Claire used to love her dad’s fantastical stories, especially tales about her absent mom — who could be off with the circus or stolen by the troll king, depending on the day. But now that she’s 12, Claire thinks she’s old enough to know the truth. When her dad sells the house and moves her and her brother into a converted van, she’s tired of the tall tales and refuses to pretend it’s all some grand adventure, despite how enthusiastically her little brother embraces this newest fantasy.
Claire is faced with a choice: Will she play along with the stories her dad is spinning for her little brother, or will she force her family to face reality once and for all? Equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, Wrong Way Summer is a road-trip journey and coming-of-age story about one girl’s struggle to understand when a lie is really a lie and when it’s something more: hope.
"Even filtered through Claire’s third-person perspective, Lang deftly shows how endearing Dad is despite his faults, and readers will enjoy the embedded story of ancestor Wrong Way Jacobus and his inedible baguettes. Conclusion: We may not always get to choose our circumstances, but we sometimes get to choose the narrative lens through which we see our world.... A free-wheeling jaunt that merges fact with fiction in hopes of finding greater truths. " — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 10 - 13 |
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Author | Heidi Lang |
ISBN | 1419736930 |
Publication Date | Apr 21, 2020 |
Publisher | Harry N. Abrams |
Language | English |