Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors. With that in mind I chose a title by her that I hadn't read yet for part of my winter break reading. A summer to die, published in 1977, is a poignant story of thirteen year old Meg as she grows in many ways. Lowry sets this story in a remote rural area bringing little of life outside of a few homes into the tale. Meg befriends her few neighbors, an elderly widower and a young couple, learning life lessons from them as well as teaching some lessons of her own. The story moves along easily. Lowry deftly builds Megs' character as she grows from child to young women in the space of a few months. As the title implies, death takes place. I ached for young Meg as she came to realize the lose she was about to experience. Lowry is truly a master at eliciting emotional response from her reader. I couldn't help thinking of the differences this story would have if it were written today. Megs' father would use a computer to write his book and illness might be addressed differently due to medical advances. Yet, Lowry wrote a timeless story. One that stretches emotions and causes one to think.
Lowry's latest book Gossamer also causes the reader to think as she spins a tale that delightfully answers many questions about dreams, such as how and why we dream...
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3 comments:
I feel like I read A Summer to Die, but I dont' really remember what it was about. Another one of my Lois Lowry favorites though is Number the Stars. I think my third grade teacher read it to us, but since I was kinda nerdy, I had already read it prior...
I've decided that it is time to read all of Lois Lowry's books. Luckily I have easy access to most of them here in my library! I currently have Anastasia Krupnik on my desk.
I don't think I've read that one, you'll have to tell me if it's good!
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