Summerlings by Lisa Howorth

 

Summerlings

by Lisa Howorth

Summerlings follows John, Ivan, Max, and Beatriz as they navigate youth in 1950s Washington, DC during the summer of a mysterious spider epidemic. 

What to say about this book? First, I think it would have worked better as a novel for middle graders. It read young throughout most of the book, until about the climax point where it takes a decidedly adult turn. The kids engage in age-inappropriate acts that seem to enable a tragedy to occur, resulting in the death of one of the adults whom they all admire. While I was reading through most of the book I kept waiting for something to actually happen. Many, if not most, of the events that occur were unnecessary to the climax of the book. It could have easily been boiled down to a chapter book for 10-year olds.

I liked the characters, but as a novel for adults, it didn't hold up. The blurb on the back cover didn't deliver on the adult themes I was expecting. It didn't lie, exactly, but the book was not the literary fiction read I was hoping for, and the reason I bought it.

I give Summerlings 2 stars as an adult novel. If it was rewritten for middle graders I would probably have given it 3.5 stars.