Summer of Mud by Rebecca Bischoff – Review by M Policicchio

Summer of Mud by Rebecca Bischoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You are crying. I am not crying. There are so many emotions in this book. How could you not be angry at RC? Were you not proud of Scoob when she won her trumpet back? Everyone knows you were anxious waiting to hear about Cherish. And, when Scoob found out who the three little girls in the picture were, you know you were thrilled but also so very sad.

Scoob and her brother, RC, have had the worst year of their lives. It actually started before that when their mother left without a word. In the last year, their father died suddenly, leaving them unprepared. RC was barely an adult and left to care for his 11 year old sister. They struggled, lost their apartment and all their belongings, lived on the beach and anywhere else they could find to sleep. The only thing they did have was each other.

Two days before her 12th birthday, Scoob tries out for a local band leader that she has known all her life. He agrees to let her play in the band for tips. Scoob can’t wait to start playing when RC packs her in car and tells her that they are on the way to Montana for a music festival where he has a job. On the way to Montana, they take a detour to Idaho. RC meets a girl and the detour keeps getting extended.

When RC finally comes clean to Scoob about everything, it turns out that he lied. RC didn’t have a job in Montana, he has known the girl for almost a year, they are moving to Idaho, and Scoob is supposed to live with some family while RC attends a local college. Just as Scoob has found a way back to California, the town she is staying in is flooded by a broken dam and chaos ensues. What happens next is just … devastating, amazing, outstanding, heartbreaking, fantastic. Yep.

Read this book for an emotional rollercoaster ride. Read this book to remember the bond between siblings. Read this book for the history of this small Idaho town. Read this book for hope.

View all my reviews