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Flood Summer
In Trenton Lee Stewart's debut novel, a young man holed up in a decrepit trailer in tiny Lockers Creek, Arkansas, considers himself a failure. Abe Pittenger has spent the last few years doing roof work, the last month enduring a ceaseless rain, and the last few days on a desolate trip to the Gulf, saying goodbye to his oldest friend. Abe has bad knees, flat tires, a dying cat, and no plans. When the rain becomes a brutal storm and a flood claims the countryside, he unexpectedly finds himself in haunted territory that will shadow him the rest of his life.
Marie Hamilton, meanwhile, has arrived in the pouring rain, knocking on the door of a middle-class Hot Springs home - that of her father, whom she has not known since she was a child. Bringing all her possessions in the trunk of her car, leaving her troubled history on the road behind her, Marie has one to begin her life anew.
When Abe and Marie meet and fall into a tumultuous relationship, they are forced to rethink their respective pasts - uncovering and confronting secrets they would rather not disturb.
Marie Hamilton, meanwhile, has arrived in the pouring rain, knocking on the door of a middle-class Hot Springs home - that of her father, whom she has not known since she was a child. Bringing all her possessions in the trunk of her car, leaving her troubled history on the road behind her, Marie has one to begin her life anew.
When Abe and Marie meet and fall into a tumultuous relationship, they are forced to rethink their respective pasts - uncovering and confronting secrets they would rather not disturb.
323 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2005
3 people are currently reading
873 people want to read
About the author
Trenton Lee Stewart
27 books4,049 followersTrenton Lee Stewart is the author of the award-winning, bestselling Mysterious Benedict Society series for young readers; The Secret Keepers, also for young readers; and the adult novel Flood Summer. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Letters to the author may be sent to:
Trenton Lee Stewart
PO Box 251358
Little Rock, AR 72225
Letters to the author may be sent to:
Trenton Lee Stewart
PO Box 251358
Little Rock, AR 72225
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 25, 2017
Generally, I would be up-in-arms if I discovered a book this quality had only FIVE reviews. But given that the subject of Flood Summer is, essentially, secrets, quiet people, whispered conversations, somehow it feels appropriate. This book ought to remain a secret, a treasure for a very few.
Most likely, it will.
A few days ago I was at a festival out in the country where there were covered tents selling hot-dogs and burgers, numerous antique stores packed with vintage decorations and creaky furniture, two old men playing acoustic guitar and bass, a water-wheel mill with an ancient electrical engine actually designed by Nikolai Tesla himself. As I listened to the great tapestry of speech around me, murmurings and shouting and conversing, I relaxed into the comfortable feeling of being in rural America, where somehow, you feel like you already know everybody, that you could pick up a conversation with anyone, stop into anyone's house for a bite to eat.
Flood Summer is the only book I know of that has captured the rhythm of life in the country. John Barth's The Floating Opera did an excellent job with small-town America, but Stewart's portrait of the country and the villages within is on a higher level. His lyrical, atmospheric descriptions of the muggy nights, the infinite cornfields, the quaint brick buildings, the strangely cheerful way that people talk about grim topics, the deep religiosity and the hospitality may seem at first glance like an entirely positive portrayal, but he understands the spots of darkness as well, the drug-addicts, the hypocrites, the way that dark secrets can be left alone to ferment and rot, the racists, the criminals. There's a a few chapters in this book unflinching in their portrayal of broken lives and ruined childhoods, and indeed, darkness lies pervasive across the entire text. But despite acknowledging the sadness and evil that does exist within the country, Stewart doesn't set out to mock it, to gleefully proclaim he has found "the dark side of the American dream" like so many authors.
Rather his gaze is sympathetic and deeply observant. He portrays the good and the bad, and gets all the little details right, the details that make you sit up and smile and say, "Yes! That's the way it is! Why hasn't anyone noticed it before?" In terms of prose and imagery, there's some staggeringly beautiful moments especially in the first one hundred pages, hauntingly atmospheric, so well-written that you can feel the mist and damp and heat.
But this is a novel about characters, and contains certainly the two best characters I have met in fiction for some while: the central duo Abe and Marie, both of them fleeing from secrets, who fall into a tumultuous relationship. At first, I feared Stewart was moving towards the kingdom of cliches, a "Love heals all, folks!" ending. He doesn't. This book has one of the gutsiest, most surprising endings I have encountered since No Country for Old Men. He holds off answers, denies us gratification.
Yet this book defies easy classification as a "Romantic Drama". For the teeming people of the country are as much the main characters as Abe and Marie, and Stewart simply nails it again and again, the mannerisms, the flow of the dialogue, the descriptions, both the kindness and the bitterness.
Most people, both in this book, in real life, reading this review, have made mistakes, bear secrets. They have things they are running from. Stewart offers a path forwards in his book for those who feel stuck, trapped by their own actions, but it is not a comfortable path. He does not suggest that the answer is to simply 'fall in love', and he does not offer a motivational speech. Rather, he believes that the answer lies in action, in picking yourself up and making something out of your life. The characters in this book who find some measure of happiness find it by acting, by making decisions, by moving, by loving (for love may be the most difficult action of all).
I hesitate to recommend the book. It gets an unhesitating five stars from me, yet I feel it might not resonate as strongly with others (only one of the other five reviews here on Goodreads is above two stars). It is a slow paced book that finds its beauty in crystalline moments caught as if by a master photographer, and part of my enjoyment may simply have come from finally seeing the country portrayed as, in my experience, it truly is. If you've arrived at Flood Summer from Trenton Lee Stewart's other, more popular, adventure books (excellent as they are), you won't find the same brand of mystery, furiously-paced action, and excitement.
Nevertheless, this book needs more readers. While it ought to remain a secret, the secret, like all secrets, needs shared.
Most likely, it will.
A few days ago I was at a festival out in the country where there were covered tents selling hot-dogs and burgers, numerous antique stores packed with vintage decorations and creaky furniture, two old men playing acoustic guitar and bass, a water-wheel mill with an ancient electrical engine actually designed by Nikolai Tesla himself. As I listened to the great tapestry of speech around me, murmurings and shouting and conversing, I relaxed into the comfortable feeling of being in rural America, where somehow, you feel like you already know everybody, that you could pick up a conversation with anyone, stop into anyone's house for a bite to eat.
Flood Summer is the only book I know of that has captured the rhythm of life in the country. John Barth's The Floating Opera did an excellent job with small-town America, but Stewart's portrait of the country and the villages within is on a higher level. His lyrical, atmospheric descriptions of the muggy nights, the infinite cornfields, the quaint brick buildings, the strangely cheerful way that people talk about grim topics, the deep religiosity and the hospitality may seem at first glance like an entirely positive portrayal, but he understands the spots of darkness as well, the drug-addicts, the hypocrites, the way that dark secrets can be left alone to ferment and rot, the racists, the criminals. There's a a few chapters in this book unflinching in their portrayal of broken lives and ruined childhoods, and indeed, darkness lies pervasive across the entire text. But despite acknowledging the sadness and evil that does exist within the country, Stewart doesn't set out to mock it, to gleefully proclaim he has found "the dark side of the American dream" like so many authors.
Rather his gaze is sympathetic and deeply observant. He portrays the good and the bad, and gets all the little details right, the details that make you sit up and smile and say, "Yes! That's the way it is! Why hasn't anyone noticed it before?" In terms of prose and imagery, there's some staggeringly beautiful moments especially in the first one hundred pages, hauntingly atmospheric, so well-written that you can feel the mist and damp and heat.
But this is a novel about characters, and contains certainly the two best characters I have met in fiction for some while: the central duo Abe and Marie, both of them fleeing from secrets, who fall into a tumultuous relationship. At first, I feared Stewart was moving towards the kingdom of cliches, a "Love heals all, folks!" ending. He doesn't. This book has one of the gutsiest, most surprising endings I have encountered since No Country for Old Men. He holds off answers, denies us gratification.
Yet this book defies easy classification as a "Romantic Drama". For the teeming people of the country are as much the main characters as Abe and Marie, and Stewart simply nails it again and again, the mannerisms, the flow of the dialogue, the descriptions, both the kindness and the bitterness.
Most people, both in this book, in real life, reading this review, have made mistakes, bear secrets. They have things they are running from. Stewart offers a path forwards in his book for those who feel stuck, trapped by their own actions, but it is not a comfortable path. He does not suggest that the answer is to simply 'fall in love', and he does not offer a motivational speech. Rather, he believes that the answer lies in action, in picking yourself up and making something out of your life. The characters in this book who find some measure of happiness find it by acting, by making decisions, by moving, by loving (for love may be the most difficult action of all).
I hesitate to recommend the book. It gets an unhesitating five stars from me, yet I feel it might not resonate as strongly with others (only one of the other five reviews here on Goodreads is above two stars). It is a slow paced book that finds its beauty in crystalline moments caught as if by a master photographer, and part of my enjoyment may simply have come from finally seeing the country portrayed as, in my experience, it truly is. If you've arrived at Flood Summer from Trenton Lee Stewart's other, more popular, adventure books (excellent as they are), you won't find the same brand of mystery, furiously-paced action, and excitement.
Nevertheless, this book needs more readers. While it ought to remain a secret, the secret, like all secrets, needs shared.
June 29, 2021
A man-versus-nature bookstore love story.
Deep beautiful ordinary real America. He gets the voices and what we do with language. What we hide with words. What happens when we tell the truth and how huge the risk is.
If Trenton Lee Stewart ever writes another book that isn't kid lit, I will be there.
It's really that beautiful.
Deep beautiful ordinary real America. He gets the voices and what we do with language. What we hide with words. What happens when we tell the truth and how huge the risk is.
If Trenton Lee Stewart ever writes another book that isn't kid lit, I will be there.
It's really that beautiful.
August 12, 2020
Flood Summer is something else. It is oozing with melancholy, yet it's entirely unlike anything I've ever read. It's one of those exceptional novels you come across that seems to so effortlessly and artfully put human sorrow into such fitting words—words so rich and colloquial and raw—that the story never ceases to be phenomenally infused with ethereal longing and murky intensity. The world itself, which appears subdued at a glance, always moves in unexpected ways, exploding when you least expect it to, like a lightning strike loosed from a thunderstorm. The story is a lengthy one, but never dull. Each scene is loaded with emotion and tension, fueled by a setting that whorls about the main characters like the freak weather that frames and influences their actions.
I really like it when authors are able to write characters that are so utterly real. When an author is not afraid to hold back, that's when they can really get closest to something accurate and wonderful, but also sublimely terrifying. Human nature, in all of its dismal glory, is integral to Flood Summer; its collective of characters all fearing and raging and loving as they simply go about lives, yearning for that one thing that will put all the pieces together. You never know exactly what's going on in any one heart; you never completely know a person. Stewart just gets in there and shows you humanity for what it is in such a masterful way, reflected by the very unpredictability he uses to twist your expectations and turn your mental world upside down. As for the storyline itself, I don't want to spoil anything about it, but I will say that it always held my interest all the way through, and I was always morbidly curious and apprehensive, in a good way, of what would happen next.
Rarely do books suck me into their worlds so easily, and so reading Flood Summer has really launched my respect for Stewart up into the stratosphere. I feel rather spoiled now after coming straight off the heels of The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, another of Stewart's novels that I also found to be very well-written. That book's atmosphere was quite stellar, but the atmosphere of Flood Summer is somehow even more so. Stewart's world here enraptures the imagination, filling your head with the pulse of his kaleidoscopic American countryside. It makes me want to return again and again to experience the extraordinarily rendered landscape, and discover new things about it that failed to catch my eye initially because I was so busy trying to drink in everything at once. For Stewart to be able to take in these primordial surroundings and turn it into nearly lossless text, why, it has left me quite euphoric.
I was surprised to see that Stewart had published this novel in 2005, just about 2 years before The Mysterious Benedict Society came out. I had imagined that Flood Summer was more recent, but no, this was Stewart's official literary debut. Here and there I could spot little things in Flood Summer that Stewart carried over into his flagship series, like the main character's proclivity for reading; the loneliness that accosts him; inclusions of chess; and even a bit of that twisted Wonderlandian sense of humorous riddle-talk (i.e., one character says this to another: "Pete and Repeat sat on a bridge. Pete fell off. Who's left?").
But aside from those tiny consistencies, Flood Summer is nothing at all like TMBS. It is a novel both pensive and eruptive, serene and turbulent. It's low to ground and hushed like a poised copperhead; dark and ambient like a cool, cricket-filled night after rain; swift and perilous like a flooding river. The way that Stewart taps into nature and molds this story had such an effect on me that I felt jazzed up and restless, like I wanted to be there among these fictional people; out in the thick of it, in a world so apart from my own. With a resolute hand, Stewart writes passages that are so fantastical that they often come across as otherworldly, filling me with wonder, happiness, wariness, and gloom all at once. It's a hard thing to describe, but it's just the immensity of these moments, they are supercharged with a certain element that fills you with consternation. They are moments where every aspect of the story holds you firmly in a state of ambedo.
I'm glad that I finally got around to reading this book. It's like things have come full circle for me with Stewart's novels ever since I first discovered The Mysterious Benedict Society at my local library. I suppose that since this book is so obscure, it didn't make Stewart a lot of money, and so he had to switch lanes to focus on TMBS instead. I would be very happy if he were to ever return to this style of writing, if only for the sake of a niche audience. Nevertheless, I'm glad that Flood Summer is out there, just waiting to be picked up and enjoyed by anyone curious enough to see what's hidden beneath its shadowy front cover. I'll be cherishing this novel for many days to come.
I really like it when authors are able to write characters that are so utterly real. When an author is not afraid to hold back, that's when they can really get closest to something accurate and wonderful, but also sublimely terrifying. Human nature, in all of its dismal glory, is integral to Flood Summer; its collective of characters all fearing and raging and loving as they simply go about lives, yearning for that one thing that will put all the pieces together. You never know exactly what's going on in any one heart; you never completely know a person. Stewart just gets in there and shows you humanity for what it is in such a masterful way, reflected by the very unpredictability he uses to twist your expectations and turn your mental world upside down. As for the storyline itself, I don't want to spoil anything about it, but I will say that it always held my interest all the way through, and I was always morbidly curious and apprehensive, in a good way, of what would happen next.
Rarely do books suck me into their worlds so easily, and so reading Flood Summer has really launched my respect for Stewart up into the stratosphere. I feel rather spoiled now after coming straight off the heels of The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, another of Stewart's novels that I also found to be very well-written. That book's atmosphere was quite stellar, but the atmosphere of Flood Summer is somehow even more so. Stewart's world here enraptures the imagination, filling your head with the pulse of his kaleidoscopic American countryside. It makes me want to return again and again to experience the extraordinarily rendered landscape, and discover new things about it that failed to catch my eye initially because I was so busy trying to drink in everything at once. For Stewart to be able to take in these primordial surroundings and turn it into nearly lossless text, why, it has left me quite euphoric.
I was surprised to see that Stewart had published this novel in 2005, just about 2 years before The Mysterious Benedict Society came out. I had imagined that Flood Summer was more recent, but no, this was Stewart's official literary debut. Here and there I could spot little things in Flood Summer that Stewart carried over into his flagship series, like the main character's proclivity for reading; the loneliness that accosts him; inclusions of chess; and even a bit of that twisted Wonderlandian sense of humorous riddle-talk (i.e., one character says this to another: "Pete and Repeat sat on a bridge. Pete fell off. Who's left?").
But aside from those tiny consistencies, Flood Summer is nothing at all like TMBS. It is a novel both pensive and eruptive, serene and turbulent. It's low to ground and hushed like a poised copperhead; dark and ambient like a cool, cricket-filled night after rain; swift and perilous like a flooding river. The way that Stewart taps into nature and molds this story had such an effect on me that I felt jazzed up and restless, like I wanted to be there among these fictional people; out in the thick of it, in a world so apart from my own. With a resolute hand, Stewart writes passages that are so fantastical that they often come across as otherworldly, filling me with wonder, happiness, wariness, and gloom all at once. It's a hard thing to describe, but it's just the immensity of these moments, they are supercharged with a certain element that fills you with consternation. They are moments where every aspect of the story holds you firmly in a state of ambedo.
I'm glad that I finally got around to reading this book. It's like things have come full circle for me with Stewart's novels ever since I first discovered The Mysterious Benedict Society at my local library. I suppose that since this book is so obscure, it didn't make Stewart a lot of money, and so he had to switch lanes to focus on TMBS instead. I would be very happy if he were to ever return to this style of writing, if only for the sake of a niche audience. Nevertheless, I'm glad that Flood Summer is out there, just waiting to be picked up and enjoyed by anyone curious enough to see what's hidden beneath its shadowy front cover. I'll be cherishing this novel for many days to come.
February 6, 2021
there is a particular type of writing that is beautiful in a way that makes the reading experience almost dreamlike, and this book was like that from the very first page. the only book i've read with comparable writing is all the light we cannot see. this was masterfully written for a debut.
stewart hit the nail on the head with the southern community vibes. he must be from the south because of all the tiny details thrown in that made it a vividly real and believable setting.
i guess that's the only way to encompass everything that was great about this--the setting, the characters, the plot, everything felt real and wonderfully tangible. i wish it hadn't ended and i can't say anything else but read it
stewart hit the nail on the head with the southern community vibes. he must be from the south because of all the tiny details thrown in that made it a vividly real and believable setting.
i guess that's the only way to encompass everything that was great about this--the setting, the characters, the plot, everything felt real and wonderfully tangible. i wish it hadn't ended and i can't say anything else but read it
November 17, 2018
Beautifully written and distinctive, unique characters. Abe and Marie are some of the most life-like characters I have ever met in literature. The book is a little slow at parts, but I think that’s sort of the point: the main characters have to learn to confront life, rather than run from it or hide from it. Very impressive for being Stewart’s first novel. I LOVE his children’s books, so I’m glad to have read Flood Summer.
June 14, 2008
Super, super dense, but well worth anyone's patience. Elegantly written, with an eye for detail, this story captures the Arkansas experience with the same eloquence Lee Smith uses to portray Appalachian culture. Highly recommended.
December 10, 2019
Beautiful writing. You can see and feel the terror of the flood. The author really knows how to describe the feelings, deep feelings, pain of loss, love, confusion, loss of hope, renewal of faith, and friendship of the characters.
January 20, 2023
I don't think I ever read a book which at the same time seemed so real, yet so much like a dream I was having.
September 25, 2025
Not my normal fare at all, but slow and beautiful and quiet. Sad, too, the kind of sad where you feel something's wrong but you can't put your finger on what it is. The kind of sad that sometimes hurts and sometimes feels really good.
November 12, 2008
The beginning was slow; the middle was engaging; the ending left me feeling incomplete.
December 31, 2024
a honest and careful american novel. sometimes sentimental, at moments bordering on the ridiculous, but always dedicated to maintain the veracity of its characters and landscapes, with writing hinting at the sublimity of life hidden under the detritus of our pasts. only wish it was longer.
June 10, 2019
This book has incredibly detailed descriptions in every scene, and I would say, it's too descriptive at times. It feels like the action is happening in real time because of how long each scene lasts. But overall, a solid first novel about young adults trying to find their footing in life.
July 14, 2022
I found the pacing and characterization a bit muddled, but the writing was beautiful.
Read
September 5, 2023Reminds me more of Wallace Stegner than The Mysterious Benedict Society. I sat and held the book in my hands for a while after I was done, because I didn't want it to end.
October 8, 2024
Well-written, just not my kind of book. Probably would be enjoyed by readers who like Gilead (Robinson) better than I did!
April 6, 2025
LOVED Marie, would totally read a fully Marie book, Abe is fine. Really loved all the dialogue and descriptions.
February 9, 2014
Abe Pittinger is a young man who dropped out of college, lives in a dilapidated trailer and is keeping a secret about the death of his best friend’s mother. He falls in love with Marie, who came to Hot Springs to reconnect with her father, and has quite a few of her own secrets. They both struggle to put their pasts behind them and make new beginnings.
Having read Flood Summer after Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I expected more action, mystery and adventure. This, however, is a novel that unfolds slowly, shifts between present and past, and has a vague, bleary story line. The ending is open, leaving many unresolved aspects.
Having read Flood Summer after Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I expected more action, mystery and adventure. This, however, is a novel that unfolds slowly, shifts between present and past, and has a vague, bleary story line. The ending is open, leaving many unresolved aspects.
October 4, 2010
This book was mostly boring and almost depressing, yet something about it held my attention and I can't quite put my finger on it. It was an okay read, but I probably would not read this book again or recommend it to a friend.
October 23, 2015
I loved Mysterious Benedict, Flood summer I couldn't get past chapter 3, very dry and it just wasn't for me
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews