Cicada Summer

I am feeling a little slow on the uptake not to have heard of Cicada Summer prior to reading about this book on different book blogs. Where have I been? I loved this book. I think it ranks right up there with Because of Winn Dixie. There are a few similarities...it is a short little gem much like Winn Dixie, yet with a deeper message, also like Winn Dixie.

Lily is eleven and in love with Nancy Drew novels. It is apparent as the book unfolds that Lily is trying to deal with some fairly big issues: she does not have a mother, and something has happened to her brother. Lily tells this story using flashbacks she has, something that initially confused me. Lily also does not speak. When Tinny Bridges moves to town and starts to make trouble for Lily, she also forces Lily to face reality. Beaty includes a bit of suspense in her story and kept me reading and hoping for Lily, and even Tinny, until the end.