By Sandra Brown Lindstedt, Illustrated by Robert Hallmark
Independently Published, 2023
Softcover, 180 Pages, Chapter Book, Grades 4-8
When Sandy Forte and her family leave Chicago for a vacation in Texas with her grandmother, she has no idea she’s about to experience a summer filled with strange, scary, funny, and intriguing adventures that changed her life forever.
“We stared in shock as the scene unfolded before us, I realized I was holding my breath as we all stood unmovable like clay statues in formation…”
This book is so full of vibrant and fascinating characters it’s difficult to know where to begin. The main character, Sandy, is only 12 years old and about to enter high school as a freshman at the end of summer – well ahead of her age group. She’s smart, pretty, and falling in love for the first time, with not one boy, but two, and the difficulties that brings not only emotionally but logistically get her in trouble over and over again.
Her siblings all have very different personalities, from Bubbles her younger brother who likes to tattle on everyone and buries shoes in the front yard to avoid going to church, to Glory, her older sister who is a bookworm and rather smug. Her step-father is a con man and her mother is overwhelmed with so many children to care for.
Her grandmother, a true staple character in this book, is wise and spiritual with a faith in God that is unshakable. She has told Sandy, after she accidentally swallows a firefly, that her ‘firefly’ will help her when she’s in trouble. When that firefly seems to abandon her, Sandy begins to learn that sometimes God uses the bad things in life toward his own plan.
The townsfolk, aunts and uncles, neighbors and friends are all portrayed with character of their own and this author weaves several different genres into a book that’s compelling, sometimes hilarious, and crafted so well you don’t want to put it down. The adventure they have in the woods that turns out to be a mystery of generations unraveled is a terrifying experience, with a surprise ending.
Clearly this book was written from personal experience, whether the author’s own, or stories her family has handed down over the generations. It’s not easy to use the vernacular of a time past but Sandra Brown Lindstedt does it seamlessly. She weaves adventure, mystery, romance, family, faith, and the segregation of the time with effortless grace and masterful authorship. Though self-published, this book deserves to be read, seen, and shows incredible mastery of language.
My Perfectly Imperfect Summer: Growing Up In The Age Of Fireflies receives 5 stars from this reviewer.