The Summer of the Swans

Rating:
Summary: Discovering What's Important
Review: Have you ever felt like you want to fly away? Besty Byars' Summer of the Swans is about 14 year old Sara Godfrey who is having the worst summer of her life. She is sick of her bossy aunt, beautiful sister, and mute little brother. This unforgetable summer will show Sara what she can't take for granted. Young adults who like realistic fiction would enjoy this book.
Summer of the Swans is perfect for young adults because it is about a young adult. Everyone can relate to Sara in some way. She shows responsiblility by taking care of her mentally hadicapped brother, Charlie. Insecurity comes out when she says, "She is a hundred times prettier than me." Yet through all her trails courage and heart shine through.
Throughout the pages of this book lay small puzzel pieces of emotion. When all these are put together, or read, they make a image of a strong love that bonds a bother and sister together. Some parts are very extrem such as,"A wild joy overtook her and she jumped up and down on the bare earth and she felt that she could crush the whole hill just by jumping if she wanted to. Then some parts are more subtule and factual.
This book is very easy to understand and dosen't take long to read. In the beging of the story Sara is a girl trying to figure things out. She constnly cries over simple matters a her big feet or her skinny legs. As the story progreess she learns about herself. By the time you reach the end Charlie has helped her learn what she really needs.
Summer of the Swans is a great book that young adults will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Sara and Charlie
Review: Do you want to read about the summer that Sara Godfrey would never forget? If so, you should read The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers. This book is about a girl named Sara who thinks it is going to be the worst summer ever. She doesn't like the way she looks or acts. This all changes when Charlie wonders off one night and Sara frantically looks for him. This book is recommended for older children around the age of 12 or 13 because it is easy to understand and it is not extended in length.
The author of Summer of the Swans wanted this book to be enjoyable and not just factual. It is an easy and quick read. There are few photographs that really make you feel like you are in the plot. The photographs in this book help you picture the way Charlie really looked and felt when he was lost. They bring the emotion to you when you see how scrared he really was. Charlie doesn't talk because his brain was injured when he was just three years old. It's almost like you can tell what he's thinking. "Where am I?" "I'll never get home again." This book is realistic fiction and you can tell that something like this can happen any day.
This book is emotional because Sara doesn't really think much about herself, but you can tell that she loves Charlie very much. She is always looking out for him. She talks to him because he can understand but he can't talk back. If anyone is mean to Charlie, then Sara will stand up for him. For example, when someone stole Charlie's watch, Sara went and found the person to tell them how much they hurt Charlie.
This book is very organized. It wasn't confusing. It told about a summer when Sara changed. The book starts out when Sara is just a girl who doesn't know who she is and she doesn't think anybody likes her at school. This all changes at the surprise ending. Sara is like a normal girl who finds herself through her brother.
Everyone will enjoy The Summer of the Swans. It is recommended for older children. Likewise, any age group will enjoy this book because it is a pleasurable read.

Rating:
Summary: A good young adult novel
Review: The main character of this novel is Sarah, a girl in her early teens who is experiencing a "coming of age" summer. When the novel begins, Sarah is at an ebb in her young life--she feels self-conscious about her physical appearance (without tangents on breast size or her menstral cycle (thank you), making this a book very appropriate for a classroom) and her inability to interact in a meaningful way with the two most important women (read: role models) in her life--her older sister and her Aunt Willie, who is raising her. It is during this coming of age process that Sarah's younger, mentally handicapped brother, Charlie wanders out of the backyard in the middle of the night and gets lost in the woods. While the plot is relatively straight forward--Charlie gets lost and Sarah participates in a search to find him--this novel is an good one because of the excellent development of the main character.

Rating:
Summary: Reflection for The Summer of the Swans
Review: This is a good book for students in the middle school grades. They could learn a lot by watching Sara and how her outlook on life changes in just 24 hours. She learns to appreciate what she has, mainly her family, and realizes that she should not dwell on those things which she does not have. Many people go through some type of realization like this and it usually occurs not long after the middle school ages. It signifies the first step in the shift from childhood into adulthood.
This is an excellent book for students about to make that transition.

Rating:
Summary: Hard growing up?
Review: Reviewer: Jill
This story takes place in west Virginia. Is it hard growing up? Well see how hard it can be when you are the middle child. You think that everyone is ignoring you and you don't count. See what happens to Sara as she grows up in the span of one summer.

Rating:
Summary: Summer of the Swans
Review: The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars, is a heartwarming story about the longest day in the life of a fourteen year old . A wonderfull theme emerges from the story that every child should hear.
The story is about a day in Sara's fourteenth summer. She had spend the whole summer feeling sorry for herself. She only saw that she had enormous feet, and impulsive body, and ridiculous hair. She had deep envy for her older sister and really had very low self esteem. She spent her time crying and feeling sorry for herself. Children will likely relate to the exact thing Sara is going through, especially those who are coming of age.
Everything changes for Sara when her mentally handicapped brother, Charlie, comes up missing. During her frantic search for her brother, she forgets her own problems and focuses her energy on something else.
The theme emerges from her discovery. During the worst day of her life, she learns what it means to care more about someone else then yourself. This theme could really change readers way of thinking. It is something that she didn't understand completely until that day. Maybe children will learn the lesson without having to go through such a trauma as Sara's.
Summer of the Swans is a wonderful, heartwarming story that is well deserving of the Newbery award. The characters are identifiable and there is a theme that every child needs to hear and take practice in.

Rating:
Summary: Changes
Review: This is a wonderful book to read. This book deals with a fourteen year old girl named Sara, who is unhappy with her life. Sara has a ten year old retard brother named Charlie. One afternoon Sara takes Charlie to the lake to see the swans. Charlie falls in love with the swans. Later that night Charlie leaves his house looking for the swans only to become confused and lost in the woods. Sara and the neighbors look for Charlie. Will they find him in time? Read the book to find out.

Rating:
Summary: Changes
Review: This is a wonderful book to read. This book deals with a fouteen yearteen year old girl named Sara, who is unsatisfied with her life. She has a ten-year-old brother, who is retard(ed). Sara takes Charlie to see the swans one afternoon. Charlie falls in love with the swans. Later that night Charlie wonders off looking for the swans only to become confuse and lost in the woods. Sara feels guilty. Sara and the neighbors search for Charlie in the woods and neighborhood. Will they find Charlie? Read the book and find out.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: The Summer of the Swans is an excellent book for children about 12 years old. It talks about friendship, family, and what is really important in life. It brings home the fact that you don't know what you've got until you lose it. This book is highly recommendable.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it!
Review: Don't read this pointless book. It's not exciting. I was bored. I caught myself sleeping during the story because it couldn't keep my attention. Too easy to figure out what was going on. Too much repetition, it might be improved if the story could just move forward more quickly even if that meant a shorter book.