SUMMERHOUSE TIME
by Eileen Spinelli
Yearling/Random House
Hardcover: 9780375840616
Paperback: 9780440422242
Ages 8-12
240 pages

Eleven-year old Sophie can't wait for August to arrive. As soon as school lets out for summer vacation, Sophie counts the days until the first day of that month. For as long as she can remember, August 1st is when her family leaves for the New Jersey shore and Summerhouse Time. She and her parents pack the car, crate up Orange (the cat) and spend a month at a rented cottage with her aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.

But this year is different.

Sophie's dad is a high school American History teacher who has always had a part-time job during his summer break --- except, of course, during the month of August. This year Dad works hard at his part-time job, but he is unusually cranky and doesn't look well. Mom is a substitute teacher whose favorite saying is "The best things in life aren't things." She practices simple living, shops at thrift stores and gets upset when her old bathing suit no longer fits but refuses to buy a new one.

Also, a boy named Jimmy Gabbiano has just moved into Sophie's neighborhood. He is cute and shy and has a beagle puppy. Sophie wants him to notice her and thinks up ways to meet him without looking too obvious. After they finally become acquainted with each other, she decides to learn Italian and feels sad when she has to leave him for a whole month. 

Sophie can't wait to share a room --- and some secrets --- with her favorite cousin, 14-year old Colleen, who has always made Sophie feel grown up and special during Summerhouse Time. After Sophie and her family arrive at the cottage on the beach, she is excited to see Colleen, but Colleen acts bored and ignores her. Then Sophie discovers that she won't be sharing a room with Colleen after all. Instead, Sophie is rooming with five-year-old cousin Tammy, a chatterbox who acts like a baby. And Sophie's cousin Cooper is afraid of water and won't swim in the ocean.

This year, Summerhouse Time isn't anything at all like it has been in the past. To pass time, Sophie practices her Italian, teaches Cooper to swim and writes letters to Jimmy while awaiting one from him. She fears that Jimmy has forgotten her and wonders if things will get any better before the month is over and it's time to return home. 

SUMMERHOUSE TIME is a story about events that change and shape our lives. But most of all it's about the strength and importance of family, no matter what time of year.

   --- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt (dvolkenannt@charter.net)

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