This book is so cute. Read it with my 12 year old and he thought it was good but a little on the easy side so maybe would be better for a younger crowd. But I'm an adult lol and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher.
I gave the book to my daughter to read, here is her review:
I am 12 years old. I found the reading level of this book a little bit easy for me. I found the interest level of this book good. I would recommend this book for ages 10 – 13. I liked Jelly Bean because I like animals. I liked that Joyce moved to the roof because I don’t think that most people would do that.
I thought it was sad when then talked about the war that Bud went to.
I would recommend this book to my friends.

Great story about friendship, family, and loss. I loved the characters.

Joyce is having a rough summer, and decides to move to the roof of her house to cope. Her brother was just reporting missing while serving in the Vietnam War. Her parents bicker, and her sister Elaine claims to see little UFOs in their neighborhood. Joyce sees Brian on a nearby roof, and quickly becomes friends with him..She learns that his own brother died in the War, and that Brian's being sent away to live with his Aunt.

Joyce then accidentally causes a family tragedy to occur, and decides that she needs to run away with Brian.

I liked what this book was trying to do. Introducing death, war, and change to younger readers can be difficult, and it felt right that some of the events went right over Joyce's head. The biggest problem was the first person narrative. We are constantly stuck in Joyce's head, which is full of cliches (she cried fifty buckets, for example). We get a lot of descriptions of the homey way Joyce has arranged the roof, and the UFO she is building with Brian, but not so much what her parents are thinking or how their reactions might betray them as they think of their MIA son. When Joyce is confronted with something emotional, I wanted more, a sentence or two, something deeper than "I cried fifty buckets." But sadly, I wasn't able to get close enough to any of the characters, even Joyce herself.

This is a heartfelt story about family, loss, and wanting to do something for someone else. Joyce’s family is having a hard time so to get some space and a little peace Joyce moves to the roof for the summer. From her perch on the roof, Joyce meets Brian and together they come up with a plan honor their brothers. The pace starts a little slow but this book is well written and really nails the voice of Joyce Anne. The cover is super cute too.

Set in 1968 Pennsylvania, Jelly Bean Summer is a bittersweet exploration of childhood and belonging. Joyce is (among other reasons) fed up with her UFO-seeing, guinea-pig-loving older sister and decides to sleep outside on the roof. She meets and bonds with Brian, a neighbourhood boy that shares Joyce's experience in mourning the loss (though, in different ways) of a brother to Vietnam.

To be honest, this was slow-going for me at first and I didn't get fully invested in the story until about halfway through when Joyce recruits her older sister, Elaine, to help her and Brian on the UFO project. That being said, I appreciate the overall realism in this story - particularly near the end with Magnin's depiction of Bud returning from Vietnam. Nothing is sugarcoated and it's clear that while the book ends on a hopeful note, each of the Magnin children do have a ways to go before they are better than just "OK." And that's all right.

The writing feels true to the voice and perspective of a young girl. It doesn't shy away from showing emotions ("These things take buckets of tears sometimes") and gets particularly impressive at parts when Joyce contemplates the nature of killing in this excellent passage:

"Someone killed Brian's brother. I wonder if before he died, he killed someone else's brother who killed someone else's brother and it goes on forever. I wonder if Bud has killed people, not because he wanted to, but because that's what soldiers do."

Though the book is set in a particularly turbulent year in American history, outside of Vietnam, there's no mention of the political/cultural touchstone events. At times I feel like that's a hindrance, but really, I think that's probably true to life considering a child's insular concerns, particularly since Joyce only thinks about Vietnam in relation to her brother.

With that being said, this book comes in at 253 pages and is recommended for ages 8 and up. It feels a bit long for a child that age, but content-wise it seems right.

Jelly Bean Summer ****
By: Joyce Magnin

This is overall, a happy story told from the point of view of 11 year old Joyce Anne. Set in Westbrook, Pennsylvania 1968. It is full of childhood mysteries, concerns, childhood hopes and dreams.

The story begins when 11 year old Joyce Anne moves to the roof to get away from her older sister, Elaine, who keeps her awake because she sees UFOs every night. Oh, Elaine also has an annoying pet guinea pig named Jelly Bean who squeals a lot.
The story has happy times and sad moments.; just like real life.

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The characters developed very well throughout the story and are very realistic. The author does an excellent job of writing this in the point of view of an 11 year old girl, making sure to include all the things a child that age would deem important. You know, riding a bike, playing with friends and CANDY.
Well written and a great story. The age listed is for 8 year old and up. The book is 224 pages, that seems a bit too long for an 8 year old. Probably better suited for 11 year old and up.