The Summer of Permanent Wants is a beautiful, mysterious, and breathtaking book about an eleven year old girl named Emmeline who has lost her ability to speak due to an illness. The book is built out of a collection of smaller stories about Emmeline, her grandmother, her cat, and her two crickets, and their adventures sailing around on their live aboard floating bookshop. Every story will leave you in awe.
AGE RANGE INTERMEDIATE
THEMES
Family
Disability
Boats
Cat
Books
Stories
OVERALL RATING 9.4/10
This is a wonderful book. Every chapter is mysterious and exciting, leading the plot in a new direction. It is not always clear what parts are imagined by the characters and which parts are really happening, but that is part of the charm. Not every mystery is solved within the book, which may irritate some readers, but it is also an invitation to create your own ending.
PROS
Good child’s perspective
Deals well with disability
Heartfelt
Mysterious
CONS
Not everything gets fully concluded
Can be confusing