Sarah is a 14 year girl facing the worst summer of her life so far. Everything she seems to have the slightest irritation with can make her very upset. Yet she has no clue over why her irritation towards anything is becoming more of a problem, from her Puce colored shoes, to her long legs and big feet, she cannot seem to be the slightest bit content with herself. Her siblings Wanda, and Charlie, Wanda being the oldest, and Charlie ten, also are dealing with their own problems. The most carefree of their family seems to be their 84 year old dog Boysie. Wanda is a rebellious nineteen year-old, what makes it worse is that she lives with her aunt Willie. She has been living and watching over them for six years, ever since their mother died, and their father left. Wanda struggles to find freedom from her aunt, who to Sarah and Wanda takes the fun and joy from everything. Charlie, a mentally disabled child who cannot speak ever since he was three years of age because of a very bad sickness, is trying to discover new attributes to his confused life, and is having a hard time coping with how disorderly things may become. It doesn’t help that his family members do not know when to pay him attention when he is very troubled of something. The conflict of this story begins where, when Charlie is struggling to put himself to sleep after a missing button on his pajamas is not tended to, even after taking the problem up to his aunt. Earlier in the day Sarah took him to see the swans, he had greatly admired their beautiful figures, and silk movements in the water at the lake. He thought he had seen one of these swans in his window. He then goes out to investigate, only to find a cat in the bushes of his yard, yet this does not satisfy him, he is sure that he had seen the swans, so Charlie ventures outward, following wherever he sees movement. This brings him into the woodlands areas, where his focus is put off track by the loud barking of dogs. This noise frightens greatly, causing him to run in a random direction, trying to force himself free of the cacophony of the snarling hounds. In his panic, he had gotten many cuts and bruises, now to find himself lost in unfamiliar surroundings in the dead of night. The morning after, Sarah and her aunt and sister find that Charlie is missing. Sarah travels down to the lake to see if Charlie had gone to see the swans again, but he was not there. After her aunt hears this news, she calls the police about a missing child. The police organize the town to search for Charlie. By then Sarah and her friend Mary have already been searching for Charlie for about an hour. A boy named Joe Melby, who Sarah has a history with, informs Sarah and May that he had found one of Charlie's slippers. Mary then heads down to the gas station where the search is being organized, and tells the search party what direction they should look for. Meanwhile Joe and Sarah start an awkward trek in the direction where they suspect Charlie had gone. Eventually Joe and Sarah's differences are talked out, and now they can easily continue their search. Hours later they have still not found Charlie, however they do not know that he is close, sleeping on twigs and underbrush. As Charlie awakens, he comes to find his sisters relieved expression before him. She embraces Charlie with much love and care. Now they have been reunited, and Sarah self-consciousness is no more after she discovers what is truly important.

Summer of the swans is a short book with very important values. It shows how much you should value your family instead of yourself, and what can happen if you do not. The book is written with many morals, and can give you encouragement in yourself, and your life. There is a reason why it has a gold medal stating: "John Newberry Medal". You can learn a great deal from the book. Its plot and events are well thought out and displayed. It is slightly challenging book, yet is easy to follow. I really enjoyed this book, and I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 for its rating. It is a classic tale, and I encourage anyone to read it.