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A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry – Review by Jessica Smock
When I was in junior high in the 1980s, I had no idea who Lois Lowry was. The Giver – or its quartet of related books — hadn’t been written or won the Newbery Award.
For the most part, I didn’t care about the reputation of a writer. Sure, I had a few authors that I had liked over the years. (I went on a Laura Ingalls Wilder binge, for example, for a few years during elementary school.) Usually, however, I started a book that I took out from either the town or school library or that I ordered from the rural book borrowing delivery program based on its description in that book’s catalog, and that book had to draw me in during the past few pages or I abandoned it. Reading was my true passion, my only real true love during my early teen years. I treated books the way that other teenage girls might deal with boys: I approached each one passionately but if a book betrayed me by boring or annoying me, it was gone from my life forever.
I have no idea how I obtained A Summer To Die by Lois Lowry. But I do remember that I must have read it about forty times during my early teen years. The fact that it was written by a talented writer like Lois Lowry didn’t impress me at the time, and it wasn’t until years later when I had taught Lowry’s books as a middle school teacher – my favorite is actually Number the Stars — that I made the connection.
A Summer To Die is about a smart, misunderstood girl named Meg whose sister Molly is dying from cancer. Meg is a girl who doesn’t quite fit into her school, is jealous of her easygoing sibling, and is moody and impatient most of the time. If Molly is adolescent perfection in its purest form – a beautiful, generous cheerleader – then Meg represents everything that is awkward or unsure about those years.
Their family has moved to a small house in the country with no one else around but her family. I could relate to everything about Meg, except for the part about the sick sister.
What I still remember years later is Lowry’s talent at characterization through rich, subtle, everyday details. The quilt that Molly’s sister has on her bed. The couple next door who talk about expecting a new baby. The conversations between Meg and her dad, a professor and writer, as they both try to find words to express their shared grief.
Yet why the book still lasts with me is its realistic portrayal of a family grieving. Meg is not brave nor even kind in her relationship with her sister. She reacts like a real teenager would to her sister’s illness. She is often selfish, confused, and resentful. She’s concerned mostly about the effects of her sister’s cancer on her own daily life.
The novel is also realistic in showing the progression of leukemia. But, unlike many books from that time period, it is not emotionally manipulative. Meg’s empathy and bond with her sister grows gradually and authentically.
A Summer To Die is also a particularly sophisticated portrayal of the importance of community and friendship during a family’s coping with illness, as the neighbors rally around the family during its crisis, and of the potential of emotional healing after death.
When I read this book as a teenager, I sobbed the way that I did when reading many tearjerkers. But what has stayed with me over the years is the feeling that those tears were truly earned through a series of small heart-breaking truths and relatable family themes.
This was also the first book that made me realize the power of re-reading, of peeling back the layers in the richness of language and characters with each reading. And, upon re-reading it today, I am struck by how timeless the story is. It does not feel dated or untrue. In fact, as I look back on my own life experiences since that time, this novel feels truer than ever.
Jessica Smock is a former middle school teacher and curriculum coordinator. She is a doctoral candidate in educational policy at Boston University who defended her dissertation this month and currently writes about parenting, research, and books at School of Smock (http://www.schoolofsmock.com).
Nerdy Book Club 
I have not one but TWO copies of the original hardcover in my library. I don’t recommend them frequently because I don’t want them to get lost, but I should. I adored this as well!
Wow! How did I miss this book? I’ll be looking for it! Thanks for sharing!
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I vividly remember this book. I remember making the Lois Lowry connection when I became a librarian. I still think of it EVERY time one of my children has a bloody nose (yesterday). I remember wishing, hoping, dreaming that someone would take a beautiful picture of me some day. I remember realizing Molly was going to die. I remember wishing desperately for a miracle. I don’t think I had read a book where someone died at this point. I can’t think of any other book that evokes such memories in me. I never forgot the title. I am nearly 42 years old. I read this book about 30 years ago.
Bloody noses ALWAYS remind me of this book too!
This book has made a huge comeback in my library with 6th grade girls.
And here I thought I had every book ever written by Lois Lowry! This sounds like a wonderful book, thank you for sharing it.
I loved this book growing up and have posted about it on my blog. Such a memorable story for me.
http://andrea-mack.blogspot.ca/2012/04/memorable-middle-grade-books-lois-lowry.html
I love Lois Lowry. This is one of my favorite books by her.
Me too! Me too! To everything you said. This was such an important book in my middle school reading life.
When I read it eons ago, I still distinctly remember thinking, “what a powerful book this is!” It was also my first book by Lois Lowry, and I’ve been a fan ever since. I should get it out and read it again, it’s been way too long.
I read this book when I was in elementary school (in the late 70’s) – I had ordered the book through the Scholastic Book Club, and I still have my copy – much loved & dog eared. I, too, remember how vividly I could see every detail of that house & their lives, and how I related to Meg, as we had so many similar reactions to things. I lost track of how often I read it, and even now as an adult, I will still pick it up and read a few chapters and get lost in the story. I remember how gutted I felt when I realized that Molly wasn’t going to live – I think that this was the first book that I read that evoked an actual emotional reaction from me – real tears as I was reading. Such a brilliant book – one that, in my opinion, every young reader should read.
I could not have said it better…I am 44 and this was by far the most powerful book I had read during those tender middle school years-and my absolute favorite. I too have read it over and over and my 6th grader has finally decided (after a little prodding from mom) to give it a go. I know she will embrace the characters and the story along with the rest of us.