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gmamartha's review against another edition
3.0
Family. Self. And how they both exist. Of course with a little help from friends, old and new.
froggylibrarian1's review
5.0
Nell and Lydia have been best friends for a long time but when their moms get into an argument Lydia's mom tells her she doesn't want them to be friends anymore. Both have difficult home lives - Nell's mom is unstable and prone to fits of anger and Lydia's dad is absent a lot and her mom is too worried about appearances. Nell comes up with a plan for them to fool their moms and allow them to spend the summer together at an abandoned golf course.
Things start out idyllically but when they discover a homeless family living at the golf course too things change. Nell makes new friends and Lydia feels left out. Can their friendship survive this hidden summer.
What I liked about the book was that it didn't magically end happily ever after. There are a lot of loose ends and that is okay. Life isn't always tied up in a bow. But there is hope....
Ribbit...
Things start out idyllically but when they discover a homeless family living at the golf course too things change. Nell makes new friends and Lydia feels left out. Can their friendship survive this hidden summer.
What I liked about the book was that it didn't magically end happily ever after. There are a lot of loose ends and that is okay. Life isn't always tied up in a bow. But there is hope....
Ribbit...
aeslis's review
4.0
The style in this book is lovely and vivid, evoking summer memories and youth. Nell is wise for her age, very calm, and yearning for something more than the heavy, nervous atmosphere of home, where her immature, volatile mother makes Nell feel like she's constantly walking on eggshells. But she's been forbidden from visiting her best friend and next door neighbor Lydia, thanks to Lydia's mother (likely rightfully) feeling that Nell's mother is a bad influence.
So the girls devise a plan. Really, it's Nell's plan, and Lydia is just along for the ride. They hop the fence behind their houses and spend their summer in the abandoned mini puttputt course, which is magical and strange. And here, Nell makes more connections, and the bond between Lydia and Nell begins to change.
So the girls devise a plan. Really, it's Nell's plan, and Lydia is just along for the ride. They hop the fence behind their houses and spend their summer in the abandoned mini puttputt course, which is magical and strange. And here, Nell makes more connections, and the bond between Lydia and Nell begins to change.
bethreadsandnaps's review
3.0
Both Nell and Lydia are poorly supervised tweens that concoct a plan to live at an abandoned golf course over the summer. And of course their parents believe their crazy plans, such as straight A student Nell is in a 24 hour summer school over the Fourth of July. That would even raise the eyebrows of neglectful parents. But that keeps the plot going, I guess.
Nell is enamored with the golf course; Lydia is much less so. We never really hear much about Lydia; the reader just gets the vibe that she's going along with Nell's scheme.
The message of the story is good - that you have two families: the one you're born into and the one that you make.
Nell is enamored with the golf course; Lydia is much less so. We never really hear much about Lydia; the reader just gets the vibe that she's going along with Nell's scheme.
The message of the story is good - that you have two families: the one you're born into and the one that you make.
bkwrm127's review
4.0
A realistic portrayal of a girl struggling to find her identity at the critical age of thirteen - when you aren't quite a teen but not quite a child. Lydia is her best friend and refuge from a mother with mental health issues and an irresponsible, often disconnected father. When Lydia's mother says they can't see each other any more, Nell and Lydia find a secret place in an abandoned golf course where they can spend the summer together. This book touches on a lot of major themes: growing up, choosing family, self-esteem, homelessness, and the appeal of having a secret place where you can be yourself.
catherinegoodrich's review
5.0
Gin Phillips is amazing! Not only can she write adult books but children's books too!I think the hidden summer was very good and Gin definitely taught me a lesson about family and friendship. I never felt bored the entire time I was reading this!
benedorm's review
4.0
Nell and Lydia, a pair of Alabama girls on the cusp of adolescence, are best friends. Their mothers used to be friends too, but they've had a fight, and now Nell and Lydia aren't supposed to see each other. Nell, however, has devised a plan -- they'll pretend to be off at summer school (Nell) and summer camp (Lydia), when really, they'll be spending their days together at the abandoned golf course. This is especially important to Nell, the narrator, who has a deeply troubled relationship with her mother, and doesn't really want to be at home.
It would be hard to provide a plot summary beyond that point, because The Hidden Summer is very light on plot. It's more than a little episodic, and it's so still that in places, it almost seems to have fallen asleep. But this melancholy tone poem is also gorgeously written and achingly emotional, a coming of age story that embraces the darkness as well as the light.
The book works because Gin Phillips is an excellent stylist, but also because the characters come fully to life. This isn't true only of Nell and Lydia, but of the minor characters at the edge of the plot, from the teenaged gas station clerk to Nell's latest stepfather. Some of these characters only take up a few paragraphs, but Phillips makes every word count, so we're never denied a clear picture of each person. Of course, the picture we get is always from Nell's point of view, but her strong, consistent voice makes the first-person narration effective.
Despite certain adventure-story elements (hiding out in the hollow dinosaur on the putt-putt portion of the abandoned golf course!), The Hidden Summer is a book that will likely have more appeal for contemplative readers than for adventurous ones. It reads a bit like a less ensemble-cast Criss-Cross, or a modern-day Breathing Room; even when something exciting happens, the focus isn't on the action, but on the impact on the characters and their relationships.
A longer version of this review appears at abouttomock.blogspot.com
It would be hard to provide a plot summary beyond that point, because The Hidden Summer is very light on plot. It's more than a little episodic, and it's so still that in places, it almost seems to have fallen asleep. But this melancholy tone poem is also gorgeously written and achingly emotional, a coming of age story that embraces the darkness as well as the light.
The book works because Gin Phillips is an excellent stylist, but also because the characters come fully to life. This isn't true only of Nell and Lydia, but of the minor characters at the edge of the plot, from the teenaged gas station clerk to Nell's latest stepfather. Some of these characters only take up a few paragraphs, but Phillips makes every word count, so we're never denied a clear picture of each person. Of course, the picture we get is always from Nell's point of view, but her strong, consistent voice makes the first-person narration effective.
Despite certain adventure-story elements (hiding out in the hollow dinosaur on the putt-putt portion of the abandoned golf course!), The Hidden Summer is a book that will likely have more appeal for contemplative readers than for adventurous ones. It reads a bit like a less ensemble-cast Criss-Cross, or a modern-day Breathing Room; even when something exciting happens, the focus isn't on the action, but on the impact on the characters and their relationships.
A longer version of this review appears at abouttomock.blogspot.com
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