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Cicada Summers
In Cicada Summers, author Jordan Smith Graffis brings readers an emotional, heart-wrenching coming-of-age narrative that ultimately stands as an ode to motherhood.
Adults can learn a lot from children—actually, they have a lot to relearn. The narrator, a mother in her sixties, is writing a compilation of her greatest achievements—and failures—for her son, Billy Rubin, who is himself about to become a parent. She wants Billy to be prepared for the changes this gift will bring, and she wants him to know how much he taught her, and in turn, how much his child will teach him.
At the beginning of each chapter, Billy’s childhood adventures and antics are presented to the reader as illustrations of what’s truly important in life; she wants Billy to feel like he’s reading a children’s book about his youth. These lessons parents experience are actually repeats of ones thought to be previously mastered during childhood, like the importance of sharing, how to love unconditionally, and that the future is full of possibility. There is value in learning—re-learning—these important lessons, whether the knowledge contained therein is to be passed down to loved ones or not.
Adults can learn a lot from children—actually, they have a lot to relearn. The narrator, a mother in her sixties, is writing a compilation of her greatest achievements—and failures—for her son, Billy Rubin, who is himself about to become a parent. She wants Billy to be prepared for the changes this gift will bring, and she wants him to know how much he taught her, and in turn, how much his child will teach him.
At the beginning of each chapter, Billy’s childhood adventures and antics are presented to the reader as illustrations of what’s truly important in life; she wants Billy to feel like he’s reading a children’s book about his youth. These lessons parents experience are actually repeats of ones thought to be previously mastered during childhood, like the importance of sharing, how to love unconditionally, and that the future is full of possibility. There is value in learning—re-learning—these important lessons, whether the knowledge contained therein is to be passed down to loved ones or not.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 17, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 28, 2019
Next time someone I love finds out their going to have a baby, I will be buying them a copy of Cicada Summers by Jordan Graffis.
That's not to say the only audience for this book is parents (or expecting parents), but I do think it would be hard for someone without kids to get as much out of this book. It is definitely an inspirational parenting guide and it outlines the hopes (prayers) that the author has for her son as he begins the journey of parenthood.
You might have noticed that even though I said I would buy copies of this book for people, I gave it four stars and not five. The reason for that is small. I think this is an incredible book with some real, profound wisdom that is illustrated by very personal and reflective anecdotes, so overall, it works really well, but it had some growing pains for me. In the very beginning, I felt like Ms. Graffis was struggling to really take off and find her voice and some of the execution was a little bit overly sentimental. She found her footing quickly, though, and I liked this book well enough that I underlined several passages that really resonated with me. Interestingly enough, there were a handful of times, particularly during a chapter when Graffis reflects on how easy it is to miss the "fun" of motherhood, when I thought to myself, "wow. I really needed this right now."
There are great insights here and at under 200 pages, it's a quick, pleasant read that will leave your spirits feeling high. I would definitely recommend it.
For a more in-depth review, please check out my blog:
https://bibwithblog.blogspot.com/2019...
That's not to say the only audience for this book is parents (or expecting parents), but I do think it would be hard for someone without kids to get as much out of this book. It is definitely an inspirational parenting guide and it outlines the hopes (prayers) that the author has for her son as he begins the journey of parenthood.
You might have noticed that even though I said I would buy copies of this book for people, I gave it four stars and not five. The reason for that is small. I think this is an incredible book with some real, profound wisdom that is illustrated by very personal and reflective anecdotes, so overall, it works really well, but it had some growing pains for me. In the very beginning, I felt like Ms. Graffis was struggling to really take off and find her voice and some of the execution was a little bit overly sentimental. She found her footing quickly, though, and I liked this book well enough that I underlined several passages that really resonated with me. Interestingly enough, there were a handful of times, particularly during a chapter when Graffis reflects on how easy it is to miss the "fun" of motherhood, when I thought to myself, "wow. I really needed this right now."
There are great insights here and at under 200 pages, it's a quick, pleasant read that will leave your spirits feeling high. I would definitely recommend it.
For a more in-depth review, please check out my blog:
https://bibwithblog.blogspot.com/2019...
July 24, 2020
What a sweet, unexpected gem of a little book! Disguised as a book on parenting, it was actually a guide for living a good, meaningful, content life whether or not you have children or not. The author was refreshingly honest and insightful. I appreciated learning from the author about forgiveness of others and yourself, learning how to be content with your life and how to not take your mistakes quite so seriously.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews