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Lost Summer
(Hardcover, 1995)
Other Editions...
Author: Elizabeth Feuer
At camp the summer after her parents have separated, Lydia must balance daily peer pressure with her...
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LIST PRICE
$16.00
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Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0374310203
ISBN-13: 9780374310202
Apr 1995
Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
185 pages
Grade:
From 7 to 9
Language: English |
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Details
Synopsis
At camp the summer after her parents have separated, Lydia must balance daily peer pressure with her worries about her absent father., Twelve-year-old Lydia is sulking at summer camp after her parent's divorce. Her mother is off in Italy doing research for the summer, and Lydia hasn't heard from her father since the divorce. To top it off, her cabinmate is a wimpy girl named Karen who is teased unmercifully by the other campers. Lydia feels sorry for Karen and tries to have a friendship with her, but when Karen's advice about Lydia's father backfires, Lydia takes out her anger on Karen. Soon Lydia is caught up in events she never could have imagined, making it a summer unlike any other.
| Size | | Length: | 185 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 5.8 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 12.8 oz |
Industry Reviews
Twelve-year-old Lydia is the quintessential unhappy camper, stuck for the entire summer at a sleepaway camp in the Catskills; she knows that ``nothing good is going to happen.'' Her bunkmates don't get along, with super-competitive, sadistic Carla picking on the nonathletic, easily bullied Karen, and Lydia wants to stay out of the fracas. Despite her tough, detached attitude, however, Lydia is suffering over her parents' recent divorce, certain that her father has rejected her. These emotions surface in a variety of convincing, often surprising ways after Karen persuades Lydia to invite her father to the camp's Parents' Weekend. Though at first acquaintance Lydia's fellow campers seem one-dimensional, their characterizations grow more nuanced as Lydia gains insight into herself and the world around her. At the same time, Lydia's own plight becomes more complex as the author opts for realistic outcomes instead of easy solutions. From start to finish, Feuer (Paper Doll) displays an intuitive understanding of the ebb and flow of pre-teen friendships. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)
Bernstein
Gr 5-7 While their mother is in Italy completing her degree in art, Lydia, 12, and her older sister, Gina, are spending the summer at Camp Bigelow. There isn't much to like about this camp Lydia's counselor is an airhead, and her bunkmates have less-than-appealing personalities. She misses her mother and feels that she's been kept in the dark about the reasons for her parents' divorce; she can't understand why she hasn't seen or heard from her father since he left several months ago. Rather than offering helpful advice, stoic Gina basically tells her to shut up and cope. Lydia is a mixed-up, lonely, yet sympathetic character she's independent and thoughtful; her confusion is believable; and she works her way through some serious struggles both internal and social in scenes that are satisfyingly fraught with emotional turmoil. The lack of idealism is refreshing incidents involving adolescent cruelty and familial communication breakdowns are realistic, and there are no perfect endings. On the other hand, there is a plethora of unlikable and/or underdeveloped characters, some of whom are stereotypical (the nice, shy girl who's good at art but hates sports; the tomboy who's a superb athlete and a relentless bully), and this tends to get frustrating. Nevertheless, many things about the novel ring true, and readers will enjoy the vivid writing and emotional scenes. Vanessa Elder, School Library Journal
Lopate
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