Summerlost

Summerlost by Ally Condie is targeted for ages 12 and up. It shows how even after a family tragedy, we can all find acceptance and understanding of what happened. In addition, we can heal the hurt through time. Another strength for me was that the main character and narrator, Cedar Lee, had another brother named Ben. Ben was autistic. As an individual who was diagnosed with ausperger's syndrome, I could see myself in his shoes. The only problem with that was Ben and the father died in a car accident before the events in the story. A weakness I guess was that Cedar was sooo busy with what she was doing with Leo and the Summer festival, she never really paid attention to what was going on with her other brother, Miles (who is still alive) and her Mom. They were both still clearly hurting. This could be a great teaching tool to instruct kids about empathy and compassion. (There were bullying). To me more specific, Cedar once told a story about how Ben was eating the cafeteria and the kids were throwing food at him. Ben would just yell "Don't!" My heart broke. Cedar, (who was running an errand for her teacher), came and helped Ben go the office. The teacher could ask the class what they would have done (or could have done) to help him. this would be great for grades 6-8.