Thirteen-year-old Mary overhears her parents having a vicious argument over her father’s financial dealings and infidelities, and realizes they’re on the brink of divorce. The next morning, both parents announce that Mary, her younger twin sisters, and their father will finally be taking that long cross-country road trip he’s wanted to take for ages—but without their mother. The trip itself is full of adventure, delight at new sights and new experiences, and occasional near-disasters; but the hardest part for Mary is what she learns about her father on the way. She is left distraught and furious by the realization that the father she adored really is the irresponsible, selfish man her mother sees. She’s also troubled by her own frustration at not being able to stop loving him nonetheless.
BICENTENNIAL SUMMER is a brilliantly bittersweet coming-of-age novel based on author Mary Berelson’s youth and set amongst some of the most strikingly beautiful sights America has to offer. The innocent, immediate intimacy of childhood friendships (and crushes), the sense of adventure and curiosity that make the hardships of travel well worth it, the warmth of unexpected family, and the humor of disasters endured and survived make this a delightful read throughout. The people they meet along the way are varied and full of personality, and their adventures are lively and engaging (if sometimes bone-chillingly dangerous). The twins are a delight, and Mary’s relationship with them is touchingly near-maternal (and surprisingly free of conflict, given natural sibling tendencies in close quarters and under stress).
This is both appealingly sweet and heartbreaking, as it shows both the love among the sisters and how Mary has to pick up the parental duties her father neglects. Mary’s relationship with her father is the core thread that winds through everything. She is understandably torn by conflicting urges, wanting both to angrily confront him and berate him for his failures while, on the other hand, to forget everything that hurts her so much and go back to her place as Daddy’s cherished little girl. Her realization that adults can have deep and hurtful flaws and yet still be lovable and loving is one of the key steps she takes towards an adult understanding of the world.
BICENTENNIAL SUMMER is a rollicking adventure story, but also a vivid and heartrending exploration of the harsh truth that parents, too, are only human. It also conveys another important lesson for children (and adults) to learn: they don’t have to continue cycles of abuse and irresponsibility. They can make their own choices about who they want to be in life.
An alternately heartwarming, heartbreaking, and laugh-out-loud funny novel, Mary Berelson’s BICENTENNIAL SUMMER captures the fears, doubts, joys, and regrets of adolescence—along with the troubling realization that even those we love most may be deeply flawed people.
~ Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader