Series: No
Genre: Young Adult- Contemporary
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Book: Galleygrab
"Julia and Eliza are best friends, spending the summer together. Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard and Julia spends all of her time trying not to think about what could happen. So the girls lose themselves in their summer, hanging out at the resort where Eliza's father works. But when they meet a new boy, neither one of them is prepared for what it does to their friendship.
I thought this was a great coming age story with lots of life lessons in it. Boys, school, family. Everything that you grow up with and come to learn. What I like most about this book was how it talk about the war and how it effected her.
Julia grows up so fast and so much just over the summer. Her mother has been over seas for the war and Julia is alone with her father which forces her to do things on her own. Julia is a very smart, bright girl. And even thought she made mistakes, I loved how real she was. She does her best to go to school and spend time with her friends, but you can see the pain of not having her mother there in her feelings.
There aren't a lot of books that talks about the war with kids in them. I love how well Ms. Baskin got into the mind of a pre-teen dealing with the hurt, anger, and separation of parent. At times, Julia needed her mother badly. She needed that guidance and counsel that only a mother can give.
I especially love all the stupid stuff that they giggled at. Boys, and spelling names wrong. This book is great for girls just coming into the their teens. Its had a lot of real like issues that anyone can relate to. The Summer Before Boys is a great story filled with lots of feelings that flow right off the pages. It simply adorable and a great read.
I give it 4 BITES!
Happy Reading!
