Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Ali Standish is spot on in this middle grade novel. Georgia’s dad is two different people - one before alcoholism took ahold of his life and one after. When Georgia’s mom sends her to her Aunt Marigold’s for the summer, Georgia learns how to use the different aspects of her own personality to confront her dad and his alcoholism. Standish does an extraordinary job of writing about alcoholism, the different personalities it brings out and the broken promises that result.

The Mending Summer by Ali Standish, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; Fantasy, magical realism

Brief Review:

Twelve-year-old Georgia figures that “some summers are meant to break your heart,” and this is clearly one of them. Instead of going to camp, she is spending the summer at her great aunt Marigold’s country home, largely due to her beloved father’s descent into alcoholism. But Georgia finds that she enjoys the change in scenery, especially after she befriends a girl named Angela and they discover a magical lake that can grant wishes. Unfortunately, as they soon discover, the lake can only grant wishes in that specific location; it can’t fix Georgia’s family back home. It does give them several exciting adventures before the fun is spoiled by Cole, a boy who is staying with Angela and has been spying on Georgia. Angela tells Georgia that Cole is “trouble” but won’t give details. To Georgia’s surprise, she actually likes talking to Cole. While Angela is optimistic and full of naive advice, Cole’s attitude is bleak but sympathetic. Meanwhile, Georgia slowly learns about Aunt Marigold’s past and discovers that her great aunt understands exactly what she’s going through. As in Standish’s previous books, this novel discusses sad but realistic topics through the eyes of an introspective protagonist in a beautifully atmospheric setting. Towards the end, some of the life lessons about friendship, familial loyalty, and real-life wishes come across as being somewhat pedantic, but overall, this is an interesting and suspenseful book that skillfully uses fantastical concepts to explore real-life issues. Recommended for summer vacation reading material.


Long Review:

This book has been on my radar for several months now because of its author. I’ve read three of her previous books, and each of them was one of my top couple favorite books of the year. In my personal opinion, this new book ranks fourth out of the four, but it’s still an interesting, insightful middle grade novel that is very likely to make my “Best of the Year” list.

Twelve-year-old Georgia figures that “some summers are meant to break your heart,” and this is clearly one of them. It’s bad enough that she’s missing out on summer camp this year, but worse than that, her beloved Daddy has been replaced by someone Georgia calls the “Shadow Man.” That is to say, the man who comes home late, drunk and angry and wobbly, isn’t really Daddy. Between Daddy’s alcoholism and Mama’s busy schedule as she works towards a biology degree, Mama decides that Georgia should spend most of the summer with her great aunt Marigold, only coming home for the weekends.

Life at Aunt Marigold’s house out in the country is completely different, and Georgia quickly comes to love it. She enjoys learning to cook and make pottery, and she likes chatting with Hank the handyman, but mostly, she loves spending her days exploring the woods with her new friend Angela. Together, they discover a magical lake that can grant wishes. Unfortunately, as they quickly discover, the magic is very limited in its scope. Georgia and Angela can only experience the effects of their wishes while they are physically at the lake; it can’t fix the problems in Georgia’s family back home. It does give them several exciting adventures before the fun is spoiled by Cole, a boy who is staying with Angela and has been spying on Georgia. Angela tells Georgia that Cole is “trouble” but won’t give details. To Georgia’s surprise, she actually likes talking to Cole. While Angela is optimistic and full of naive advice, Cole’s attitude is bleak but sympathetic.

Meanwhile, Georgia knows that Aunt Marigold is keeping secrets from her. Why is there a room in her house that’s kept locked? And whose is the small grave in the forest? Georgia assumes that the room and the grave belong to the same person, presumably a child. She later finds out that she was wrong about both these assumptions and that Aunt Marigold’s past has a lot more in common with her present family situation than she had thought. The truth all comes out after a climactic couple of scenes in which Georgia gets separated from Angela and Cole, realizes that they were just part of the magic of the lake all along, and arrives home just in time to save Aunt Marigold from a kitchen fire.

As in Standish’s previous books, this novel discusses sad but realistic topics through the eyes of an introspective protagonist in a beautifully atmospheric setting. Although Standish’s books tend to be realistic fiction with a hint of mystery or magic, this newest book does contain literal magic. However, (spoiler alert!) the hints that it may be a ghost story turn out to be red herrings. The Mending Summer explores themes of friendship, familial love and loyalty, the value of creativity, and what it takes to make a real-life wish come true. In later chapters, the book stresses that alcoholism is a disease and that Georgia (and any readers who are experiencing similar things) can still love her father even while resenting his actions and wanting to avoid him. Much emphasis is placed on the dichotomy between what a person can and can’t control in their own life. The last few chapters contained just a little too much introspection about life lessons learned for my taste and ended up sounding a little more pedantic than Standish’s previous books that I liked so much. However, as a whole, I thought this book was interesting, suspenseful, and well worth reading. Recommended for summer vacation reading material.

A great read for kids in the summer! Georgia is sent to live with her great-aunt in the country during her summer weeks. She knows her father - who she calls "Shadow Man" is getting worse and she learns that he's suffering from alcoholism. Georgia finds a magical lake and a mysterious girl, then later a boy, who make wishes together on the lake. When a scary wish comes true, Georgia has to decide what to do - and which friend she should listen to in order to save herself and her family. Ali Standish knows how to write middle grade characters so well, they come alive on the page! A must read for summer!

I loved this book about a young girl dealing with her father’s alcoholism. It was a little bit of magic mixed with a lot of reality as we watched Georgia grow over the summer when “The Shadow Man” hits his peak and the family is forced to confront the problem head on. Georgia is sent to Marigold’s farm for the summer to get away from her father and escape chaos. I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Georgia and Aunt Marigold. The author made clear the message that alcoholism is a disease and that someone can’t be helped until they are ready. My heart hurt for Georgia and her mother, but I love how Aunt Marigold needed Georgia as much as she Georgia needed her. This book releases at the end of May.

Loved this story about Georgia who is sent to live with an aunt over the summer as her mom is coming to terms with Georgia’s dad’s alcoholism. . As Georgia finds her way around her aunt’s property, she finds some friends who make her summer more bearable , but who are these friends ?

I found this book to be very enchanting as I experienced this magical island that Georgia had discovered. As Georgia embarks on a summer spent with her great aunt in the country, during a time where her mother needed to spend her time focusing on her studies as well as keeping Georgia away from a father dealing with alcoholism, Georgia learns so much about things/people that are out of our control. Addiction is a disease that is not focused on as much as I feel like it should be in middle grade novels. Between 5th through 8th grade, students are experiencing more and more that we as adults should not be placing on kids. I know magical realism is not necessarily a genre that most people enjoy, But I found for the point of the story the magical elements brought the plot together. A big reason I give this 4 stars is due to the length. Middle grade strident struggle with over 300 pages. Overall though, it’s definitely going to be a book I purchase for my middle school classroom library for how Georgia and her Mother’s lives are altered by her Father’s drinking. I think reading the child’s perspective and the mothers perspective is a great opportunity for students who are experiencing the same life as Georgia.

Very believable, realistic characters. I appreciate the age appropriate way the author handled the father's aloholism and I like that the mother was going back to school, that's something you don't see often.

This was a really interesting story from the perspective of how the main character is dealing with living with great-aunt while her mother tries to help her father and the magical realism of the setting and the siblings that she meets in the woods behind her great-aunt's house. I liked the balance of realistic fiction with the touch of magic and seeing how it played out.

I'd rate this one 3.5 stars. The beginning felt a little long and the end felt a little rushed. I feel like we only got a small amount of closure on the "magic" of the lake, like Georgia gathered her thoughts about it a little too quickly, considering how much it meant to her.

Will purchase for my middle school library.

If you liked August Isle, you will love Ali Standish's new novel, The Mending Summer. The summer is not starting off like Georgia had hoped. Instead of heading to summer camp, she is heading to the country house to spend time with her great aunt Marigold to avoid being in her home while her parents are fighting. There Georgia finds a magic lake and makes a mysterious new friend. At first, Georgia is able to escape her troubles when the magic lake makes her wishes come true. As the days go on, however, Georgia realizes that the magic of the lake may not be enough to change her reality. Ali Standish weaves together a beautiful story of friendship and magic, heartbreak and healing.

Georgia spends the summer with her Great Aunt in the country instead of going to camp with her friends. Initially, Georgia is unhappy with the arrangement, but after exploring her aunt's farm, Georgia discovers a magical lake and a new friend. Angela and Georgia take turns making wishes come true with the magic of the mysterious lake, but when another kid shows up, the magic of the lake is threatened.

Georgia learns to make the best of the situation at hand and to be honest with those around her -- especially her mom.

A heartfelt story that brings a truthfulness and reality to light in a way that middle grade readers can understand and empathize with, and maybe even see a piece of themselves.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a link to this eARC.

Georgia’s family is struggling since The Shadow Man came to stay. That’s what she calls her dad when he’s been drinking, and he doesn’t sound or act like the person she adores. Her mom returned to school to get her degree in biology, so there wasn’t money to send Georgia to summer camp. But when The Shadow Man goes too far one day, Georgia is sent to Great Aunt Marigold’s place in the country during the summer weekdays while her mom is busy with school. Georgia isn’t excited about living in a quiet house with no TV where there’s nothing to do until she meets a new friend while out exploring the woods. Georgia and Angela quickly become summer sisters and discover the magical lake where they meet is separate from the world they live in. Some wishes can come true in this special place, and Georgia wishes for her family to be like it used to be. But the more complicated things get at home, the more Georgia sees that it’s important to be careful what you wish for.

I thought the author dealt with the topic of alcoholism very well. Georgia adored her dad and turned him into The Shadow Man to deal with her conflicting feelings about him. Her relationship with her mom becomes closer as the story progresses, and I love the way she connects to Aunt Marigold and helps her come to terms with her past. I enjoyed seeing Georgia appreciate the country lifestyle and help out with chores. The magic of the island and the kid’s reactions to it was a unique element to the story, and it gave Georgia important perspective on her life.

I would recommend this book for strong readers in Gr. 5-7 who enjoy realistic fiction with a touch of magic. I’m not personally a fan of these types of stories, and the length of 368 pages will keep me from purchasing it for my collection unless a patron asks for it.

A lovely middle-grades story. Readers dealing with the loss, or potential loss, of a loved one to addiction will surely find a meaningful connection to the protagonist.

Georgia's family is falling apart. Her father, a jazz pianist, has started drinking more and more and her mother is becoming cold and distant because of it. When Georgia finds out she'll be spending most of the summer at her great-aunt Marigold's house in the country, she is less than thrilled. But then she stumbles upon a magical lake in the forest and makes a new friend. Maybe life will be ok after all? This is a beautiful middle grade story about the bonds of family, the impact of alcoholism, courage, and friendship.

Ali Standish is one of the best authors out there right now! Her books are real and raw. Anytime I see her name on a book, I know that I am in for a wonderful treat.

This was exactly what I got with Ali Standish's new book, The Mending Summer. It was just brilliant, from cover-to-cover. Throughout the book, Standish claims that some summers are meant to break your heart. But, I am here to say that some books are meant to break your heart. The Mending Summer is one of just those types of books.

In the story, you will meet Georgia. Georgia and her family are going through a really hard time. Her daddy is lost in the world of his alcohol addiction. To try to ease things, Georgia's parents send her to live with her aunt. There she gets lost in the magical world of the island that exists on the little lake by her aunt's farm.

Truly a “mending” book- a journey of a girl who needs to come to terms with her father’s drinking and the impact it has on her family. Meanwhile, she spends time with her great-aunt, where she has plenty of her own growing and realizing to do. A poignant, beautiful story.

Children who are living with an adult who struggles with addiction will find some solace is being able to watch how Georgia handles the situation and perhaps gain some wisdom as well.

Georgia realizes over the summer that you can’t run away from your fears and sorrows. She stays with her great aunt during the week while mom studies. Her dad’s drinking is getting out of hand. As the summer passes, Georgia makes friends and they learn some secrets about a pond. Georgia learns that change doesn’t happen by wishing. She must stand up for herself by being brave and be the change her life needs.

I was hooked with the first line: Some summers are just meant to break your heart. I just knew that this story was not about first crush/love but about something deeper, more sorrowful. Gs Georgia's parents are at a low level in their marriage. Her mother is working on her biology degree and her father works at an office during the day and at night, as a musician. Georgia witnesses her father becoming two different men. His drinking changes him to "Shadow Man", Georgia's name for his other-self Georgia's mother sends her to live with Marigold, her great aunt during the summer weekdays instead of her usual camp that Georgia attends.

Georgia is lonely. Marigold is lonely. Georgia meets a young girl while out exploring. She and Angela become summer friends. They find a magical lake and learn they can have their wishes come true. It's all so wonderful at first but as we all know, magic has a dark side. Georgia comes to understand that wishes can't heal her broken family.

The author masters the topic of alcoholism with thoughtfulness and grace. Beautifully written, I found myself not only affected by Georgia's confusion and sadness about her father but also felt sorrow that Georgia seemed to be so close to her father but not with her mother. I wanted to know more about the why of that.
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