I have not found the recommended age range for this book, but I would say it is a teen to young adult novella. It is autobiographical for the author and covers the summer of his fourteenth year. The beginning is difficult to read, as his home life is tragic. He is struggling to survive living with alcoholic parents. A week after school is out, his grandmother Alida sends for him to come spend the summer with her. She is working as a cook on a dairy farm owned by two brothers and they could use some help over the summer. His grandmother is his saving grace, and through this summer he sees how life can be so different from what he knows at home.
This novella is the second in the Alida series, but stands alone quite nicely. During this summer the young man again has his grandmother and her friends show him what it is like to be fed and nurtured by adults that care for him. This story takes place in the early 1950s. Even then the farm he goes to has no electricity and life is very different from what we know now. Yet, it is a heartwarming picture of life at this time and I enjoyed reading about the farm, the chores, the dance and the difference his grandmother made in his life.
I recommend this book and hope it will lead you to read more of Gary Paulsen’s books. The first in the series is The Cookcamp (available as an audiobook via RBDigital and in print format in the Azalea Regional Library System) and the third is The Quilt (available in print through PINES).
This novella is available in digital format from RBDigital. NF
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