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Bat Summer
Twelve-year-old Terence faces some tough choices. His best friend, Tom, has gone away to camp, and the summer seems to stretch endlessly in front of him. What should he do? Hang out with a creep like Rico, an overgrown, hormonally challenged kid whose idea of fun is calling the lifeguard Boobacious? Or try to make friends with the old chess player (nicknamed "The Pervert" by Rico) who hangs out in the park? Terence finds that he keeps thinking about a weird but oddly compelling girl who goes around wearing a blue cape and hangs by her feet like a bat from the jungle gym. But ever present in his consciousness is the thought: "What would Tom think?" Bat Summer is a beautifully written and engaging novel about a boy caught between two possible ways to be and the people who embody these choices. By the end of the story, he has thrown off his fear of being "uncool," been true to himself, and befriended a person who needs and values him for who he is.
174 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
13 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Withrow
17 books5 followersSarah Withrow started writing her rollicking pre-/post-apocalyptic road trip novels in 2021 after retiring from a 17-year career as a Communications Officer.
From 1998 to 2007, she published four novels for young adults and a baby book. Her YA book Bat Summer, was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award and has been published in seven countries. Her short stories for adults have also appeared in several Canadian literary journals during this first kick at the can. (None of these stories have cell phones in them.)
Sarah lives in Kingston, Ontario with her luxury-sized cats Gloria and Melman. In addition to writing dystopian novels, she enjoys coffee, walking, yoga, cooking, TikTok and non-serious crafts.
From 1998 to 2007, she published four novels for young adults and a baby book. Her YA book Bat Summer, was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award and has been published in seven countries. Her short stories for adults have also appeared in several Canadian literary journals during this first kick at the can. (None of these stories have cell phones in them.)
Sarah lives in Kingston, Ontario with her luxury-sized cats Gloria and Melman. In addition to writing dystopian novels, she enjoys coffee, walking, yoga, cooking, TikTok and non-serious crafts.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 30, 2009
This was beautiful - original and sad and funny and true and unlike anything else I have read.
June 3, 2012
Bat Summer was one of those books you just wanted to skip pages of.
But when I finished reading it, I realise how it was half decent. It was a fairly average story about a boy, and how he meets an unusual girl who thinks she’s a bat.
It’s a nice, touching story. The one thing that irked be about this, was how I was twelve years old when I read this, and so were the characters. Yet, I found them annoying and immature at that time –because, really, we need to grow up.
If the characters were seven or eight, I could handle it. However, this wasn’t the case.
Overall, now that I’m thinking about it, it was a nice book. It would’ve worked better if the author lowered the ages, though.
But when I finished reading it, I realise how it was half decent. It was a fairly average story about a boy, and how he meets an unusual girl who thinks she’s a bat.
It’s a nice, touching story. The one thing that irked be about this, was how I was twelve years old when I read this, and so were the characters. Yet, I found them annoying and immature at that time –because, really, we need to grow up.
If the characters were seven or eight, I could handle it. However, this wasn’t the case.
Overall, now that I’m thinking about it, it was a nice book. It would’ve worked better if the author lowered the ages, though.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews