Someone Like Summer
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A seventeen-year-old girl falls in love with a Latino immigrant in this powerhouse novel about taboo passion and interracial love
Annabel Brown’s first glimpse of the boy fated to change her life is on a soccer field near her home in the resort town of Seaview, Long Island. His name is Esteban Santiago, and he came to town as a member of a crew hired by Annabel’s father, a widowed contractor. From the moment they see each other, Annabel and Esteban know they’re meant to be together.
They couldn’t be more different. Annabel is a blue-eyed blonde from a wealthy family living a life of privilege and ease. Esteban is an illegal immigrant from Colombia. With both of their families violently opposed to the relationship, they have to sneak around, leaving love notes in library books and meeting secretly on the beach late at night. As the summer—and their romance—progress, racial tensions flare, threatening to turn this peaceful Hamptons town into a powder keg.
Set against the backdrop of the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina, Someone Like Summer has undertones of a modern-day West Side Story as it confronts issues of class, race, prejudice, and a love that transcends every stereotype.
This ebook features an illustrated personal history of M. E. Kerr including rare images from the author’s collection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kerr (Your Eyes in Stars) gives a sensitive rendering of a biracial romance in this timely novel about a white teen's infatuation with an illegal immigrant. Understated yet emotionally charged prose expresses 17-year-old Annabel Brown's initial attraction to Esteban Santiago as she watches him play soccer and listens to him sing at a local night club. Their first few encounters are blissful, but complications soon arise due to their families' mutual disapproval. Esteban's older sister, Gioconda, calls Annabel a "white whore" and Annabel's father, who runs a construction company, views Esteban with as little regard as he does other "muchacho" laborers, especially when Esteban bungles a roofing job when substituting for one of Mr. Brown's workers. Forbidden to date Esteban or even talk to him on the phone, Annabel meets him secretly, but as with most Romeo and Juliet-type tales, their relationship cannot withstand social pressures and prejudice. Showcasing the tension created by resentments and fear of that which is different, the author pointedly conveys the plight of immigrants and the ineffectiveness of government policies. Although Annabel is heartbroken when Esteban joins the army as a means to obtain a green card, she gains deep respect and affection for another culture and for new immigrants striving to attain the American dream. Ages 12-up.
