Summerlost by Ally Condie
Release Day!!
Hosted by: Word Spelunking and Penguin Kids
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Praise:
A Spring 2016 Kids' Indie Next List Top 10 Pick!
Named one of Publishers Weekly’s
Most Anticipated Children’s and YA Books of Spring 2016
« “Condie (Matched)
strikes a deep emotional chord with this coming-of-age story.” – Publishers
Weekly, starred review
« “Multiple,
seemingly random details, including a family of turkey vultures that now roost
outside Cedar’s window, an absurd soap opera narrative of a woman buried alive,
and Leo’s quest for a trip with his father, coalesce into metaphors that help Cedar
make sense of her grief and the life she now has to look forward to.
Thoughtful, poetic chapter endings guide readers new to psychological depth
toward meaningful connections between plot events and thematic reflections.” –
BCCB
“A moving tale of friendship and loss. I loved these characters—I wish
we could have been friends when I was a kid.” –Brandon Mull, #1 New York
Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Five Kingdoms series
“Ally Condie’s first middle grade book might also be my
favorite out of ALL her books to date. Summerlost is a story packed with nostalgia, heart, and
gorgeous prose.” – The Novel Novice
“A nuanced portrait of grief
deeply grounded in the middle-school mind-set.” – Booklist
“Honest, lovely, and sad.” – Kirkus Reviews
“A sweet, heartfelt story.” – School Library Journal
“Achingly good.” – Summer
Laurie, Books Inc.
Letter from Ally:
Dear Readers,
I think most of us have had our hearts broken. Sometimes we
can see it coming, and sometimes it comes down with the unexpected force of a
sudden gale of wind or a rising of waters that we thought were still and safe.
Loss is universal to human experience, but the way we each feel and recover is
one of the most personal things we do.
In Summerlost,
Cedar is dealing with the loss of her father and younger brother. And my intent
was to show how hard their deaths are for her. But this is also a book about
the healing power of friendship. Most of us have been broken-hearted; I hope that
most of us have also discovered the miracle of friendships that were just what
we needed. Cedar and Leo’s friendship is based on someone I met when I was
twelve. Like Leo, my friend was fun and liked to enlist me in crazy adventures
(although we never gave a secret guided tour of our town the way they do in Summerlost). And, like Leo, he thought I
was wonderful and of worth at a time when I needed it most.
SUMMERLOST is my attempt to pay tribute both to the pain we
feel and the friendships that save us. Thank you so much for supporting this
book, and for your willingness to give Cedar’s story a try. I hope it makes you
think of a wonderful friend of your own, whether that is someone you met in the
pages of a favorite book or outside, in the world where it is often hard and
beautiful to live.
Best wishes and happy reading always,
Ally Condie
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Links:
You can buy Summerlost at the places below:
Check out more of the book on Goodreads
