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Nantucket Summer
Mrs. Cramer wanted 13-year-old A.D. to come to Nantucket Island to help take care of little Stephie...and everyone thought it was a great idea - everyone except A.D. "I'm not going anywhere with that crazy lady and her miserable kid," she yelled. But A.D. did go - and met Rod. And when Mrs. Cramer really began acting peculiar, and a strange, ghostly visitor appeared, A.D. knew that her Nantucket Summer was going to be one she'd never forget!
- GenresYoung Adult
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 3, 2018
Wish I could find this book again. I read this when I was in sixth grade when my teacher offered it to me. I don't remember anything about it, but I remember loving it. I so wish I could find it. It has always stuck in my mind after all these years. Just wish I could remember what it was I had liked about it so much.
**Review following is my 2nd reading as an adult. I was finally able to get my own copy of this.**
This brought back warm feelings of reading this when I was only 11 years old. This most definitely reads outdated, but I still enjoyed it, perhaps because it had such an aura of mystery around it based on some nostalgic memory I had held it in for over 30 years.
The story is about 13 year old A.D. who begrudgingly takes on a summer job babysitting her 3 year old neighbor. A.D., Mrs. C, and the 3yr old are secluded on Nantuckett island. Almost immediately, things start going downhill. Mrs. C. goes into deep bouts of depression, cooping herself up in her bedroom and basically leaving a 13 year old in charge of her 3 year old. The only thing that makes the summer a little more exciting for A.D. is meeting a boy on the island.
I'm now going to go on a rant reviewing this through an adult's eye because frankly, I was a little mad reading this. Mrs. C offers to pay A.D. $30 a month to babysit and all the adults scoff that it is too much, including her mom. If they only realized that A.D. took on a full-time job, babysitting, cleaning, and looking out after a depressed adult woman. The husband, Mr. C., was supposed to come out every other weekend but basically never really did, and then has the nerve to come back on one particular weekend and lash out at A.D. for not doing anything to earn her money. I was so angry reading this. What a jerk.
A.D. writes to her mom telling her that she's worried about Mrs. C.'s depression and her mom pretty much tells her to hang tight. I guess this was another time and age, but I just couldn't believe mom's reaction to leaving her child in charge of an adult depressed woman and a 3 year old child.
While I was so happy to get a hold of this book again and I loved reading it, and excited that I was able to remember some of the passages in the story, it is a story best read young and one that will read better the first time around. I certainly let my adult eye and my mother heart read this very differently 2nd time around.
Rating this with nostalgia on my mind.
P.S. Thanks to Mr. Luden, my 6th grade teacher, (Buford Elementary, Lennox, CA, c. 1982-83) for introducing this book to me. This book will always bring me back to that time and age.
**Review following is my 2nd reading as an adult. I was finally able to get my own copy of this.**
This brought back warm feelings of reading this when I was only 11 years old. This most definitely reads outdated, but I still enjoyed it, perhaps because it had such an aura of mystery around it based on some nostalgic memory I had held it in for over 30 years.
The story is about 13 year old A.D. who begrudgingly takes on a summer job babysitting her 3 year old neighbor. A.D., Mrs. C, and the 3yr old are secluded on Nantuckett island. Almost immediately, things start going downhill. Mrs. C. goes into deep bouts of depression, cooping herself up in her bedroom and basically leaving a 13 year old in charge of her 3 year old. The only thing that makes the summer a little more exciting for A.D. is meeting a boy on the island.
I'm now going to go on a rant reviewing this through an adult's eye because frankly, I was a little mad reading this. Mrs. C offers to pay A.D. $30 a month to babysit and all the adults scoff that it is too much, including her mom. If they only realized that A.D. took on a full-time job, babysitting, cleaning, and looking out after a depressed adult woman. The husband, Mr. C., was supposed to come out every other weekend but basically never really did, and then has the nerve to come back on one particular weekend and lash out at A.D. for not doing anything to earn her money. I was so angry reading this. What a jerk.
A.D. writes to her mom telling her that she's worried about Mrs. C.'s depression and her mom pretty much tells her to hang tight. I guess this was another time and age, but I just couldn't believe mom's reaction to leaving her child in charge of an adult depressed woman and a 3 year old child.
While I was so happy to get a hold of this book again and I loved reading it, and excited that I was able to remember some of the passages in the story, it is a story best read young and one that will read better the first time around. I certainly let my adult eye and my mother heart read this very differently 2nd time around.
Rating this with nostalgia on my mind.
P.S. Thanks to Mr. Luden, my 6th grade teacher, (Buford Elementary, Lennox, CA, c. 1982-83) for introducing this book to me. This book will always bring me back to that time and age.
September 1, 2022
I thought I read this as a kid but didn’t. I tried to read and enjoy from two perspectives- through my former ya self and my current much, much older self. It’s written in a wonderful way - not “dumbed down” for kids. I really appreciate the author’s writing. This book could have been expanded more but wonderful in its simplicity. There are several things happening in the story, not least of which is mental illness/depression that the young heroine witnesses and deals with from her employer. It is amazing how much responsibility she takes on caring for a toddler, house and trying to help the toddler’s mother. She is 13. That being said this was written in the early 70s . Expectations were different from today.
The fact that this was written on an earlier Nantucket from what I have read- with references to areas that seem familiar- added to my enjoyment.
The fact that this was written on an earlier Nantucket from what I have read- with references to areas that seem familiar- added to my enjoyment.
March 8, 2009
This is a short, simple, youth-oriented book. I enjoyed the quick read and the writing style. Cute story.
July 24, 2012
I read this when I was 13 or 14 and was captivated! I remember thinking that I wanted to spend a summer in Nantucket! I haven't made it there yet, but give me time!
August 20, 2016
I first read this book as an 11yo and always remembered it. I recently found a copy on Amazon and decided to read it 40 years later!! Still such a sweet story!!
December 12, 2025
Nantucket Summer by Phyllis Green (1974) is a quietly atmospheric middle grade novel that captures the space between childhood innocence and adolescent awakening. Its protagonist, A.D., spends the season in Nantucket with her neighbor, Mrs. Cramer, and Mrs. Cramer’s young daughter, Stephie. What begins as a seemingly ordinary summer soon acquires layers of intrigue: A.D.’s romance with Rod, the boy who stirs her first real feelings; the strange figure of a wandering hippie who appears in uncanny, almost supernatural fashion; and the unsettling fragility of Mrs. Cramer herself, whose unwellness lends the household a faintly gothic undertone.
Green’s narrative moves briskly, never indulgent, yet occasionally abrupt—scenes that might have blossomed into richer portraits are instead sketched in quick strokes. Still, the novel remains at compelling rhythm, its mysteries deftly woven to keep the reader turning pages. The effect is one of fleeting emotions, a summer in fragments, yet fused with a sense of curiosity and unease.
Encountering such vintage works for younger readers feels like uncovering hidden treasures: slim volumes that carry both the charm of their era and the timeless pull of story. Nantucket Summer may not linger long in its details, but it leaves behind the impression of a season haunted by questions—of love, of health, of presence and absence—that resonate beyond its pages. Not great literature, but a quiet story that came and went as the tide on Nantucket itself.
Green’s narrative moves briskly, never indulgent, yet occasionally abrupt—scenes that might have blossomed into richer portraits are instead sketched in quick strokes. Still, the novel remains at compelling rhythm, its mysteries deftly woven to keep the reader turning pages. The effect is one of fleeting emotions, a summer in fragments, yet fused with a sense of curiosity and unease.
Encountering such vintage works for younger readers feels like uncovering hidden treasures: slim volumes that carry both the charm of their era and the timeless pull of story. Nantucket Summer may not linger long in its details, but it leaves behind the impression of a season haunted by questions—of love, of health, of presence and absence—that resonate beyond its pages. Not great literature, but a quiet story that came and went as the tide on Nantucket itself.
January 4, 2025
This book was so not what I thought it was going to be, and I loved it! I picked this up at a library book sale mostly because it was short and I thought that would be good for travel around the holidays.
A.D. is a teen asked to go to Nantucket for the summer with the Cramer family to babysit their daughter, Stephanie. Although A.D. ends up doing a lot more work than she expected for the summer, she enjoys her time and really bonds with Stephanie. Mrs. Cramer suffers from some depression, and Mr. Cramer works all the time, so neither of them plays much into the plot. But they do see a strange ghost-like figure, that they can’t decide if he’s real or not, and I guess we’ll never know for sure.
This was a sweet book, written more for young teens, but I enjoyed it!
A.D. is a teen asked to go to Nantucket for the summer with the Cramer family to babysit their daughter, Stephanie. Although A.D. ends up doing a lot more work than she expected for the summer, she enjoys her time and really bonds with Stephanie. Mrs. Cramer suffers from some depression, and Mr. Cramer works all the time, so neither of them plays much into the plot. But they do see a strange ghost-like figure, that they can’t decide if he’s real or not, and I guess we’ll never know for sure.
This was a sweet book, written more for young teens, but I enjoyed it!
April 14, 2014
One of my favorites as a young girl. Amazing story. I'm going to get for my daughter to read and hope she likes it as much as I did.
July 29, 2014
Read this when I was 9! Read it now 49 years later and I loved it just as much!
May 19, 2016
I read this when I was in middle school. It had an impact on me.
June 25, 2023
Loved this book when I was a teenager and never forgot it. I reread it as an adult and still loved it. What a great story.
November 3, 2013
I remember reading this as a kid. First book I loved!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews