The Summer of May
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Now in paperback, a moving novel of loss and resilience, told in a voice that is “sometimes humorous, at times heartbreaking, and always authentic” (School Library Journal).
Twelve-year-old May lives with her grandmother, who is depressed about the absence of May’s mother, and her father, who works long hours and is almost never around. Due to her circumstance and her resentment over having to live in a low-income neighborhood, May often finds herself picking fights and getting into trouble.
But when May is caught defacing her least favorite teacher’s classroom, she has a choice: expulsion or one-on-one summer school with the teacher she most detests. Begrudgingly, May chooses summer school and ultimately learns that her teacher has a secret past—and might just hold the key to answers no one else will give May about her mother.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Galante's (Willowood) bittersweet story of a troubled 13-year-old stars spunky Maeve O'Toole, who holds a lot of grudges ("I hated everything. And everybody"). May's most recent target is her English teacher, "Movado the Avocado," who she blames for having to repeat English in summer school. Spending her mornings prepping and painting the classroom wall she defaced during the school year and doing writing assignments for her teacher, May has a lot of time to think. She broods about all the things that make her mad and about all the people who have abandoned her: her old group of friends; her father, who now works double shifts and is hardly ever home; and her grandmother, who spends her days in bed. But mostly May thinks about the mother she will never see again. The summer takes some unexpected turns as May discovers previously unseen sides of Miss Movado and learns that they have something profound in common. Brimming with emotion and insight into adolescent rage, Galante's prose investigates the impact of loss and the importance of making amends. Ages 9 13.
