Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I delayed a day sort of on purpose, because I spent Thursday doing housework and sweating over my treasurer’s reports with Britt’s help, and yesterday cleaning the living room with the kids, going to Costco, and doing odds and ends of things. AND I finished Jamie Sumner’s The Summer of June last night, so I can now review that for you. And it was good.

(I’m pretty sure Cynthia DiDonato would not appreciate those two sentences in a row beginning with ‘and’. If she’s no longer alive, she’s probably rolling in her grave, but hey–it’s Saturday, and realistically, standards are looser.)

June Delancey starts off her summer by shaving her head–but only because she pulls hair out when she’s anxious. Having no hair to pull out, however, doesn’t make the anxiety go away, and even though when her mom sees her, she shaves her own head in solidarity, she’s still having a rough time coping. And when she meets a few new people who want to befriend her, June is resistant, especially since a couple of her mom’s past boyfriends have made it even harder for an already anxious girl to trust people. Still, as she struggles through her choices, she eventually discovers a healthy coping mechanism, a few more ‘safe people’, and courage she’d only hoped she possessed.

I really enjoyed this one, especially since the last Sumner novel I read was a little less my thing. I have more than one child struggling with anxiety, and while they don’t (KNOCK ON WOOD) struggle quite as badly as June, Sumner’s message of compassion and healthy strategies for dealing with whatever issues we face is still a deeply relevant one. If you love someone with anxiety–especially a child–you should read this book.