My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer
4/5
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About this ebook
Twelve-year-old June Farrell is sure of one thing—she’s great at making pies—and she plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security and their business. Even when faced with bullying, June won’t give up on winning the blue ribbon; more importantly, she won’t give up on her family.
Jennifer Gennari
Jennifer Gennari has been a writer and editor for more than twenty years. A graduate of Vassar College, she holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives with her family in Sausalito, California—where they often whip up scrumptious berry pies. She returns to Lake Champlain every summer. This is her first book. Visit her website at www.jengennari.com
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Reviews for My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer
22 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's very rare to find a book that is based in queer issues for mg readers. Quite sweet with believable family and town issues. Also, a pie recipe is included.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari, June Farrell just wants to bake pies and hang out with her best friend. Instead she has to contend with her mother wanting to get married to her longtime girl friend and the neighbors taking sides against civil unions for same sex couples.June spends a good chunk of this novel bouncing between anger and fear. Her anger is directed not only at the friends and neighbors she feels has betrayed her and her mother, but also at Eva, her soon to be stepmother. She's also sometimes angry at her mother and wishes a few times that her mother were straight and that she had a father.I suppose June's conflicted feelings are there to let her play Devil's advocate in the debate over same sex marriage. Her intense feelings, though, weren't grounded in a firm enough foundation. We're told that her mother opted to have a baby on her own using a sperm bank. We're told that her best friend's father has been a help to her mother and a bit of a father figure for June.But this is all done with very little show and a whole lot of tell. The result is that I never felt like I truly knew or understood June or any of the other characters in the book. Characterization seemed to be sacrificed for making sure all the different arguments in the issue of same sex marriage were touched on.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve-year-old June's biggest worry is winning the pie competition at the fair until her mom and girlfriend decide to get married under Vermont's new civil union law and become the object of prejudice. A great debut novel deftly tackling a timely subject.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve-year-old June and her mom have always gotten along fine -- but now Eva, her mom's girlfriend, has come to live with them, and June is not sure what she thinks about that. The book is set in 2000, just after Vermont passed civil union laws, and June and her family are caught in the upheaval over that decision. It may not be the best time for June to put herself in the spotlight by entering one of her pies in the county fair, but it's the one thing June has her heart set on during this tempestuous summer. This book is pretty brief, which young readers will probably approve of, but I thought it needed a little more development in spots.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5June is a twelve-year-old girl who lives with her mom on Lake Champlain, where they run their own shop in a marina. Her mom is a lesbian with whom her soon to be bride has just moved in. Her dad is an unknown sperm donor. The story is set after Vermont passed the legalization of civil unions. Those against civil unions begin demonstrating against it and call for a boycott of gay owned businesses. This is a very confusing time for June and she tries to reconcile her feelings for her mom and soon to be step mom and her fears for them, herself, and their business. Your heart will go out to this likable character, as she struggles to find her voice in this controversy that is so close to her home and heart. This book contains very mature themes, although its target audience is middle school. Its lessons of acceptance, tolerance, and standing up for what is right, however, are good for people of all ages. This book is recommended.