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Published May 2011
208 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Julia and Eliza are best friends, spending the summer together. Julia's mother is serving in the National Guard and Julia spends all of her time trying not to think about what could happen. So the girls lose themselves in their summer, hanging out at the resort where Eliza's father works. But when they meet a new boy, neither one of them is prepared for what it does to their friendship.
Nora Raleigh Baskin delivers a poignant look at the way a first crush can come between best friends and the importance of hanging on to the time you have as a kid before rushing into growing up.
"The intimate tone and absent-mother theme found in several of Baskin's previous books...echo in this coming-of-age novel about the growing pains endured by Julia, the daughter of an American soldier." - Publishers Weekly
"Baskin perfectly captures friendship among girls on the edge of puberty, especially the way big dramas work out in small moments...A poignant story of children on the homefront and the ways that a first love can break up longtime friendships and change things forever." - Booklist
"Starred Review. Baskin adeptly portrays Julia’s ambivalence and anxiety in this thoughtful tale that artfully brings the war to the homefront." - Kirkus Reviews
"[C]ombining the discovery of the opposite sex with serious concerns about war, compounded by the unusual family dynamics, makes the book feel unfocused and less than satisfying." - School Library Journal
This information about The Summer Before Boys was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
LIsa Bevis
Nora Raleigh Baskin was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for her novel What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows. She is the author of novels for middle-graders and teens, including The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah and Anything But Typical, which won the ALA Schneider Family Award. Nora lives with her family in Weston, Connecticut.
Link to Nora Raleigh Baskin's Website
Name Pronunciation
Nora Raleigh Baskin: rah-ley (like the explorer) bas-kin (like the icecream company)
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