt girl” at school for too long. The two girls were friendly as kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends – and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town. But in Spain the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them – and their families – further apart. Margaret Peterson Haddix weaves together two completely separate lives in this engaging novel that explores what it really means to be a family – and what to do when it’s all falling apart.
My review: Told in the two distinct voices of soccer-crazy Avery and calmer Kayla, this teen read is just that. A story of two very different teens who find out they’re not just acquaintances and try to figure things out. I like how each character grew towards the end and the mish-mash of the supporting cast who helped them. The amazing descriptions of the Spanish landscape in Madrid, the nuances of the ancient culture there and the Spanish people in general had me captured from the first chapter until the end. I enjoyed the classroom scenes and found myself trying to remember my university Spanish. I didn’t realize there was a memorial for the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid at Atocha train station until I read this book. I thought of how well this book touched on the impact of injustice in the world as seen through the eyes of two different American teens. An engaging read!!
My rating: 4 ⭐
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 