Summer Wood

The librarians like it, too -- and I like them!

Summer Wood - February 1, 2011

From Library Journal: "Wrecker is a three-year-old boy living in 1968 San Francisco with his mother, Lisa Fay, a single woman struggling to provide a living for her son. When a string of bad decisions results in his mother’s arrest and imprisonment, Wrecker goes to live with family he’s never met, far away in Humboldt County. His uncle Len is barely able to keep track of him because he’s struggling to take care of Meg, his newly disabled wife. Luckily for Wrecker, Len’s friends live close by; Melody, Willow, Ruth, and Johnny Appleseed take Wrecker in and raise him. While Lisa Fay is incarcerated, Melody becomes Wrecker’s mother, and his memories of his birth mother, both traumatic and loving, fade. But as Wrecker grows to adulthood, he and Melody both must face the truth of his heritage before it shows up on their doorstep. VERDICT A sweet adoptive-home story with extra heart and lovingly flawed characters, this second novel by Wood (Arroyo) will find its home with fans of Jo-Ann Mapson and Pam Houston.— Julie Kane, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., VA