The Summer I Found You

Gr 9 Up—Romance fans will enjoy the unexpected love that blossoms between 19-year-old, disabled Afghanistan Army veteran, Aiden, and recently heartbroken high school senior Kate who is learning to live with diabetes. Telling their stories in alternating chapters, Aiden and Kate reveal their personal challenges, insecurity, fears, hopes, and attraction. Aiden struggles to live with a missing arm, confront his nightmares of war, and decide on a future. Kate has been dumped by her boyfriend, can't wait to go away to college, and bristles under the scrutiny of protective parents who take her diabetes more seriously than she does. Although Aiden opens up to Kate about his anxieties, she keeps her diabetes and virginity secret, choosing instead to convey a carefree demeanor and savor their mutual feelings. When Kate suffers a hypoglycemic episode, Aiden rushes her to the hospital and learns that she has not been honest with him. Kate realizes that trust is an essential part of a caring relationship and that she must begin making more mature decisions. Through realistic dialogue, believable scenarios, and candid reflections, this story offers insight on both the personal trauma of a young, wounded warrior and the multiple challenges of teen diabetes. Despite disparities in age (two years), emotional maturity, and life experience, Kate and Aiden's developing relationship rings true. In addition to their intense physical attraction (including one night of protected sex), they share humor, the support of family and friends, increasing self-awareness and understanding of others, and a climactic break that prompts each of them to thoughtfully address their futures.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC