Goodman, Hannah R. My summer vacation, a novel.GOODMAN, Hannah R. My summer vacation Summer vacation (also called summer holidays or summer break) is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students are off for 3 months, depending on the country and district. , a novel. (Sequel to My Sister's Wedding.) iUniverse. 131p. c2006. 0-595-39430-2. $11.95. JS What starts out as a chick-lit summer camp story about who is hooking up with whom and who has hurt feelings progresses into a moving, tragic story that essentially comes back to the theme of My Sister's Wedding--the devastation caused by alcoholism alcoholism, disease characterized by impaired control over the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholism is a serious problem worldwide; in the United States the wide availability of alcoholic beverages makes alcohol the most accessible drug, and alcoholism is . Maddie's older sister Barbara is an alcoholic. She is a main character in Wedding and a peripheral character here, yet Maddie realizes this summer once again how much Barbara's failures have impacted her own life. Maddie falls in love with Brian at camp. She learns early on in their relationship that he too has an older sibling sibling /sib·ling/ (sib´ling) any of two or more offspring of the same parents; a brother or sister. sib·ling n. who is a drug addict Any individual who habitually uses any narcotic drug so as to endanger the public morals, health, safety, or welfare, or who is so drawn to the use of such narcotic drugs as to have lost the power of self-control with reference to his or her drug use. and an alcoholic. The two of them understand each other as they talk about their siblings siblings npl (formal) → frères et sœurs mpl (de mêmes parents) and how stress has dominated their family life. At one point in the novel, they go to an Al-Anon meeting and find support there. Maddie, who always felt before that she had to protect Barbara, understands she must rely on the adults in her life--her grandmother especially--to deal with Barbara's illness. These are not simple lessons. The way Maddie expresses them helps readers understand the complexities inherent in loving someone who is an alcoholic. This is an entertaining story in itself, with lots of camp gossip and romance, with thoughtful, articulate teenagers struggling to understand themselves. The ultimate selling point selling point n. An aspect of a product or service that is stressed in advertising or marketing. Noun 1. selling point - a characteristic of something that is up for sale that makes it attractive to potential customers , however, may be Goodman's wisdom in describing the developmental difficulties teenagers face when a sibling is an alcoholic. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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