Once Upon a Summer

Good series for teens

This is a cute and enjoyable read. Written from the perspective of 12 year old Josh, "Once Upon A Summer" covers the events that take place in his family during one summer and autumn. Josh's parents died when he was a baby, but he has his Grandpa, great-uncle Charlie, and Aunt Louisa to take care of him. Although he sometimes laments the fact that he has no memories of his parents, Josh is very happy with his family and doesn't want anything to change. So when Josh's Great-Grandfather comes to live with them, he worries that it will change things in their house (but things turn out quite differently!) Meanwhile, Grandpa and Uncle Charlie conspire behind Aunt Lou's back to introduce respectable suitors to her, but Josh doesn't want to see Aunt Lou get married and leave the farm, so he conspires against the suitors....and he gains a surprising ally in this, as well. This is a cute story, and it made an enjoyable read. At first I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get into it, since it's written from 12 year-old Josh's perspective....but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story sucked me in so that I hardly even thought about Josh being so young. I think that this would be an entertaining story for just about any age -- young, middle, or old!

This Christian fiction book is a cute story of a boy's love for his unusual family made up of his uncle, grandfather, aunt, great-grandfather and his dog. I especially liked the boy's close relationship with his dog and his relationship with God. I think a boy might enjoy this book since the main character is Josh and it's his story. He shares his feelings with the reader about the things happening in his family and his anger towards God. The aunt finds romance but it was quite humorous how her father and uncle tried to set her up with "acceptable" candidates and the boy and Gramps would intervene. I enjoyed the book for a change of pace. I found it to be uplifting, amusing and an easy read.

"Once upon a Summer" is a book that is not too serious and not excessively religious. In fact, I think a subtle point was that a person may attend church, but that doesn't mean they are a good person, and that people who do not attend church, may in fact be good people (although I doubt these are the points author Oke was intending to make). I enjoyed the character of Auntie Lou and her valor towards her feelings. I found Grandpa and Uncle Charlie's actions to be awful (concerning finding Lou a suitable husband, and not leaving the choice up to her), and Josh and Gramps' relationship heartwarming. If you're looking for a book to sit back and relax with, then this is the book for you. I recommend.

This was a cute series. These books are written from a boy's point of view and that makes them very unique. I don't know how Oke could write in a boy's point of view so well! It was as if a boy had written the book, which is probably why this series is not overly romantic, except for the last book. It had some pretty funny parts--and that helps make a book good.I like the last one in this series the best.

This book and series shows the struggles of an unusual family structure including: a grandfather and his father, brother, daughter and grandson. The focus is on the grandson who was orphaned as an infant and has known no other family. His young aunt is the only mother that he has ever known. As the story unfolds, the young boy has to deal with jealousy towards his aunt's suitors. The whole series is quite well done.