A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out

by Nicholas Day, Yas Imamura (illustrator)

Discover how Mount Tambora's catastrophic eruption plunged the world into darkness, altering the global climate and inspiring the likes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

The world was upside-down. The wind was fire. The sky was ash. The rain was rock.

When Mount Tambora, a volcano on the edge of the Indonesian archipelago, erupted in April 1815, it was the largest explosion in recorded history. The land around Indonesia was a hellscape of fire and smoke. In the months and years that followed, the fallout—a cloud of impossibly fine ash— spread through the atmosphere. It killed harvests on the other side of the world. It turned farmers into beggars and their children into orphans. It turned sunsets into molten nightmares.

That same year, eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley fled England with poet Percy Shelley. While sheltering from the worst summer in Switzerland’s history, she watched the explosive thunderstorms over Lake Geneva and caught the spark of an idea. Almost overnight, Frankenstein was written.

In this work of middle grade nonfiction, Nicholas Day traces the forward and backward of a single event, weaving in the many people, places, and things that were affected—and created and invented!—as a result, while tackling the ever-worrying issue of climate change.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade, History, Science, Historical, Childrens, Nature

304 pages, Hardcover

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Nicholas Day is the author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, illustrated by Brett Helquist, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction; A World Without Summer, illustrated by Yas Imamura; and Nothing: John Cage and 4’33”, illustrated by Chris Raschka. For adults, he’s the author of Baby Meets World, a work about the science and history of infancy, which Mary Roach called “a perfect book.” He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with his family.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a phenomenal read! Not only was this fascinating, but it was also engaging and accessible for all readers.

What Worked: EVERYTHING. I've been meaning to read Nicholas Day's other title The Mona Lisa Vanishes for a while; however, I never got the opportunity to pick it up. However, I knew that I wanted to read this title immediately. There is a part of me that is drawn to historical disasters and this book definitely fits that description. The primary focus of this book is not just the volcano itself, but it's overwhelming impact on the globe because of the devastating climate shift. I was shocked that I knew nothing about it. The inventions, the art, the literature, the music that came from the devastation are all highlighted within the pages of this book. Day has a unique way of developing his books so that they are accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds. It's history and science combined into a captivating, thrilling read. There is also this lingering question about the impact of humans on climate now. Day doesn't make the connection for readers, but he does present the evidence in a way that makes the reader question how the world will continue to change as a result of our currently climate crisis.

Overall, this was a great read. It was fast paced and compelling and will definitely be one of my favorite reads of the year.

[Tamara York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is a work of genius. It’s hard to describe but I’ll give it a shot. Nicholas Day (author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes) brings another layered nonfiction middle grade book that transcends the genre. He ties a volcanic eruption on an island in Indonesia in 1815 to Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein to modern day climate change…and he does it phenomenally well.
This book is not for the faint of heart. I would only hand this to the more resilient middle grade readers who love tales of tragedy. Empathetic, sensitive readers might be too traumatized. But Titanic-obsessed, natural disaster, I Survived fans would probably love it. I could even see this book paired with Frankenstein in high school (heck even college courses) and it would lead to some very interesting discussions.
I love reading cause and effect history and science books. I love when the dots are connected in my knowledge base and light bulbs are lit in my brain. This is that type of book. It reminded me of Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green in that way. This book has me thinking, “Everything IS the Tambora volcano eruption.”

[Skye Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review!!!
This book is truly a phenomenal book!!!📖
The history behind it to bringing the reader to read in a different perspective is incredible!
And the artwork is beautiful!!
This is definitely one of my new favorites!

[Emily McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not without flaws, but readers will probably be willing to overlook these because this is an untold story. Similar to Everything is Tuberculosis, as it connects a single distant event, the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, to a chain of catastrophes—though a prominent Mary Shelley storyline felt tangential.

Shelley’s life and experiences following the eruption are included to build an analogy to climate change, with humans as Frankenstein, and the climate his monster. This is a very clever, but also odd and unnecessary approach. The volcano is analogy enough. While this shows that the eruption was a global event, it also gives a surprisingly Western emphasis to the disaster. It is also potentially confusing to kids who might misunderstand and believe Frankenstein has more than a very indirect connection to Tambora.

The emergence of cholera following the eruption was fascinating and could have been expanded on and related to future disease threats. These more direct effects of the eruption are interesting enough to standalone and get readers thinking about a world without a winter.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This middle grade nonfiction title about the ramifications of a volcanic eruption in 1816 was fascinating, but definitely agenda-driven. The author is forthcoming about the fact that he sees what happened in 1816 - dramatic climate change resulting in bizarre weather and catastrophic famine and disease - as the harbinger for present-day climate change and tries to use the details of the historical events to inspire action in the present day. I don't give my kids books that draw conclusions like this on their behalf, especially when our interest in this topic is primarily historical and not ecological, so I will be opting not to share it with them. But I think this is a fantastic topic for a book, and I went down the rabbit hole looking up even more information after I finished reading what was presented here. I do think there could have been a little less about Mary Shelley, but having just read Frankenstein this year, I did find all of that information very interesting.

[Kailyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this.

[Katy O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal! I learned SO MUCH from this MG / YA nonfiction page turner 🌋

Source: school library hardcover

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

OUT - F'ING - STANDING!

Day writes the most engaging nonfiction, true crime at its best, even if the crime is a volcano going off. He show what is meant when Detective Lester Freamon in THE WIRE says the line "All the pieces matter."

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5!

Too much Mary Shelley backstory to keep the focus, but such a great narrative non-fiction socio-enviro account that pivots towards a call to empathy and action.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Listened to this as we drove all over Costa Rica. Learned a ton!

[Joe Bertelloni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but seemed disjointed. Loved the historical and literary connections but it struggled to flow

[Joey W · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shouldn't snow in the summer.
Humans do not eat porcupines.
People don not sell themselves into slavery.
Sheep should not wear sweaters.
And yet all of these happen in 'A World Without Summer.' Wonderfully written, and impossible to put down, this book blends history, biography, and science into an unbelievable account of some of the darkest, coldest, and somehow forgotten years in human history.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written nonfiction book about the eruption of the volcano Mount Tambora and how it caused global climate change with clever tie-ins to Mary Shelley’s life and writing of Frankenstein. Targeted to young adults but great for us big adults as well. This will be on award lists. Fantastical written!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and timely story of climate shock and its aftermath. For kids who want to read more about climate change. I do think it will take some hand selling to get most kids to pick it up. And while I loved the Mary Shelley/ Frankenstein angle, I’m curious about how many kids would be into that part. It reads fast, and the story of the volcanic eruption and how it affected the world is well told.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! More to come closer to the release date.

[Kevin Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's previous book ("Mona Lisa Vanishes") was written for middle schoolers, but is legit one of my favorite books of the past decade. So... when I saw that the author had a new title ("A World Without Summer"), I eagerly scooped it up.

Both books have similarities:
(1) Both books feature two main stories - "Mona Lisa Vanishes" includes the story of how the Mona Lisa was originally painted, and the story of how it was stolen centuries later. "A World Without Summer" includes the volcanic explosion at Tambora and the writing of "Frankenstein." All four of these stories were ones I wasn't super familiar with before.
(2) Both stories included in both books were told with fantastic research, and plenty of quirky anecdotes that kept my interest and were so fun to hear.
(3) The stories were well told and woven together beautifully.
(4) The author draws out life lessons that connect both stories in each book.

So: I was able to find so much of what I loved from "Mona Lisa Vanishes" in this book, which was a REALLY good thing given how much I loved that book. I will concede I didn't think "A World Without Summer" is quite as tight as "Mona Lisa Vanishes." It tries to follow a similar structure, and didn't QUITE pull it off as well. Still, it's great in its own right. Maybe a 4.5 rounded up.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicholas Day does a phenomenal job in writing engaging nonfiction. Growing up I didn’t like nonfiction. It was dry and boring. Both this book and the Siebert winning the Mona Lisa Vanishes introduce topics to readers that either are unknown or presented in a much more fun way.

A World without Summer. I will admit was not my favorite on a personal level. I’m not a science girl. Never have been never will be. I agree with other comments above that this book could have benefited from graphs and charts for the non-scientific minded person. However, the language shows how it is deserving of the Newbery medal. All along I was aware of the setting in which this took place. Having read other books, I knew we would go on side tangents and as a literary nut. I enjoyed all of the history surrounding Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, and Frankenstein.

This book is not in my top five when I'm looking at it for my mock Newbery discussion. However, I definitely hope I see a medal on its jacket come awards time. Also, I hope it gets read by the masses as it explores a very important topic: how we have a responsibility to this planet to take care of it before it implodes on itself

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about the way he writes gives me goosebumps. In a good way. I appreciated the repeated asking of questions to tie the reader into the situation that seems past but is actually present. While I had known about a volcano causing bad weather and that leading to the writing of Frankenstein, I had never even heard about the rest of it. The famines, the social unrest, and these giving rise to modern meteorology and social welfare systems. It really is fascinating how things can interconnect without people in the present connecting those dots.

Also appreciate how much disdain the writer clearly has for Percy Shelley and the men in Mary's life. Agreed.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love those kind of books that you can literally not put down. I read this book, almost, in one sitting. Fascinating, frightening, eerily parallel to what’s happening with our climate right now—very little snow in Park City, a record-breaking low this year with feet of snow in unusual and unexpected places in the Midwest and the East. Nicolas Day brings threads together from so many different sources—science, literature, disease, historical record, religion and on and on. I was delighted with the connection to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the dismal, sunless summer she, Shelley and Lord Byron spent in Switzerland. I was stunned by the famine, starvation, and complete lack of agricultural production in the years following the eruption of Tambora. I loved the author’s musings and banter with the reader. So well written and researched. I learned so much.

[Lisa Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read anything that Nicholas Day writes!!! His books are amazing. I learned so much from reading this book and spent meaning days going down internet search rabbit holes trying to learn even more. Great book!

[Cheryl Meibos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know anything about the Tambora volcano eruption in 1816. This book expanded my range of thinking and the authors did this in a well researched and interesting way. Reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell's style. Loved it. Definitely worthy of the Newbery award.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely fantastic! I enjoyed every moment and highly recommend it.

[Alana "Loni" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicholas Day is so good at writing nonfiction.

[Morton Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narrative nonfiction | Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | Climate - Emma

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction but reads like fiction. Very interesting history on volcanic eruption in 1815 of Tambora and how it changed the climate of the world, causing freak cold weather in summer and constant rain. But also we follow the story of Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein. Book has questions for the reader throughout. Would be great for a middle grade bookclub.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story of seemingly unrelated things! Climate change, Mary Shelley, the bicycle: all of them interesting in their own right, fascinating when tied together.

[Anna Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It all comes back to the ash."

Between 3 and 4 stars.

An engaging , quasi-narrative non-fiction work that might just (pardon the unintended pun) spark a fire of interest in historical events for younger readers.

The book follows the eruption of Mount Tambora and the aftermath that followed, which extended far beyond the volcano's immediate range and impacted countless lives--and the world--in immeasurable ways.

I found the messages in the book critically important for young (and let's be honest, older) readers today. Both the overarching messages of noticing what's going on in the world around you and taking action on it, and messages regarding helping others, acknowledging (and changing) the wide gap between the rich and the poor, and so on.

There is, perhaps, a bit too much of an emphasis on Mary Shelley... considering that the book repeatedly discusses the longstanding effects of the eruption, it's not unusual that her story is brought up, but I don't know that we needed to return to it repeatedly in order for the author to connect the book's themes to some of those found in Frankenstein. (But I did learn that Mary Shelley was, apparently, once bitten by a squirrel. So maybe it was worth it.)

Speaking of "apparently"--how much of the book is backed by solid sources? Well... now and then, the book does quote (or claims it is quoting--since there are no footnotes, it's not easy to check!) letters, newspaper articles, etc, which are refreshing and add more historical context to the sometimes sparse narration.

But... while the back of the book does contain an extensive bibliography, because it's written in a conversational style, there are no footnotes and no pointers for readers who might want to uncover the sources behind the events, people and claims made in the book.

(Some of which require more than a little scrutiny--it is a strange that the author at one point claims that until 1816, the poor generally hadn't protested or rioted against being hungry, while in the same book, it repeatedly talks about monarchs and the elite were worried because of the French Revolution. To say nothing of the various riots and protests throughout history prior to even the French Revolution of 1789... why would the elites be worried about discontented poor people, without the history of what happens when those people starve?)

It is frustrating, as someone with a longstanding interest in being open with where claims are coming from. I do recognize that this style of writing is not the norm for younger non-fiction, especially not this type of narrative style which is not intended to be rigorously academic but is meant to be something that hooks readers and doesn't let go.

Which it does! So I can set aside those scruples. Mostly.

The final chapter should be sobering for younger and older readers alike.

[Rummanah (Books in the Spotlight) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A well written albeit pretentious narrative nonfiction account that explores how Mount Tambora's eruption in 1815 affected the climate and inspired Mary Shelley's work. The book aims to be 'global' but it solely focuses on Europe and the U.S. I actually wanted to know about Indonesia and the direct aftermath of the volcano. I could care less of what is happening in Europe. I don't think there is a whole lot of appeal for this book. It is more like a book that teachers *want and think* their students *would/should* like.

[Mary Beth MacLeay · Rating 3 out of 5]

excellent writing about an explosion of a South Sea volcano and the world wide after effects. But too much pontificating on climate change. Kids today have enough stress.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1815 in Indonesia a volcano called Tambora erupted. It erupted in spectacular fashion. Day tells the story of that eruption from firsthand accounts of people in the area, and then looks at what we now know happened afterwards with the ash and gases shot into the stratosphere, and the fallout across the Americas and Europe in the following year of 1816. A year that saw crazy weather: record floods in Europe and horrible famines in America, snow storms during 4th of July celebrations, wild sunrises and sunsets, visible sunspots that launched prophecies of the end of the world, and places that didn’t see the sun for over a year. Day looks at how this impacted the people and cultures in those areas, and how the gloomy weather inspired a young woman on holiday named Mary to write a story about an ill-conceived creation and the fallout for the scientist who created it.

Day uses the story of Tambora’s climate crisis fallout to encourage readers to consider how important our climate is, and Mary’s story to consider the fallout of our actions. Consequences are not something young people think about much, so anything that will get them to pause and think about such things is a valiant work. As in his first work, Day’s writing is exceptional. He is an artist with words. He can make them sing, and dance, and entertain, but also inform in a way that doesn’t feel like you are being educated but entertained (though you most certainly are learning things). I read a nice, long adult nonfiction book on Tambora and 1816 called The Year without Summer by Klingaman, and I have to say this is SO much more memorable than that. The adult one took hard work to get through. I devoured Day’s almost 300 page book in just 2 sittings, and feel like it is so much more memorable and equally informative. I’d recommend this one over Klingaman’s book any day, regardless of the interest level of the reader. If they finish this one and want more, then they can move on to Klingaman. 1816 was such a crazy year it is actually surprising that there aren’t more fiction books set in that time period. I can’t think of a single one set then, and I think it would be a very interesting background for a story. The turmoil of a world in uncertain circumstances reminded me a bit of the covid lockdown year(s) and the turmoil during those. It is interesting to ponder how humans throughout time respond to the unusual and unforeseen. Weaving in Mary Shelley’s story and the creation of Frankenstein was an interesting choice for Day, but it does tie in naturally and provide a platform to get readers thinking about actions and consequences. Day did a very tactful job of talking about Mary’s relationship with Percy while Percy was married to another woman in a book that could be picked up by middle grade readers. He also does a very tactful job talking about racial issues, class issues, slavery, other human rights issues, and more throughout the book. It’s a masterful job of conveying real, messy history in a way that will provoke thinking.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: Mary’s relationship with married Percy is talked about tactfully. It is mentioned that they have children together and that society was scandalized by their relationship, but no further details. Mary’s sister’s relationship with Byron and the child she has with him are briefly mentioned, no details. Percy’s wife committing suicide is just briefly stated with no details.
Violence: Deaths in the volcanic eruption, from starvation, in riots about bread prices, from illness, etc. are mentioned over the course of the book. Nothing is graphically described.
Ethnic diversity: Indonesians, Europeans, Americans, Native Americans
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Famine, desperation for food because crops fail, fear because of not understanding how weather works, people saying things were brought on by sin (this is tactfully reported and doesn’t disparage people of faith, while also showing famine was a result of the weather and the dire need for food may or may not have been related to sin if greedy people were involved, etc.). People being so desperate they were willing to become slaves is talked about. Government/citizen relationships and responsibility for welfare is discussed. Grief over deaths. And more. There’s a lot in this book.