White, Ruth. Memories of Summer.

Random House, Laurel-Leaf. 186p. c2000. 0-440-22921-9. $5.99. J *

To quote KLIATT's July 2000 review of the hardcover edition:

In this bittersweet tale about living with mental illness, Summer is not a season, but a pretty 16-year-old girl. She is the sister of 13-year-old Lyric, the story's narrator, who tells about how they moved with their father from rural Virginia to Flint, Michigan in 1955. Their mother is dead and the three are very close; their father hopes to improve the family's lot by finding a job at General Motors. Despite their poverty Lyric is excited by the move and eventually settles happily into school, but life is harder for Summer. She "always did have funny ways about her," Lyric notes--a fear of electricity, a terror of dogs, a tendency to rock her body when she is upset and to hear voices--and the move north seems to make her symptoms worse. Gradually Summer descends into full-blown schizophrenia. Lyric and her father do their best to care for her, but when she finally becomes a danger to herself and others she must be institutionalized. In often-folksy language (e.g., "Drek'ly the party broke up"), Lyric tells about what it's like to live with someone who is dearly loved but terribly disturbed.

This affecting novel by the author of the Newbery Honor book Belle Prater's Boy and other YA novels about mountain folks is dedicated to the memory of her own sister, and she succeeds in conveying what it's like to live with a family member who is mentally ill. There is gentle humor here as well as pathos, and the tale is simply but movingly told. An ALA Best Book for YAs. Includes a reading guide.

Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT