What do you think?
Rate this book
Silver Meadows Summer
Just right for fans of Pam Muñoz Ryan, this story of moving out and moving on is a touching portrayal of the experience of leaving one's home country and making new friends--sometimes where least expected.
Eleven-year-old Carolina's summer--and life as she knows it--is upended when Papi loses his job, and she and her family must move from Puerto Rico to her Tía Cuca and Uncle Porter's house in upstate New York. Now Carolina must attend Silver Meadows camp, where her bossy older cousin Gabriela rules the social scene.
Just as Carolina worries she'll have to spend the entire summer in Gabriela's shadow, she makes a friend of her own in Jennifer, a fellow artist. Carolina gets another welcome surprise when she stumbles upon a long-abandoned cottage in the woods near the campsite and immediately sees its potential as a creative haven for making art. There, with Jennifer, Carolina begins to reclaim the parts of the life she loved in Puerto Rico and forget about how her relationship with Mami has changed and how distant Papi has become.
But when the future of Silver Meadows and the cottage is thrown into jeopardy, Carolina and--to everyone's surprise--Gabriela come up with a plan to save them. Will it work?
Eleven-year-old Carolina's summer--and life as she knows it--is upended when Papi loses his job, and she and her family must move from Puerto Rico to her Tía Cuca and Uncle Porter's house in upstate New York. Now Carolina must attend Silver Meadows camp, where her bossy older cousin Gabriela rules the social scene.
Just as Carolina worries she'll have to spend the entire summer in Gabriela's shadow, she makes a friend of her own in Jennifer, a fellow artist. Carolina gets another welcome surprise when she stumbles upon a long-abandoned cottage in the woods near the campsite and immediately sees its potential as a creative haven for making art. There, with Jennifer, Carolina begins to reclaim the parts of the life she loved in Puerto Rico and forget about how her relationship with Mami has changed and how distant Papi has become.
But when the future of Silver Meadows and the cottage is thrown into jeopardy, Carolina and--to everyone's surprise--Gabriela come up with a plan to save them. Will it work?
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2019
15 people are currently reading
690 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 29, 2020
Now from the book description and synopsis for Silver Meadows Summer I was kind of expecting that I would in fact totally adore and appreciate author Emma Otheguy's focus on so many issues personally dear to my heart (introversion, immigration and moving, art, not to mention the importance of keeping farmland as farmland).
But while the general themes and contents presented in Silver Meadows Summer did and still do sufficiently personally appeal and interest (and that yes, I do find the ending for Silver Meadows Summer generally satisfying enough), on a very much emotional level, how Emma Otheguy has depicted main character and chief protagonist Carolina's immediate family, how both her mother and her father appear (at least to my eyes) as rather totally tone deaf and not at all concerned regarding their daughter's emotional needs and desires, this has really and truly lastingly made me both majorly sad, furious and indeed has also utterly rubbed me (as someone with a very similar character and mindset to Carolina) the wrong proverbial way (how especially Carolina's mother is in Silver Meadows Summer rather too constantly and actively pushing her introverted daughter to become more extroverted and yes how being homesick for Puerto Rico and complaining about there not really being a place for Carolina to do her treasured artwork in peace in the family's new domicile is somehow not considered acceptable and even supposedly ungrateful behaviour and bad manners).
And albeit that by the end of Silver Meadows Summer, Carolina's mother does kind of redeem herself a bit, starts to increasingly appreciate her daughter for whom she is and also begins to understand that the family having to move from Puerto Rico to New York State has obviously been majorly traumatic for Carolina, that it took almost until the very end of Silver Meadows Summer for the mother to even somehow realise this as a problem, as an issue, this has truly felt incredibly painful and was also (truth be told) really rather tedious and monotonous to constantly read abut for well over 200 pages (and yes, Carolina's unhappiness and how her family obviously just does not want to understand its root causes has of course also filled me with majorly negative remembrances of my own family's immigration to Canada from Germany that I would actually much rather be forgetting, since I experienced similar scenarios with my own mother like a bully and actively pushing me into being more social and that I was also often chided and derided for being homesick for Germany just like with in Silver Meadows Summer the constant criticisms that Carolina faces regarding missing Puerto Rico and not immediately and readily fitting in and assimilating to standard American life).
Finally, although I am actually sufficiently glad to have indeed continued reading Silver Meadows Summer (as the ending is not only quite sweet, I also do appreciate how parts of Silver Meadows Farm will sold as farmland and not just to a developer), I also do think that with regard to presenting issues and problems, Emma Otheguy often tends togo kind of a trifle overboard and indeed, I did come pretty close to abandoning Silver Meadows Summer on more than one occasion (and in my humble opinion, a considerably more balanced mix of issues and joys, of positives and negatives would likely have made Silver Meadows Summer much more enjoyable and much less traumatic and with resulting tedium for me personally).
But while the general themes and contents presented in Silver Meadows Summer did and still do sufficiently personally appeal and interest (and that yes, I do find the ending for Silver Meadows Summer generally satisfying enough), on a very much emotional level, how Emma Otheguy has depicted main character and chief protagonist Carolina's immediate family, how both her mother and her father appear (at least to my eyes) as rather totally tone deaf and not at all concerned regarding their daughter's emotional needs and desires, this has really and truly lastingly made me both majorly sad, furious and indeed has also utterly rubbed me (as someone with a very similar character and mindset to Carolina) the wrong proverbial way (how especially Carolina's mother is in Silver Meadows Summer rather too constantly and actively pushing her introverted daughter to become more extroverted and yes how being homesick for Puerto Rico and complaining about there not really being a place for Carolina to do her treasured artwork in peace in the family's new domicile is somehow not considered acceptable and even supposedly ungrateful behaviour and bad manners).
And albeit that by the end of Silver Meadows Summer, Carolina's mother does kind of redeem herself a bit, starts to increasingly appreciate her daughter for whom she is and also begins to understand that the family having to move from Puerto Rico to New York State has obviously been majorly traumatic for Carolina, that it took almost until the very end of Silver Meadows Summer for the mother to even somehow realise this as a problem, as an issue, this has truly felt incredibly painful and was also (truth be told) really rather tedious and monotonous to constantly read abut for well over 200 pages (and yes, Carolina's unhappiness and how her family obviously just does not want to understand its root causes has of course also filled me with majorly negative remembrances of my own family's immigration to Canada from Germany that I would actually much rather be forgetting, since I experienced similar scenarios with my own mother like a bully and actively pushing me into being more social and that I was also often chided and derided for being homesick for Germany just like with in Silver Meadows Summer the constant criticisms that Carolina faces regarding missing Puerto Rico and not immediately and readily fitting in and assimilating to standard American life).
Finally, although I am actually sufficiently glad to have indeed continued reading Silver Meadows Summer (as the ending is not only quite sweet, I also do appreciate how parts of Silver Meadows Farm will sold as farmland and not just to a developer), I also do think that with regard to presenting issues and problems, Emma Otheguy often tends togo kind of a trifle overboard and indeed, I did come pretty close to abandoning Silver Meadows Summer on more than one occasion (and in my humble opinion, a considerably more balanced mix of issues and joys, of positives and negatives would likely have made Silver Meadows Summer much more enjoyable and much less traumatic and with resulting tedium for me personally).
Read
September 17, 2018What a beautiful, tender book. I loved the main character, Carolina, who is brave, earnest, and resilient, and I loved the friendships she forms throughout the book and the family dynamics the story explores. Carolina, her parents, and her little brother have just left their home in Puerto Rico and moved in with relatives in New York State when the novel begins, and I found it so moving to watch Carolina gradually come to love her new home while also working hard to honor and hold onto the home she has always known. The writing is lovely and full of emotion; sometimes I think third person POV can feel even more intimate than first person when it brings us inside a character’s consciousness and articulates complex feelings a young character might not be able to put into words, and that’s the case here. I really love the mother/daughter relationships the book explores—the way Carolina’s mother wants so much to make Carolina’s transition to life in NY go smoothly, but in a way that doesn’t allow Carolina to be who she wants to be—and the relationship Carolina forms with her slightly older cousin Gabriela, who has grown up in NY and doesn’t know Puerto Rico well. I love the questions Carolina considers about what other people seem to think it means to be “too Puerto Rican” or “Puerto Rican in the right way,” and there’s a wonderful, important scene in which Gabriela doesn’t want to buy a dress that looks great on her because her friend, whose parents think a “sexy” popular Puerto Rican singer isn’t a good influence, might think it’s too revealing. So much there to discuss and unpack! Carolina also comes back to a few poems as touchstones throughout her journey, and the poetry is woven into her story beautifully, again offering so many rich opportunities for conversation. This would be a great choice for book groups and is an important addition to any middle school collection.
June 4, 2019
This is just the kind of book my introverted, book-loving middle school self would have eaten up.
It's the summer before 6th grade, and Carolina and her family have just moved from Puerto Rico to live with her aunt's family in upstate New York. While her mother and father look for work, Carolina spends her days at at summer (farm) camp with her brother, cousin, and several of her cousin's middle school friends. Although she loves the farm, Carolina misses her home: its sounds and smells, the special places where she would go to draw and paint, and the quiet rhythm of her life. She's no longer sure where she fits in or if she even wants to, despite her mother's admonishments to be more social.
One afternoon on a hike with the rest of the campers, Carolina gets lost in the woods and discovers an abandoned cabin. She tells no one about it except Jennifer, a fellow camper who loves art and who, like Carolina, isn't quite cool enough for her cousin's slightly older friends. The two of them decide to fix it up.
Although this novel reads like a lazy summer day with its slow, quiet tempo, Carolina's worries and questions as well as her keen observations (about people, loss, friendship, prejudice, culture, and the healing power of art) are always bubbling right under the surface of the narrative.
A great upper elementary/early middle school read aloud or book club selection.
It's the summer before 6th grade, and Carolina and her family have just moved from Puerto Rico to live with her aunt's family in upstate New York. While her mother and father look for work, Carolina spends her days at at summer (farm) camp with her brother, cousin, and several of her cousin's middle school friends. Although she loves the farm, Carolina misses her home: its sounds and smells, the special places where she would go to draw and paint, and the quiet rhythm of her life. She's no longer sure where she fits in or if she even wants to, despite her mother's admonishments to be more social.
One afternoon on a hike with the rest of the campers, Carolina gets lost in the woods and discovers an abandoned cabin. She tells no one about it except Jennifer, a fellow camper who loves art and who, like Carolina, isn't quite cool enough for her cousin's slightly older friends. The two of them decide to fix it up.
Although this novel reads like a lazy summer day with its slow, quiet tempo, Carolina's worries and questions as well as her keen observations (about people, loss, friendship, prejudice, culture, and the healing power of art) are always bubbling right under the surface of the narrative.
A great upper elementary/early middle school read aloud or book club selection.
March 26, 2019
Culture - Ethnicity - Change
Two roads diverged and I had to choose one of them (Robert Frost), yet there's never a real pathway because we can't see far ahead, so we create our own road as we walk (Antonio Machado). In this post-industrial, digitized world, most of us need to make "what next" choices more frequently than ideally we'd choose. Just as for Carolina's family in Silver Meadows Summer, needing to update plans or take a different path because of disruptions in the lives of family or close friends is common, almost a given.
Very briefly, in Emma Otheguy's new Silver Meadows Summer, family circumstances bring together cousins Carolina and Gabriela along with both girls' parents and Gabriela's friends. Even a casual reader gets to ponder fitting in, cultural differences, life transitions, and survival necessities as they track the narrative. Book cover colors and design evoke an elaborate embroidered tapestry and reflect summer's magic with its enviable weather, slower schedules, natural garden extravagance, spaces for dreaming and imagining.
Carolina's family relocates from Puerto Rico to New York State. You don't need to venture far from your own backyard or explore much of the near-borderless world of the internet to realize cultural anthropology – the word about the people and their overall culture – also speaks about geography and climate. Whether your nearest water feature is Lake Ontario, the Caribbean Ocean, the Mississippi River, or the Mediterranean, if your summers reach a humid 102 degrees most days or your winters snowy near-zeros, weather, water, elevation, and vegetation determine what grows around you, your recreational activities, your architectural and your sartorial styles. Flamboyan trees thrive in places like Cuba and Puerto Rico, not at all in central New York state. Ski resorts bring in the customers and the cash in areas like New York state, but can't happen in the Caribbean.
For some people, where I live in Southern California is home of the 200%—100% American plus 100% Latinx. That's possible because signage in these environs is at least bilingual, as are many people you pass on the street or the freeway. Alongside their burgers and chicken menu items, national fast food chains offer cilantro and agua fresca. Everyone (yes, every single person) knows tacos and burritos hit the (inter)national eatery scene decades ago, but culinary appreciation or even a bit of appropriation isn't the same as having live opportunities nearby for embracing other aspects of a lifestyle; a person can be a 200% only if or when surrounding artifacts support it.
Artist Carolina demonstrates If flamboyan trees don't grow locally, you still can create your own flamboyan(t) art, yet she learns (probably already knew before leaving Puerto Rico) you can't be even 100% Latinx if your classmates and neighbors don't speak español or celebrate quinciñeras, if the nearby Catholic church that's your religious tradition schedules worship only in English. In brief, though of course she'll retain aspects of the Caribbean that's long been part of her, the overall milieu won't support her being both 100% North American and 100% Latina; she'll need to pick and choose, though like the path we make by walking, some of the choices will happen by themselves. As days and weeks go by, a new blended style that's a combination of many will emerge and take root.
So... Silver Meadows Summer reminds us when you relocate to a different city, state, or country, you may need to do as the locals do if you want to fit it, if you want to make friends at school or get a job, if you want a real life. Being cordial to a current or potential boss is basic human smarts and essential kindness; dissing your boss or your teacher is plain stupid. If you're a younger person, even rocking similar clothing and obsessing on the same music as your classmates can be a good starting move. I sometimes consider how I have the code to get into a nearby office complex because they trust me that far and they know I need basic access, but I have neither code nor a physical key to get into any of the offices—someone needs to let me in. In social settings you need to learn and use the key that includes spoken language, clothing style, social conventions—music preferences? If you finesse everything well enough, maybe they'll let you in?
Global internet reach has led to increased cultural awareness, blending and blurring—even a degree of ethnic fluidity. Fusion music and fusion cuisines are here to stay. However, in this story set in today's twenty-first century, the ruckus teen music icon Chiquifancy causes between Gabriela and her non-latina friends makes it clear it's fine for music or sports icons to be ethnic minorities but even now, possibly not okay when an ethnic minority is extremely close to home—a classmate or a potential friend. On the other hand, local ethnic minorities may be just fine if they do everything possible to assimilate to local styles and habits.
Though this book review has focused on cultural aspects of Silver Meadows Summer, special summer activities and summer friendships also are prominent throughout Emma Otheguy's carefully crafted chronicle.
Antonio Machado reminds us, "Traveler, there is no path; you make your own way by walking" while Robert Frost challenges, "Two paths diverged in a yellow road..." Both poets lived and wrote a distance away from their birthplaces; in this physically and culturally mobile world, many people will move away from their places of origin, sometimes to a place with very different habits and customs. Technically this is a YA/middle school novel, yet this story of a summer in the lives of a few young persons is engrossing and close to a roadmap (a path, possibly?) for almost everyone's practice and response.
Two roads diverged and I had to choose one of them (Robert Frost), yet there's never a real pathway because we can't see far ahead, so we create our own road as we walk (Antonio Machado). In this post-industrial, digitized world, most of us need to make "what next" choices more frequently than ideally we'd choose. Just as for Carolina's family in Silver Meadows Summer, needing to update plans or take a different path because of disruptions in the lives of family or close friends is common, almost a given.
Very briefly, in Emma Otheguy's new Silver Meadows Summer, family circumstances bring together cousins Carolina and Gabriela along with both girls' parents and Gabriela's friends. Even a casual reader gets to ponder fitting in, cultural differences, life transitions, and survival necessities as they track the narrative. Book cover colors and design evoke an elaborate embroidered tapestry and reflect summer's magic with its enviable weather, slower schedules, natural garden extravagance, spaces for dreaming and imagining.
Carolina's family relocates from Puerto Rico to New York State. You don't need to venture far from your own backyard or explore much of the near-borderless world of the internet to realize cultural anthropology – the word about the people and their overall culture – also speaks about geography and climate. Whether your nearest water feature is Lake Ontario, the Caribbean Ocean, the Mississippi River, or the Mediterranean, if your summers reach a humid 102 degrees most days or your winters snowy near-zeros, weather, water, elevation, and vegetation determine what grows around you, your recreational activities, your architectural and your sartorial styles. Flamboyan trees thrive in places like Cuba and Puerto Rico, not at all in central New York state. Ski resorts bring in the customers and the cash in areas like New York state, but can't happen in the Caribbean.
For some people, where I live in Southern California is home of the 200%—100% American plus 100% Latinx. That's possible because signage in these environs is at least bilingual, as are many people you pass on the street or the freeway. Alongside their burgers and chicken menu items, national fast food chains offer cilantro and agua fresca. Everyone (yes, every single person) knows tacos and burritos hit the (inter)national eatery scene decades ago, but culinary appreciation or even a bit of appropriation isn't the same as having live opportunities nearby for embracing other aspects of a lifestyle; a person can be a 200% only if or when surrounding artifacts support it.
Artist Carolina demonstrates If flamboyan trees don't grow locally, you still can create your own flamboyan(t) art, yet she learns (probably already knew before leaving Puerto Rico) you can't be even 100% Latinx if your classmates and neighbors don't speak español or celebrate quinciñeras, if the nearby Catholic church that's your religious tradition schedules worship only in English. In brief, though of course she'll retain aspects of the Caribbean that's long been part of her, the overall milieu won't support her being both 100% North American and 100% Latina; she'll need to pick and choose, though like the path we make by walking, some of the choices will happen by themselves. As days and weeks go by, a new blended style that's a combination of many will emerge and take root.
So... Silver Meadows Summer reminds us when you relocate to a different city, state, or country, you may need to do as the locals do if you want to fit it, if you want to make friends at school or get a job, if you want a real life. Being cordial to a current or potential boss is basic human smarts and essential kindness; dissing your boss or your teacher is plain stupid. If you're a younger person, even rocking similar clothing and obsessing on the same music as your classmates can be a good starting move. I sometimes consider how I have the code to get into a nearby office complex because they trust me that far and they know I need basic access, but I have neither code nor a physical key to get into any of the offices—someone needs to let me in. In social settings you need to learn and use the key that includes spoken language, clothing style, social conventions—music preferences? If you finesse everything well enough, maybe they'll let you in?
Global internet reach has led to increased cultural awareness, blending and blurring—even a degree of ethnic fluidity. Fusion music and fusion cuisines are here to stay. However, in this story set in today's twenty-first century, the ruckus teen music icon Chiquifancy causes between Gabriela and her non-latina friends makes it clear it's fine for music or sports icons to be ethnic minorities but even now, possibly not okay when an ethnic minority is extremely close to home—a classmate or a potential friend. On the other hand, local ethnic minorities may be just fine if they do everything possible to assimilate to local styles and habits.
Though this book review has focused on cultural aspects of Silver Meadows Summer, special summer activities and summer friendships also are prominent throughout Emma Otheguy's carefully crafted chronicle.
Antonio Machado reminds us, "Traveler, there is no path; you make your own way by walking" while Robert Frost challenges, "Two paths diverged in a yellow road..." Both poets lived and wrote a distance away from their birthplaces; in this physically and culturally mobile world, many people will move away from their places of origin, sometimes to a place with very different habits and customs. Technically this is a YA/middle school novel, yet this story of a summer in the lives of a few young persons is engrossing and close to a roadmap (a path, possibly?) for almost everyone's practice and response.
October 14, 2019
Silver Meadows Summer by Emma Otheguy, 231 pages. Alfred A. Knopf (Random House), 2019. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL , MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Eleven-year-old Carolina and her family just moved from Puerto Rico to Upstate New York and are living with their Aunt and Uncle. Carolina's cousin Gabriela is 2 years older, and both girls are enrolled in a farming summer camp which is a day camp comprised of farm chores, hiking, arts and crafts and playtime. Carolina misses her life in Puerto Rico very much, but is surprised to meet a kindred spirit in Jennifer, whose dad is an artist. Carolina used to take painting classes and draws all the time, maybe New York isn't so bad after all!
I loved the different perspectives of the family regarding the move - Carolina's frustration with leaving her familiar world behind, her mother needing her daughter to fit in, Gabriela worried that her cousin's friend choices would affect her social life, little brother Dani's easy transition, dad's difficulty finding a job. A nice summer read without too much drama or danger.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Language: G (0 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL , MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Eleven-year-old Carolina and her family just moved from Puerto Rico to Upstate New York and are living with their Aunt and Uncle. Carolina's cousin Gabriela is 2 years older, and both girls are enrolled in a farming summer camp which is a day camp comprised of farm chores, hiking, arts and crafts and playtime. Carolina misses her life in Puerto Rico very much, but is surprised to meet a kindred spirit in Jennifer, whose dad is an artist. Carolina used to take painting classes and draws all the time, maybe New York isn't so bad after all!
I loved the different perspectives of the family regarding the move - Carolina's frustration with leaving her familiar world behind, her mother needing her daughter to fit in, Gabriela worried that her cousin's friend choices would affect her social life, little brother Dani's easy transition, dad's difficulty finding a job. A nice summer read without too much drama or danger.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
June 8, 2020
I appreciated this book's strong sense of place, both at the Silver Meadows Farm and in Carolina's memories of Puerto Rico. I also liked the juxtaposition of the experiences of two different Latina girls, one who grew up in PR and one who grew up in the U.S. And of course, its exploration of friendship and the middle-grade wish fulfillment element of finding a "place of one's own."
Although I read this for work, it also fits the criteria of my Year of Expanded Reading, as Emma Otheguy is a Latina author.
Although I read this for work, it also fits the criteria of my Year of Expanded Reading, as Emma Otheguy is a Latina author.
February 16, 2019
Not a *bad* story about moving and adjusting to a new life, but kinda weak, with a bunch of annoying characters doing silly things. I guess the overall message is meant to be that even people who experience prejudice are themselves prejudiced? But it came across as unbalanced and contradictory. Jennifer is the only character I liked -- everyone else was really caught up in themselves and I didn't find them very sympathetic.
May 28, 2019
This would be a 3.5 for me. I enjoyed a great deal of the story but found the ending and resolution just too rushed after all that build-up. Eleven-year-old Carolina never really wanted to leave her Puerto Rican home, and she dreams of returning to the house she loves so much. But her father has lost his job, and the family relocates to upstate New York where they stay with her maternal aunt and her family. The author captures vividly Carolina's conflicted emotions about the family's situation and how she hopes this move is only temporary. It's clear that her mother wants her to get along with her older cousin, Gabriela, and thinks it's time for her to put away what she considers to be childish pursuits--her drawing and imaginative play. Carolina is a dutiful daughter, and she tries her best to do as her mother requests and make friends with Gabriela's set of friends, but they have little in common with her. Instead, she becomes friends with Jennifer, the daughter of an artist and a girl who makes clothing for little elves she creates. While attending a local summer camp at a farm, the two girls stumble upon a secret cottage in the woods and turn it into their artists' studio. Both girls see Silver Meadows, the farm and its woods, as being special and become alarmed when Lydia, the elderly owner, plans to sell the land to a developer. The book is rich with cultural identity and poetry, and readers will grow quite fond of Carolina as she slowly makes her way in this new world, holding fast to the memories and traditions that she brought with her while also standing firm in her own identity. Hers is a small but meaningful rebellion, and many middle grade readers could do well to follow in her lead. Since the entire story occurs during the summer, her changes and adjustments seemed to occur a bit too quickly for me. But one of the best parts of the book is how it shows that not everyone in this age range--11 to 13--has to be boy crazy or all about fashion. For anyone interested in understanding the dynamic among girls of this age, this book provides some helpful insights.
August 6, 2019
Eleven year old Carolina (pronounced Care-o-leen-a) and her family move to a small town in rural upstate New York when her father loses his job in Puerto Rico. While they have family there to smooth the transition to their new home, Carolina struggles with both cultural differences and what she feels she has “lost." When she finds the creative soul in her new friend Jennifer that she has been missing in herself, the two set out to make an abandoned cottage in the woods a place where they can escape the pressures of their lives and fulfill the creative niche they need. When that “home” is threatened, can Carolina find a way to keep her new sense of place or will she lose herself again?
Carolina’s story is a very real, honest story about the struggles that families often face and as she comes to terms with her parents as people how she can be respectful of them, yet assertive enough not to lose who she is and what is important to her. Also cleverly done is Otheguy’s use of setting technique, which allows the reader to see Carolina’s new home in real time as she is experiencing it, but also takes us to her home in Puerto Rico by using her art work to show the place that she left behind. Overall, a wonderful debut novel that examines the emotionally reality of what it means to be a family and how not to lose your sense of self-identity.
I would highly recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
Carolina’s story is a very real, honest story about the struggles that families often face and as she comes to terms with her parents as people how she can be respectful of them, yet assertive enough not to lose who she is and what is important to her. Also cleverly done is Otheguy’s use of setting technique, which allows the reader to see Carolina’s new home in real time as she is experiencing it, but also takes us to her home in Puerto Rico by using her art work to show the place that she left behind. Overall, a wonderful debut novel that examines the emotionally reality of what it means to be a family and how not to lose your sense of self-identity.
I would highly recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
April 11, 2019
“Now Carolina saw [the road} like Papi saw it: white crest of salty water, foam and mist, a wave upon the sea, and one foot in front of the other. Cuba, Puerto Rico, New York, Carolina’s roots were not in the soil but in the rhythm of her family’s movement, step after step.” (193)
Carolina’s father lost his job in Puerto Rico, and the family—Papi, Mami, Daniel and 11-year old artist Carolina—move to upstate New York to live with her aunt, uncle, and popular 13-year-old cousin Gabriela. As Caro misses her homeland, she fights to retain her art, her culture, and her memories of Puerto Rico while living in the big house in a new development. When Tia Cuca tries to replace Ratoncita Perez, the mouse who leave money for children’s lost teeth, with her own version of the tooth fairy, Carolina realizes that she can accept, if not embrace, both cultures. Meanwhile Gabriela wants to learn more about her Cuban-Puerto Rican roots and to learn Spanish.
Carolina meets Jennifer, a fellow artist, who quickly become a best friend despite Mami finding her unsuitable and, as Carolina learns to stand up for herself, Gabriela learns to stand up to her friends and together Carolina, Gabriela, and Jennifer help to save the farmland that comprises Silver Meadows from becoming all development.
A story of culture, family, friendship, nature, accepting change, and making a difference.
Carolina’s father lost his job in Puerto Rico, and the family—Papi, Mami, Daniel and 11-year old artist Carolina—move to upstate New York to live with her aunt, uncle, and popular 13-year-old cousin Gabriela. As Caro misses her homeland, she fights to retain her art, her culture, and her memories of Puerto Rico while living in the big house in a new development. When Tia Cuca tries to replace Ratoncita Perez, the mouse who leave money for children’s lost teeth, with her own version of the tooth fairy, Carolina realizes that she can accept, if not embrace, both cultures. Meanwhile Gabriela wants to learn more about her Cuban-Puerto Rican roots and to learn Spanish.
Carolina meets Jennifer, a fellow artist, who quickly become a best friend despite Mami finding her unsuitable and, as Carolina learns to stand up for herself, Gabriela learns to stand up to her friends and together Carolina, Gabriela, and Jennifer help to save the farmland that comprises Silver Meadows from becoming all development.
A story of culture, family, friendship, nature, accepting change, and making a difference.
May 26, 2019
Eleven-year-old Carolina and her family just moved from Puerto Rico to Upstate New York and are living with their Aunt and Uncle. Carolina's cousin Gabriela is 2 years older, and both girls are enrolled in a farming summer camp which is a day camp comprised of farm chores, hiking, arts and crafts and playtime. Carolina misses her life in Puerto Rico very much, but is surprised to meet a kindred spirit in Jennifer, whose dad is an artist. Carolina used to take painting classes and draws all the time, maybe New York isn't so bad after all!
I loved the different perspectives of the family regarding the move - Carolina's frustration with leaving her familiar world behind, her mother needing her daughter to fit in, Gabriela worried that her cousin's friend choices would affect her social life, little brother Dani's easy transition, dad's difficulty finding a job. A nice summer read without too much drama or danger.
For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebook.blogspot.com . CHECK IT OUT!
I loved the different perspectives of the family regarding the move - Carolina's frustration with leaving her familiar world behind, her mother needing her daughter to fit in, Gabriela worried that her cousin's friend choices would affect her social life, little brother Dani's easy transition, dad's difficulty finding a job. A nice summer read without too much drama or danger.
For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebook.blogspot.com . CHECK IT OUT!
September 24, 2023
1. age range (grades 3-6)
2. Emma Otheguy wrote a short novel about 11-year-old Carolina’s uprooted life when she had to move from Puerto Rico to New York. After he father loses his job, her family is forced to move to her aunt, uncle, and super popular cousin Gabrielas (whose shadow she lives in at Silver Meadows summer camp). Eventually, she meets a friend named Jennifer and finds an abandoned cottage where she thinks they could create their art. Using art and the cottage to escape the hardships she is facing from missing home and wanting to fit in, the cottage becomes sort of a sanctuary where she can embrace the things she misses about Puerto Rico. She eventually builds rapport with Gabriela when they come up with a plan to save the summer camp from closing down.
3. I actually saw this book on one of the shelves in a classroom I was observing last year (a 3rd-grade class) and I don’t know if it was the teachers, students, or class’, but when I was looking for books for my library, I saw this one and knew I had to include it.
2. Emma Otheguy wrote a short novel about 11-year-old Carolina’s uprooted life when she had to move from Puerto Rico to New York. After he father loses his job, her family is forced to move to her aunt, uncle, and super popular cousin Gabrielas (whose shadow she lives in at Silver Meadows summer camp). Eventually, she meets a friend named Jennifer and finds an abandoned cottage where she thinks they could create their art. Using art and the cottage to escape the hardships she is facing from missing home and wanting to fit in, the cottage becomes sort of a sanctuary where she can embrace the things she misses about Puerto Rico. She eventually builds rapport with Gabriela when they come up with a plan to save the summer camp from closing down.
3. I actually saw this book on one of the shelves in a classroom I was observing last year (a 3rd-grade class) and I don’t know if it was the teachers, students, or class’, but when I was looking for books for my library, I saw this one and knew I had to include it.
August 29, 2021
A charming, heart-sore look at transitions in life perfect for the 10 and 11 year olds who are undergoing these transitions themselves. I'm reviewing this with that age reader in mind. Caro's story is sad but ultimately sweet... and I felt deeply for her as she transitioned into adolescence while simultaneously transitioning away from her Puerto Rican home, forced to transition into a new white community where she feels othered, and where her mother tries to put her in a box that "fits" the expectations of their new community. But I cheered her on as she transitioned into knowing what kinds of friends one wants, and needs (not just the friends parents want for us) and the transition of adolescence when we first realize our parents don't know everything, and don't belong on the pedestals we've created for them.
April 10, 2019
I've received this ARC from the publisher through SLJ's Middle Grade Magic virtual conference in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the story of Carolina who moved with her family from Puerto Rico to upstate New York. She very much misses Puerto Rico and gets off to a little bit of a rocky start with her cousin's friends before befriending Jennifer. They all sound the summer together at a camp on a farm that becomes Important to all of them.
It was a sweet book that I liked but didn't love. I think there are some readers who will love it though and hopes it finds its way into the right hands.
This book is the story of Carolina who moved with her family from Puerto Rico to upstate New York. She very much misses Puerto Rico and gets off to a little bit of a rocky start with her cousin's friends before befriending Jennifer. They all sound the summer together at a camp on a farm that becomes Important to all of them.
It was a sweet book that I liked but didn't love. I think there are some readers who will love it though and hopes it finds its way into the right hands.
June 26, 2019
11-year-old Carolina grieves her native Puerto Rico, which her family left so they could join relatives in upstate NY. She feels that her family is leaving their heritage behind, trying to fit in to their new place, but all she wants to do is go home and have everything the way it was. She befriends a girl at day camp, and together they find a tumbledown cabin in the woods, which they fix up as a combination hideout/art studio. But their camp, and their studio, are threatened by real-estate developers, and they don't think middle-schoolers can do anything to stop it. Enjoyable novel for ages 10 and up.
January 14, 2020
When Carolina and her family have to leave Puerto Rico to move in with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Gabriella, Carolina isn't sure that living in Upstate New York is right for her. Her mother wants her to abandon her Spanish language and her love of painting to "fit in" with her cousins popular friends, but Carolina is more comfortable with Jenn, the social outcast who is into fairies and whose father is an artist. When Carolina finds a cabin abandoned in the woods, it's Jenn who is as excited as Carolina about fixing it up. But when the camp they are attending is threatened to close, holding on to the past becomes important to everyone.
May 25, 2019
A displaced family from Puerto Rico heads to upstate New York to live with their relatives. Otheguy's sweet story of Carolina trying to adjust to life after moving including negotiating relationships with her relative including her cousin, trying to find friends and hanging on to her artistic side. Carolina joins her cousin at a farm-based summer camp Silver Meadows where a series of events starts defining Carolina's new life.
May 27, 2019
A must have for your middle grade library. This is absolutely the book I would have wanted as a child:
1. it features a quiet main character, with an imagination that runs towards fantasy
2. it features characters grappling with identity- what it means to be Puerto Rican and female and hurtling towards adulthood
3. its setting is just magical
4. it features female friendships, and changing relationships
A magical book with characters who your children need to have in their lives. <3
1. it features a quiet main character, with an imagination that runs towards fantasy
2. it features characters grappling with identity- what it means to be Puerto Rican and female and hurtling towards adulthood
3. its setting is just magical
4. it features female friendships, and changing relationships
A magical book with characters who your children need to have in their lives. <3
August 30, 2019
A very sweet story about coming-of-age as a young, new citizen in the US. Caro is lovable and possesses that kind of magic that comes with childhood, which she tries dearly to hold onto for her younger sibling while everything around them seems to be changing at high speed. She bumps heads with a few characters, but remains true to herself and those things she holds most dear. Magical storytelling, I enjoyed it from cover to cover.
December 18, 2020
I snuck in some extra early-morning reading this week. Illuminated by the Christmas tree lights. With our new puppy. I read Silver Meadows Summer by Emma Otheguy. I knew I’d love the book, since Ruth Behar, author of Lucky Broken Girl, wrote a beautiful review of it. And she was right. It was an absolute joy to read, a story of families making fresh starts, connecting together and finding their place in the world…..together.
December 20, 2020
When eleven-year-old Carolina’s father loses his job, she and her family are forced to leave nature and their beloved Puerto Rico behind and move in with her uncle, aunt and cousin in their new and sterile home in upstate New York. Carolina dearly misses her past life, but is not allowed to express any dissatisfaction in front of her mother. Read more on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress....
May 3, 2025
In Silver Meadows Summer, Carolina moves from Puerto Rico to upstate New York, adjusting to a new environment and family dynamics. Through art and exploration, she finds solace and a sense of belonging in her new home.
Targeted at grades 4–6, this novel explores themes of immigration, adaptation, and the healing power of creativity. I chose this book because it provides students with a narrative about embracing change and finding one's place in unfamiliar settings.
Targeted at grades 4–6, this novel explores themes of immigration, adaptation, and the healing power of creativity. I chose this book because it provides students with a narrative about embracing change and finding one's place in unfamiliar settings.
June 14, 2019
Her parents are looking forward to a future in New York but Carolina still misses her home in Puerto Rico. She makes a friend at camp and gets to know her cousin. Will Carolina stop looking toward the past and make a new path toward the future in New York?
June 18, 2019
I really liked this story about being yourself, moving to a new place, and friendship. There are complex characters that can't be put into a simple box. I loved the summer camp setting and the cabin in the woods.
July 28, 2019
This book was a gem of a story with a lovely setting and engaging characters. I especially loved that it referenced Esperanza Rising right after I re-read it! I love those kind of book coincidences. This book would be great for any upper elementary or middle school library.
October 28, 2019
This one was okay, but not a favorite. I liked the characters, but felt like they could have been a little better developed. I thought they were a little selfish to keep going where they knew they weren't allowed.
CA
CA
May 12, 2020
I enjoyed this book about an 11-year-old girl whose family is going through some changes. I think the best message that I got from the Book was that each person is responsible for his or her own feelings and words and actions.
November 1, 2020
I picked up this book to read because I needed a book with an immigrant/refugee. Carolina moves from Puerto Rico to upstate New York with her parents and brother. They come to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin. I thought it was quite readable but nothing that will stick with me for very long.
February 24, 2021
This book was wonderful. At first, I wasn’t too sure, but when Carolina arrived at Silver Meadows, it got really good. I loved all the characters, especially Gabriella, Jennifer, and Carolina. I recommend this book if you like Becoming Naomi Leon or Esperanza Rising.
May 22, 2019
A poetic and lyrical novel that celebrates the arts, a love of nature and the power that comes from both!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews