One galley that recently grabbed the attention of Christy McDanold, owner of Seattle’s Secret Garden Bookshop, is The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt, which Random House’s Wendy Lamb Books imprint will release next month.
I have always wanted to read one of Dana Reinhardt’s books. She’s been a favorite of several other booksellers at The Secret Garden, and they’ve taken the time to write compelling shelftalkers for them. I am so glad to have finally joined their ranks!
The minute I read the author’s note in the book, I knew this one was a must-read. Set in a cheese shop not unlike Reinhardt’s own mother’s, the novel is so simpatico with what indie bookstore owners do and how our kids see our livelihood from the inside-out. But this is no ode to independent business; it is merely a natural setting for a well-crafted and gracefully told coming-of-age story.
What really holds up in The Summer I Learned to Fly are the characters, especially Drew, whose mother owns the cheese shop. These are folks you “know.” Drew and her mom have been a team for all of Drew’s life—her dad died when she was a baby. It’s the summer before eighth grade, and she happily helps out in the shop most days, and enjoys the company of two other adults who work there—particularly the golden Nick, her secret crush.
The moment when “everything changes” comes when Drew meets Emmett in the alley behind the shop. She feels she has found her first real friend, though not everything about Emmett adds up. When Nick is badly injured in a bike accident and more of Emmett’s tragic story unfolds, Drew decides to help Emmett follow his wild plan to believe again. And while Drew’s newfound rebellion looks sudden to her mother, Drew is finally taking her life into her own hands and making sense of it her own way.
Teens who enjoy the novels of Joan Bauer, Sarah Dessen, and Laura Resau will find much to like in The Summer I Learned to Fly.
The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt. Random/Wendy Lamb, $15.99 July ISBN 978-0-385-73954-2
