Indian Summer
Author
Tracy Richardson
Publisher
Luminis Books
1 Review Copies Left
Can a spirit from the past come back to help us solve a problem in the present?
Twelve-year-old Marcie Horton is not looking forward to spending a lonely and boring summer at her grandparents' lake cottage. That is, until the woods near their home are threatened with development by the wealthy president of the university where her parents teach.
Marcie is guided by the spirit of an Indian girl as she seeks to unlock the secrets of the past in her quest to save the centuries-old forest from development. Her effort is complicated by her growing friendship with the university president's popular daughter and the annual sailboat race, in which Marcie finds herself competing on the team of the wealthy summer house owners against the local residents.
Marcie's success hinges on whether she can unravel the cryptic messages she receives in her dreams and visions from the mysterious spirit of the Indian girl, before the woods--and perhaps something much more important--are lost forever.
Reviews
Indian Summer BY: Tracy Richardson PUBLISHED BY: Luminis Books PUBLISHED IN: 2010 ISBN: 978-1-935462-25-5 Pages: 200 Reviewed by Billy Burgess Ages: Middle Grade In “Indian Summer,” Marcie Horton is a twelve-year-old who loves to win competitions, especially bike races. She’s not looking forward to her summer vacation this year. She spending the summer at her grandparent’s lake cottage on Lake Pappakeechee. Kaitlyn Swyndall is the only other girl she knew there, but Kaitlyn is a rich, snobby girl. Marcia befriends some other kids at the lake, and is looking forward to the upcoming boat race. The woods, James Woods, surrounding the lake is going to be torn down by a wealthy developer, Mr. Swyndall. He is the president of the university where Marcie Horton’s parents teach, and he is also the father of Kaitlyn. Marcia is starting to like her, so things start to get complicated. Marcia begins to have strange visions of a mysterious spirit. Could it be Indians? “Indian Summer,” is a easy, fast read. I read it in one sitting. The author likes to “tell” more often than “showing” in her writing. The plot is simple - a pre-teen girl tries to stop a wealthy developer from destroying the centuries-old forest. I’ve read dozens of similar plots before, this is nothing new. The ending of the book is predictable. The main character, Marcia, is fun, energetic and likeable. Despite the book’s downfalls, I still enjoyed reading it. Note: I would like to thank the Author for sending me this complimentary copy to review.
Reviewed on 04/02/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Billy Burgess
Spending most of the summer at her grandparents house out at Lake Pappakeechee, Marcie Horton was not sure if her mothers plan for her to spend time with and go sailing with the “popular girl” Kaitlyn Swyndall would be a good idea. Suddenly she started having feelings of flying and being drawn to James Bay and the woods behind it, then finding out that her new friends dad, Mr. Swyndall, was planning on developing the woods into a new gated community of summer homes made Marcie more uneasy about her growing friendship with Kaitlyn. Bonds were forming while training with the Swyndall kids for the Regatta boat race to be held on July 4th, but how would Marcie’s desire to prevent Mr. Swyndall from building in James woods effect their relationship? When the visions of another time and another girl continued to intrigue Marcie, she and her brother join forces with a family friend (Al Depena) to find a way to stop the development and possibly preserve something of import.
Reviewed on 01/29/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Debbie Berry
“Indian Summer” by Tracy Richardson is lovely little story that tweens will love. Marcie, a twelve-year old girl, thinks that her summer will be nothing but a boring stay at her grandparents lake cottage. Soon Marcie discovers that the university President is going to have James Woods destroyed so he can have a new development built. Marcie soon finds that the spirit of a young Native American girl is leading Marcie on a path to save James Woods. Meanwhile during this time Marcie has become friends with the daughter of the very same person that is planning to destroy the woods she is fighting to save. Will Marcie be able to stop the destruction? Trace Richardson has combined every detail that will enthrall tween readers, from mystery to summer fun. With flowing content “Indian Summer” is a fast read, that will keep their attention to the end. Both the characters and the plot have been thoroughly thought out and well captured. I believe that this would be the perfect the book to introduce to young readers.
Reviewed on 01/20/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Angela Simmons
