In New York Times bestselling author Morgan Matson’s middle grade debut “brimming with heart, summer nostalgia, and a bit of mystery” (Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a young girl gets to know her mom’s side of the family and hunts for hidden treasure over the course of one chaotic summer. For added fun, gather some “treasures,” and bury them. After doing so, exchange maps with friends and go on a treasure hunt! The Firefly Summer is told from a first-person narrator perspective. How would the story be different if it was told by multiple narrators rather than just Ryanna? Do you think changing or limiting the point of view would make the story better or worse? Why? Morgan Matson books are almost always wins for me, so it’s not surprise that I adored this. This follows Ryanna, an only child who is invited to spend the summer with her late mom’s family at the summer camp they once owned and operated. While there, she meets a wide cast of cousins, aunts and uncles, and a few friends, and even ends up on a treasure hunt. This all comes to together in a fun and totally heartwarming plot to save the camp. I don't think it does, the book ends at an appropriate point. Binchy is possibly the best storyteller of all time, she can weave a complex story like she's knitting a scarf and I was so caught up in the story I was racing at the end, not wanting the book to be over but not able to wait any longer to find out what happens, I wouldn't have stopped for the world ending.

I’d been deep into a mystery—my favorite type of book to read. My current favorite series was Miss Terry’s Case Files, where the heroine, Terry Turner, is a seventh-grade detective who people hire to get to the bottom of things. Whenever I was reading those books, I couldn’t help wishing that I, too, lived in a small town in Vermont with lots of mysteries. Stupid Los Angeles had a lot of private detectives already, so nobody needed to turn to middle schoolers to solve their crimes. Next, use the steps offered by National Geographic Kids found here to make a treasure map of your own: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/home-is-good/how-to-make-treasure-map/

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Because suddenly that was all I wanted. I wanted to know more about her—much more than just the same stories I’d heard so often from my dad. And I wanted to know what had happened. Why hadn’t I heard from my mom’s family? What had gone on between my dad and my grandparents to cause a rift this big? Ryanna wants to learn about her mom, so she accepts. She wants to uncover the mystery of why her father hasn’t spoken to her grandparents all these years. She’s even looking forward to a quiet summer by the lake. But what she finds are relatives— so many relatives! Aunts and uncles and cousins upon cousins—a motley, rambunctious crew of kids and eccentric, unconventional adults. People who have memories of her mom from when she was Ryanna’s age, clues to her past like a treasure map.

I jumped off the bed—Cumberbatch yowled at me, not happy that I stopped petting him—and took the steps downstairs two at a time.Johnston, Rich (June 11, 2010). "SCOOP! Summer Glau Plays A LARPer In Joe Lynch's Knights Of Badassdom". Bleedingcool.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013 . Retrieved July 7, 2013. I would have loved this book at ages 9-11. The main character loves mystery books and has a mystery (or a few mysteries) to solve and her trying to get info about the mother who died when she was very young were all my cup of tea and would have also been when I was the target age for this story. The mysteries I could mostly guess from miles away but they were still entertaining. The whole scenario is a bit formulaic I suppose but it worked. I had to suspend disbelief just a bit regarding the main mystery being solved. The situation with Ryanna’s father and grandparents being happily resolved seemed believable because they are all good people. Alphas – 1×07 – Catch and Release". summer-glau.net. August 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011 . Retrieved August 3, 2011. Sailor was my favorite sister. I loved her forthright, no-nonsense manner, and there are two delightful dogs and an entitled cat to complement the cast of characters. Their lives were very similar, even though some weren’t married and had been through different experiences in life, the moment we encounter them they all have some sort of relationship with a man and they all sounded like the exact same guy.