LEARNING JOY FROM DOGS WITHOUT COLLARS: A Memoir

When Summer entered Harvard in 1994, she stood out: she wore eight earrings, wrestled competitively and had spent much of her life homeless, living with relatives, in foster care and in shelters with her mother. In this affecting but uneven memoir, Summer, now 26, recounts her first 22 years, from being a hungry, helpless child in Oregon and California to graduating from an Ivy League school. It's a comprehensive, chronological account, and it sometimes seems to include every memory of Summer's early life, from seeing her first movie to shoplifting with a friend from her homeless shelter. Conversely, she glosses over some key issues. She doesn't explain why her intelligent, articulate mother, Elizabeth, cannot support herself and Summer. Elizabeth has had hard times and bad luck; she's eccentric and doesn't bow to authority. But except for a cursory mention of her mother's depression, Summer skirts the topic. Similarly, Summer mentions she's a lesbian, but doesn't address her sexuality in this coming-of-age story. Despite these gaps, Summer presents herself as a smart, resourceful optimist who doesn't allow circumstances or self-pity to deter her. She eloquently describes her passion for wrestling and, toward the end of the book, reaches out to her biological father, whom she's never met; the two forge a satisfying relationship. She also shares lively stories about Harvard (though during that time she omits almost any reference to her mother, who lives nearby, in a Boston homeless shelter). Summer's tale is memorable as she writes frankly about poverty, shame and class distinctions. Agents, Rochelle Lurie, Lane Zachary. (June)

Forecast:The recent Lifetime movie, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, presented an account similar to Summer's, which may help the book get media coverage.