Summerland

Summerland
by Michael Chabon

Summerland
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Book Summary Information

Author: Michael Chabon
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Large Print
Published: 2003-05-02
ISBN: 0786251433
Number of pages: 680
Publisher: Thorndike Press

Book Reviews of Summerland

Book Review: Not for all young readers
Summary: 3 Stars

Michael Chabon is my favorite author, and he is also critically acclaimed, having won the Pulitzer Prize for "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay". I was surprised when I found out that he had written a book for the "Harry Potter" age group, but devoured it with interest nontheless. I enjoyed this book, and was impressed with the world he had created in the Winterlands, a place filled with various creatures such as fairies, sasquatches, giants and werewolves. But the problem with this book lies in Chabon's strength: his detail, his ability to have the reader completely absorbed into the world he has created. While it worked magically in "Kavalier and Clay" and "Wonder Boys", it seems like it could be a downfall here. Young readers want to be entertained, and while this book definitely provides the entertainment value, there are many pages of detail to work through first, and I can see some young readers becoming irked with this.

The book follows Ethan and his friends as they journey through the Winterlands in attempt to rescue Ehtan's father from the evil Coyote, as well as preventing the destruction of the universe as they know it. Baseball is the centerpiece of the book, as it is a sport that all creatures have played for hundreds of years, and they take the outcome of the games as law.

This is a good, fun read, but not for people who dislike detail and backstories, because there is plenty of that. Also, at just over 600 pages, this could be an intimidating read for many young people, but it is worth the journey in the end.

Summary of Summerland

A New York Times Bestseller
A Pulitzer Prize-winning Author

In Summerland, conditions are always ideal for playing baseball. But the small beings who keep things that way are in peril, and they need a hero -- a baseball star, in fact -- to vanquish their foe.

An Accelerated Reader® title.


In Summerland, his first novel for young readers, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon attempts an American Narnia. Inspired by Lewis and Tolkien, he's created his own magical landscape on which to paint a sweeping fantasy quest, but mixes the same ingredients--folklore and new inventions--in a distinctively American way.

The plot is simple and pure, but takes a long time to tell. The setting is Clam Island, Washington, specifically the area on the western tip of the island known as the Summerlands, which enjoys zero rainfall and yearlong fine weather. Ethan Feld, a self-described really bad ball player, is recruited by a 100-year-old scout called Mr. Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown. Ethan is needed to help the ferishers, essentially fairies, to save their world from eradication. On the great infinite tree of worlds, Summerland is on the boundary between two such worlds, and a particularly destructive fairy called Coyote and his band of warriors are nearby and threatening to destroy everything.

Heroes are desperately needed to counter this threat, and their journey involves a lot of baseball, but also encounters with giants, bat-winged goblins, sea monsters, and assorted cunning magic. The novel features an ensemble cast of equal parts that shine and fade in turn, and yet the undoubtedly fine writing fails to mask the enormity and complexities of the world in which they travel, and the bad guys getting their comeuppance always seems so far away. Readers need to savor every word in Summerland to extract the best flavors from it. (Ages 10 and older.) --John McLay, Amazon.co.uk

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