Books with title The Summer of '72

Told from the point of view of the third of four children, ten-year-old Jill, this moving novel portrays one summer in the life of a family being raised by two loving parents. Jill's dad is a factory foreman, while her mom is a homemaker. The three eldest children help around the house, but 16-year-old Margo hates country living, and Jill's adored brother Calvin is growing up and ignoring her. It seems only her four-year-old brother is really happy at home. The family's summer begins with their discovery that a family of skunks has moved in under their house. Afraid that the skunks will be startled and release their scents, the family tiptoes around until Calvin devises a plan to remove them. The skunks bring a myriad of problems, but the real change comes when a childhood friend of Jill's father shows up drunk one night, rousing the entire family from their beds. The children take J. B. in and sneak food to him in his hideaway in a distant corner of their property. Jill's limitless spunk and courage help her learn the value of family and friends as she comes to understand her own identity and role within the family.

Anna, Daniel, and Lucas seem to be living a dream. While their parents take care of a castle, they have the run of the grounds and the beautiful surrounding countryside. Their only concern is how best to catch the mysterious pike that lurks in the deep water of the moat. But when Daniel and Lucas’s mother first begins to seem tired all the time, and then loses her hair, Anna wonders what is going on. It is cancer, she is told, but Daniel and Lucas must not know. As the summer days grow shorter and the colors of the fields and flowers change, the boys eventually learn of their mother’s illness. Daniel becomes convinced that catching the pike will bring luck — that it might even cure his mother. But as her condition worsens, these three true friends can only wish that they could stop the destructive march of time. Jutta Richter’s powerful prose makes this sensitive story set during a summer idyll an unforgettable one.

Dive into the first in a series of sweet paranormal romances, from RWA RUBY award-winning author Ebony McKenna.15-year-old Ondine is struggling to fit in at Psychic Summercamp and doubts she possesses any of her family's magical abilities. She resolves to leave, determined to follow her own path and be a normal teenager. Whatever normal is in a place like Brugel. On the way home Ondine is shocked when her pet ferret Shambles starts talking - in a cheeky Scottish accent no less! He is in fact a young man trapped in a witch's curse. When he briefly transforms into his human self, Ondine is smitten. If only she can break the spell for good, Shambles can be handsomely human on a full-time basis. During the summer, these two misfits uncover a plot to assassinate a member of the royal family and discover a secret treasure that has remained hidden for decades. This attracts the attention of the arrogant Lord Vincent, and Ondine can't help being drawn in by his bad-boy charm. With so many demands on Ondine's attentions - and affections - normal has never seemed so far away. The Summer of Shambles is the first in the four-part ONDINE series. Fans of The Princess Bride or the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series will love this delightfully quirky fairytale.