What do you think?
Rate this book
Gold in the Days of Summer
The summer of 1979 should have been a magical time of panning for gold in the creek and catching fireflies in a jar. Instead, nothing is turning out the way 12 year old Annie expected: her best friend is away at camp, Connor Bartlett barely notices her anymore, and her parents and sister, trying to protect her from the reality of her grandmother's illness, only seem to further isolate her. Desperate to find a sense of meaning in an ever-changing world, Annie turns to an unlikely confidant: a reclusive young veteran at war with his own past. As the summer days pass and her 13th birthday draws closer, Annie discovers that growing up doesn’t always mean leaving everything behind.
An award-winning, classic coming-of-age tale about the friendships we form and the memories we keep. Now revised with bonus content!
An award-winning, classic coming-of-age tale about the friendships we form and the memories we keep. Now revised with bonus content!
178 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2013
42 people are currently reading
1108 people want to read
About the author
Susan Pogorzelski
4 books104 followersSusan Pogorzelski is the award-winning author of Gold in the Days of Summer and The Last Letter. When she's not writing novels of nostalgia and the magic of everyday life, she works as a consultant and editor at Brown Beagle Books, is an intuitive energy practitioner at Susan Dawn Spiritual Connections, and is the founder of LymeBrave Foundation. She lives in South-Central Pennsylvania with her beloved family and pets.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 25, 2017
I really liked this one a lot! It takes place during the summer of 1979 during a time when life was simple, families spent mealtime together, neighborhood kids played games like Capture the Flag (or in my case, Snatch the Bacon). This book brought back many, many good memories for me.
Annie is 12 going on 13 the summer that this takes place. She is trying to hold onto her life and memories as she knows them, but things are changing as they always do. Her longtime friend and neighbor, Connor is acting different towards her, her neighbor who is a Vietnam vet and Annie become unlikely good friends, carrying on pretty mature (but appropriate) conversations and she learns a lot from him. Her grandmother is in a nursing home after breaking her hip but Annie's parents don't want to take her to visit because she has Alzheimer's and Annie's parents don't want her to have to experience the grandmother she loves not knowing who she is anymore.
SHOES: they become almost a character in the story as Annie has gotten new sneakers but prefers her old, stained ones, because they are symbolic of her past and of holding on to what she knows and keeping things the same, until one day things happen and she realizes that there is no way things will stay the same because things in life do change and it's inevitable.
Recommendation: It's highly recommended!
Annie is 12 going on 13 the summer that this takes place. She is trying to hold onto her life and memories as she knows them, but things are changing as they always do. Her longtime friend and neighbor, Connor is acting different towards her, her neighbor who is a Vietnam vet and Annie become unlikely good friends, carrying on pretty mature (but appropriate) conversations and she learns a lot from him. Her grandmother is in a nursing home after breaking her hip but Annie's parents don't want to take her to visit because she has Alzheimer's and Annie's parents don't want her to have to experience the grandmother she loves not knowing who she is anymore.
SHOES: they become almost a character in the story as Annie has gotten new sneakers but prefers her old, stained ones, because they are symbolic of her past and of holding on to what she knows and keeping things the same, until one day things happen and she realizes that there is no way things will stay the same because things in life do change and it's inevitable.
Recommendation: It's highly recommended!
May 14, 2014
I love this novella partly for the excellent and descriptive writing, partly for the plot, and mostly for the main character, Annie. I found Annie to be one of the easiest characters to relate to in any literature I've read (and I studied English/literature for 6 years). In fact, parts of this piece hit a little too close to home for me, and there were several times in the last third of the book where I simply had to put it down for a couple days because it has such a raw emotional power for me that it literally brings tears to my eyes. (It wasn't too long ago that I dealt with a situation similar to Annie's.) Very few books have ever had that effect on me, and that speaks volumes about the talent Susan Pogorzelski has as a writer. I highly recommend this book -- it presents a very poignant perspective on the kinds of change that we all have to deal with in our own way.
March 17, 2015
Shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award Children's Category
An excellent, well-written and atmospheric story that looks at growing up, family life, love and understanding. The book is suitable for the older child/young teenager, and while there is no great adventure here, it has a charm that keeps you turning the pages. It’s described on the cover as a novella, but is, in fact, a normal length for a children’s novel.
An excellent, well-written and atmospheric story that looks at growing up, family life, love and understanding. The book is suitable for the older child/young teenager, and while there is no great adventure here, it has a charm that keeps you turning the pages. It’s described on the cover as a novella, but is, in fact, a normal length for a children’s novel.
August 8, 2025
3,5 ⭐️ quick easy read cute but not amazing
July 11, 2022
Sad and sweet.
This is so sad and sweet. I remember when my Gran couldn't remember us. She'd had a stroke and I went to see her a bit later. She kept telling my mother what a wonderful daughter she had who came to see her every day. My mother was her only daughter. I always hope my mother took it well. She didn't know who I was but I always knew she loved us. This book definitely reminded me of her the whole way through.
This is so sad and sweet. I remember when my Gran couldn't remember us. She'd had a stroke and I went to see her a bit later. She kept telling my mother what a wonderful daughter she had who came to see her every day. My mother was her only daughter. I always hope my mother took it well. She didn't know who I was but I always knew she loved us. This book definitely reminded me of her the whole way through.
August 3, 2017
I don't know what I expected when I started reading this, but it certainly wasn't sobbing at least once in every two chapters. And yet that's what I got.
It's a hot, sticky summer here and I've been in a melancholy mood lately, so, wow, some parts of this hit hard. In a good way, though. Now brb, I think I need to cry some more.
It's a hot, sticky summer here and I've been in a melancholy mood lately, so, wow, some parts of this hit hard. In a good way, though. Now brb, I think I need to cry some more.
August 5, 2017
Heartbreaking and heartwarming
A step back in time to that awkward age when you aren't a child anymore, but you aren't grown up enough to understand why things happen that you cannot change. Very moving and we'll written.
A step back in time to that awkward age when you aren't a child anymore, but you aren't grown up enough to understand why things happen that you cannot change. Very moving and we'll written.
September 3, 2017
Sweet story
This is a sweet story about Annie and the last days of summer before she turns 13. Things are changing drastically in her life which she has no control over. It has her asking questions and rethinking what she knows and thinks.
This is a sweet story about Annie and the last days of summer before she turns 13. Things are changing drastically in her life which she has no control over. It has her asking questions and rethinking what she knows and thinks.
July 19, 2023
I received a copy of this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway. I always enjoy coming of age stories, and I liked this one but I just felt like the plot was a little thin. I realize this is a novella and not a plot heavy kind of story but I wanted a little more to happen than did.
August 5, 2017
This book just didn't grab my interest.
August 7, 2017
Cute, but the ending was kind of... bah?
August 27, 2017
When you are 12 years old, the summer holiday from school seems to last forever .. What I enjoyed about this book was you could really relate to the main characters' outlook and feelings .. both as she was growing up and changing, and how factors that changed around her were suddenly affecting her life as she had known it. What was so important to her at the start of the holiday, seemed to be so pointless just a few short weeks later .. We have all been Annie at some point ..
September 18, 2017
Perfectly captures that summertime feeling, when you were a kid, just before...you weren't anymore.
It made me cry at the end.
It made me cry at the end.
June 3, 2018
Lovely and nice
It was a great book. I laughed and I cried and I’m so glad I read it. I recommend this.
It was a great book. I laughed and I cried and I’m so glad I read it. I recommend this.
January 31, 2023
Poignant tale especially so for someone growing up in the 1960-70s or for an adolescent who had a close relative develop dementia.
July 30, 2013
Gold in the Days of Summer reminds me of my own childhood, even though I was a child of the eighties. It's set in a simpler time when neighborhood kids played outside till dusk, when families baked pies for local church auctions, when boys kissed girls right before chasing after them.
The plot is subtle and sweet and perfect for the genre, but hard to describe without giving away the ending. All I can say is that throughout the book, the images in my mind were soft and fuzzy reds and blues and greens with a gold filter overlaying every scene. I could smell the baked goods, I could feel the hot, sticky air seeping into my skin, I could hear the fresh laundry whipping through the wind. Again, I can't explain it. Somehow, the setting took over my senses in a way that few non-fantasy/sci-fi books have.
But that's not even the best part of this book, because it's the charming characters and the witty dialog that really pulled me in. My favorites are Annie, Conner, and a mysterious character that I've come to think of as The Soldier.
If you loved shows like Gilmore Girls, movies like My Girl and Flipped, or books like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will LOVE Gold in the Days of Summer.
I wouldn't be surprised if this book were ranked among literary classics someday. It just fits.
I had the biggest smile on my face by the time I read the last few sentences. You'll see what I mean once you read.
The plot is subtle and sweet and perfect for the genre, but hard to describe without giving away the ending. All I can say is that throughout the book, the images in my mind were soft and fuzzy reds and blues and greens with a gold filter overlaying every scene. I could smell the baked goods, I could feel the hot, sticky air seeping into my skin, I could hear the fresh laundry whipping through the wind. Again, I can't explain it. Somehow, the setting took over my senses in a way that few non-fantasy/sci-fi books have.
But that's not even the best part of this book, because it's the charming characters and the witty dialog that really pulled me in. My favorites are Annie, Conner, and a mysterious character that I've come to think of as The Soldier.
If you loved shows like Gilmore Girls, movies like My Girl and Flipped, or books like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will LOVE Gold in the Days of Summer.
I wouldn't be surprised if this book were ranked among literary classics someday. It just fits.
I had the biggest smile on my face by the time I read the last few sentences. You'll see what I mean once you read.
October 9, 2013
In the summer that Annie turns from twelve to thirteen, her life is confusing, yet comforting. She's trying to find her way and understand why her parents are still treating her like a child, when they aren't her younger sister.
She has a crush on the neighbor boy and spends a lot of her free time panning for gold in the nearby creek or laying out in her 'fort', created by laying on the ground between all of the laundry hung on the line. She misses her grandma.
Her grandma broke a hip and then was put into a nursing home. Her family is struggling with the fact that she also has Alzheimer's but her parents still won't take Annie to see her. She doesn't care that grandma won't know who she is, it's still her grandma.
She begins to spend more and more time with the Vietnam vet down the street. He doesn't treat her like a baby and the two share many conversations. As the world changes around Annie, she balances on the precipice of still being a kid and growing up.
An easy to read coming of age novel, Gold in the Days of Summer brings back memories of childhood and the complexities of friendship, family and growing up. Annie is a likable character who I really came to admire, in a time of her life that juggles different emotions and changes. Highly recommend!
She has a crush on the neighbor boy and spends a lot of her free time panning for gold in the nearby creek or laying out in her 'fort', created by laying on the ground between all of the laundry hung on the line. She misses her grandma.
Her grandma broke a hip and then was put into a nursing home. Her family is struggling with the fact that she also has Alzheimer's but her parents still won't take Annie to see her. She doesn't care that grandma won't know who she is, it's still her grandma.
She begins to spend more and more time with the Vietnam vet down the street. He doesn't treat her like a baby and the two share many conversations. As the world changes around Annie, she balances on the precipice of still being a kid and growing up.
An easy to read coming of age novel, Gold in the Days of Summer brings back memories of childhood and the complexities of friendship, family and growing up. Annie is a likable character who I really came to admire, in a time of her life that juggles different emotions and changes. Highly recommend!
January 7, 2014
A good friend of mine wrote this book, and I have to say I feel a bit guilty about only getting around to reading it now (but hey, preliminary exams had me stretched for free reading time, haha). And, well, events in my own life in the meantime probably made this resonate a bit more. The subject of change has always fascinated me, and I can sympathize with the protagonist, Annie, in wishing that there was sometimes a "Pause" button on life that could just place everything in stasis for a bit. I've always thought that the realization of mortality was one of those huge epiphanies just waiting to strike during adolescence, but the idea of change and how people change--adopting such different identities throughout a life, however gradual that change is--might just be a little more fitting. In any case, it's an interesting read and you should give it a chance!
November 4, 2014
As I was reading this book, I realized that I could relate to so many of the female characters. Our heroine, Annie is twelve going on thirteen and I remember those years in my life. Her mom and aunt are dealing with their mother's failing health and dementia or Alzheimer's, and I know that feeling as a daughter. I've also been the best friend as friendships shifted over the years. In my experience, it's rare to find a book that touches me on so many levels.
I had an extra copy to share with my 17-year old granddaughter. Now that I've finished the book, I'll be nudging her to finish it too. And I'm nudging you as well!
I had an extra copy to share with my 17-year old granddaughter. Now that I've finished the book, I'll be nudging her to finish it too. And I'm nudging you as well!
October 10, 2013
Having had a grandfather with Alzheimer's I found the outlook of Annie on her Grandmother, as well as early teen life, very interesting. I could feel her pain and misunderstanding at her Grandmother's disease, and I could relate to her awkward angst while facing boys, siblings and parents. Excellent job Susan.
October 30, 2014
I totally just rated my own book.
November 29, 2013
A beautiful coming of age novel. I loved Annie. I knew Annie. I was Annie.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews