The Blossoming Summer
Thirteen-year-old Rosemary is delighted to hear that her long-absent parents are coming to gather her from her aunt and uncle’s London home, reunite their family after poverty broke them apart, and relocate everyone to her father’s childhood home in America. She looks forward to seeing her parents and brothers once more and leaving behind war rationing and hand-me-down clothing. But she soon discovers her family has secrets: strange passport names, an unexpected Native American heritage, and friction between her father and the grandmother she’s never known. Still, Rosemary is determined to soldier on, make the best of the situation, and corral everyone else into getting along.
The story gently explores themes of racial prejudice and financial class, but these never overpower the sweet narrative of a young girl adjusting to new family (and readjusting to old family that’s changed in her absence) while discovering both a love of gardening and a growing respect of a woman she realizes is more like herself than she could have at first imagined.
Readers aged 8-12 years old who are fans of The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables will likely enjoy The Blossoming Summer. While it’s set just before America entered WWII, the story of family, planting one’s roots, and choosing to bloom even if some weeds need to be plucked, feels timeless.
