A Million Miles from Boston

March 7, 2011
Day delivers a well-paced, realistic "summer of change" story. Lucy's family has been vacationing at Pierson Point in Maine since her father was young, and Lucy, anxious about entering middle school, is looking forward to the kind of summer she's always enjoyed with him, her younger brother, and her faithful black Lab, Superior. Pierson Point also holds warm memories of her mother, who died of cancer when Lucy was six, and Lucy is passionately attached to the Point's comforting traditions and age-worn edifices. This year, however, two figures threaten her peace of mind: Julia, her father's increasingly serious girlfriend, and her aggravating classmate, Ian, from home, whose family has bought a house on the Point. Day (No Cream Puffs) sympathetically portrays Lucy's overriding sense of responsibility for everybody's happiness, especially her father and the kids in the informal "day camp" she runs ("More than anything, I wanted the kids to be happy. I wanted them to have great memories of camp, that summer, the Point"), and Day persuasively renders Lucy's uneasiness with her complex shifting emotions and memories. Ages 8–12.

March 1, 2011

With sixth grade—and elementary school—finally over, Lucy is excited about summer. As usual, she'll be spending it with her widowed father and younger brother in the family's summer cottage in a tight-knit coastal vacation community in Maine. But two major changes threaten to ruin her vacation. Annoying, almost-a-bully classmate Ian and his family are new summer neighbors, and the PT, her father's girlfriend (she began as his physical therapist), will be visiting—a lot. Lucy has plenty of issues with the PT, mostly related to her unresolved grief over her mother's death six years ago. Ian also has issues, which seem to be tied to his high-school–aged sister, Alison. Is she what she first appears—smart, talented and a lot like Lucy—or perhaps a bullying, manipulative liar? To raise money for a kayak, Lucy has carefully organized a babysitting camp for the community's younger children, patiently dealing with their problems, and she introspectively examines her relationship with Ian in her first-person narration. These signs of maturity make her frequent outbursts over the PT's gentle overtures out of character. As the summer progresses, Lucy gets to know both Ian and the PT better, discovering that things and people aren't always what they first appear. A pleasant but never compelling effort that captures the flavor of preteen-hood even if it misses the mark with its protagonist. (Fiction. 9-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2011

Gr 4-7-Every summer 12-year-old Lucy, her father, and her little brother head up to Maine, where they are far from their usual cares and able to take solace in the familiarity and traditions of their seasonal community. However, this year, Ian, an obnoxious boy from back home, and his family take up residence close by. On top of trying to deal with her mixed emotions about him, Lucy is trying to run a camp for the younger kids, fit in with the older kids, and, at all costs, avoid her dad's new girlfriend. Day has written a great book that deals with a variety of believable interpersonal relationships and transitions. Lucy is a sweet girl who is trying to do the right things, while juggling the confusing world of tweendom. Playing a major part in the story is the fact that her mom died when she was six and her grief is thoughtfully interwoven throughout the story. Over the course of the summer, Lucy learns a variety of lessons about family, growing up, and judging others, although the book is far from preachy.-Kerry Roeder, The Brearley School, New York City

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
Grades 5-8 Lucys summer cottage in Maine offers a welcome respite from the worlds most annoying classmate, Ian, and the stress of starting middle school in fall. Besides, its where she has some of the best memories of her mother, who passed away years ago. Talk about unwelcome surprises, though: not only do Ian and his family end up in Piersons Point for the summer in a new megacottage but Dad brings his girlfriend, Julia, along to try to integrate her into the family. Lucy makes a valiant effort to soldier on, running a camp for the younger neighborhood kids and hoping the cooler, older teen girls will include her in their sphere. But a sharp pang of resentment and anger dogs her. When Julia steps up as a stepmom-to-be and reaches out with just the right touch, hope begins to stir. Day captures childhoods pain and hope deftly in this satisfying tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)