Caterpillar Summer

I'm generally suspicious of realistic fiction in middle grade, especially anything that's heavily blurbed as "heartwarming" or "lyrical" especially when it includes dead parents. I've found that only a few kids pick these up on their own; if a teacher reads it in class it will go (witness the sudden run I had on Kelly Yang's Front Desk when a teacher read it in class) but just on the shelf, no.

However, this was blurbed by Melissa Fox, who is a reader and bookseller I trust, and once I started the book I found it both mesmerizing and beautifully written.

Caterpillar and her younger brother Chicken (their nicknames come from her mother's series of children's books) have always been together. Cat is responsible for Chicken, who is on the show more spectrum, and sometimes she feels responsible for everything as they try to keep their family running after her father's death. She's anticipating a few weeks of relaxation when they go down south to spend time with her best friend, Indian-American Rishi. Then, at the last minute, the Krishnamurthys have to go to India to take care of their sick grandmother. Cat's mother makes a difficult decision and sends Cat and Chicken to stay with her parents in North Carolina, on an island, for three weeks while she teaches a class.

Cat starts to feel overwhelmed almost immediately. Why doesn't her mother get along with her parents? If she dislikes them so much, why is she willing to leave Chicken and Cat with them? She feels responsible for her brother, whose sensory difficulties and growing propensity for running away both feed her protective instincts but also make her long for independence. Her gruff grandfather is hard to understand - does he like her or not? She also comes up against culture clashes, moving from their home in San Francisco to rural North Caroline and prejudice against her brother and herself, who are biracial.

There are no perfect and happy endings, but a slow growing of understanding and sense of family. Cat gains the sense of self she longs for, finds more independence, and stands her ground, requiring the adults in her family to stop depending on her so much. Although all the misunderstandings aren't fixed, Cat's mom talks to her parents and they forge new bonds. Cat makes it clear that, while she loves her brother and will always take care of him, and that her grandparents do need to recognize his different needs and listen to her experience, she also wants more independence and a life of her own.

Dunn's debut is a worthy effort indeed. She blends her own experience growing up in California with a special needs sibling, living in North Carolina, and the feelings of being a preteen girl, yearning for more independence and yet still a child to create a pitch-perfect book. Her careful inclusion of what if feels like to experience prejudice and Cat's identity as biracial feel authentic to me - she references the different reactions of people, both well-meaning and otherwise, and things like Cat's different needs for her hair.

Verdict: Recommended as a serious but hopeful summer read for middle grade lovers of realistic fiction. Dunn's characters ring true and readers will have both mirrors and windows in this excellent debut.

ISBN: 9781681197432; Published April 2019 by Bloomsbury; Galley provided by publisher; Purchased for the library show less

Sweet book about being the reliable one in a family -- the kid who takes care of everything when one parent is worked and the other has passed and your younger brother is slightly neurodivergent. Love how Cat's estranged grandparents manage to slip into her life slowly and take the weight off without forcing confrontations or moving too fast. It's also a good book about a magical escape of a place and friendships and sharks and fishing.

A beautiful book for the right audience. That is to say, for a reader who hasn't seen this plot, and this theme, too many times already. The charm and the details of setting & characters almost convince me to raise my rating to four stars, but then again, I don't know to whom I'd recommend it, and I don't particularly feel interested in more by the author.

But one thing: Why oh why does the book character Caterpillar always get the short end of the stick? I don't care whether she's representative of the girl Cat (Catherine) or not, nobody should always sacrifice like that... all it will do is teach Chicken (character and boy) to be helpless.

And how did this get on my to-read list?

A simple, yet heart warming story of a young girl growing up over the summer. Cat isn't really fond of her role of being guardian to Chicken her autistic younger brother. Since the death of her father she had to be the glue that keeps everything together especially with her mom always working. Cat barely has time to be a kid and sometimes that frustration shows between her interaction with Chicken. Over the course of the book we do get valuable insights of her mother's relationship to her parents and the prioritization of work over family can have detrimental long term effects. While these things are important, I do wish more time was spent with the children on the island and Cat biracial identity in regards to discrimination and hair. show more These two things in particular was presented in a rushed, one-dimensional way and I'm afraid younger readers might not fully get the point it is trying to established. I would have rated the book much higher, but I wasn't that interested in the Grandparents story-line. show less

Recommended Ages: Gr.

Plot Summary: Cat doesn't want her mom to know that her brother Chicken has been running away recently. Her mom is too busy working her three jobs to pay off the medical bills from when her father passed 4 years ago. Eager to have some quality time with her mom and her best friend who moved away, Cat is excited to spend the first three weeks of summer in Atlanta. Her mom is teaching an art class. Cat and Rishi's family will help care for Chicken. Except, that doesn't go as planned. As soon as they land in Atlanta, they learn Rishi and family are flying to India because Rishi's grandmother had a stroke. Cat is seriously disappointed. She's also surprised when her mom announces the new plan: drop off Cat and Chicken show more at their grandparents they've never met for three weeks and leave them there while Mom teaches the class in a different state. How will they get through these three weeks with the risk of Chicken running to the ocean, and staying with Macon who doesn't seem very excited to see them?

Setting: San Francisco to Gingerbread Island, NC (made up?)

Characters:
Cat - AKA Caterpillar, 11 yo
Chicken - AKA Henry, 7 yo, loves sharks
Mom - white, artist
Dad - black, died 4 years ago, loved to cook
Rishi Krishnamurthys - Cat's best friend, moved to Atlanta, still video chat
Manjula and Sandeep Krishnamurthys - Rishi's parents, helped watch Chicken after school before they moved to Atlanta
Lily - Cat's grandma
Macon - Cat's grandpa
Harriet - Cat's friend on the island
John Harvey - bully on the island

Recurring Themes: siblings, responsibilities, special needs, grandparents, disappointment, family feud, ocean town, friendship, sacrifices, fishing, race, mixed race, good and bad

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: Extremely well written. Love that the place is almost a character, and Cat calls attention to that. I also like the discussion of John Harvey being good or bad. Very curious to know what kids think of this one.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium, character driven
Characters: very well developed
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: show less

When the family's summer arrangements go awry, Cat and Chicken's mother sends them to North Carolina to stay with her parents whom the kids have never met. Clearly there is some kind of estrangement between daughter and parents. Cat struggles to connect with her grandfather and tries to figure out what happened between him and Mom.

A very heartfelt story through the eyes of a girl who takes responsibility for her little brother and how she gains her independence. through a series of event Cat and Chicken help their mother and grandparents work through issues that have kept them apart for way to long. By talking about loved ones who have passed Cat and her family is able to heal hard feelings of misunderstanding from the past.