The Summer of June - by Jamie Sumner

Book Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Tune It Out and Roll with It comes a "needed, hopeful" (Booklist) middle grade book about a young girl who sets out to overcome her anxiety over the course of one life-changing summer.

Twelve-year-old June Delancey is kicking summer off with a bang. She shaves her head and sets two goals: she will beat her anxiety and be the lion she knows she can be, instead of the mouse everyone sees. And she and her single mama will own their power as fierce, independent females.

With the help of Homer Juarez, the poetry-citing soccer star who believes in June even when she doesn't believe in herself, she starts a secret library garden and hatches a plan to make her dreams come true. But when her anxiety becomes too much, everything begins to fall apart. It's going to take more than a haircut and some flowers to set things right. It's going to take courage and friends and watermelon pie. Forget second chances. This is the summer of new beginnings.

Review Quotes

"The novel offers a compassionate portrayal of anxiety's toll and a sweetly supportive mother-daughter relationship. . . An encouraging portrait of living with anxiety."--Kirkus Reviews

"In a love letter to libraries told in June's thoughtful voice, Sumner vividly traces one adolescent's anxiety and its attendant difficulties."

--Publishers Weekly

"With a sensitive hand, Sumner offers a realistic portrayal of how those around you, therapy, and medication can all work together to help an anxious mind. . . A needed, hopeful book for middle-grade readers on friendship, mental health, and acceptance."--Booklist

About the Author

Jamie Sumner is the author of Roll with It, Time to Roll, Rolling On, Tune It Out, One Kid's Trash, The Summer of June, Maid for It, Deep Water, Please Pay Attention, and Schooled. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She is also the mother of a son with cerebral palsy and has written extensively about parenting a child with special needs. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit her at Jamie-Sumner.com.