Ferguson, Jen. The Summer of Bitter and Sweet. Heartdrum, 2022. 978-0-06-308616-6. 360 p. $17.99. Grades 9-12.

Lou spends her summer, before she heads to university, working at her family’s ice cream shack. She works with her friends and her ex-boyfriend. She is living with her two uncles while her mother spends the summer traveling solo in the United States. Lou is an indigenous person who lives on the Canadian prairie where she has experienced horrible racism, physical and sexual abuse, and betrayal. This summer she received a letter from someone she never imagined she would hear from–her father. The letter starts the unraveling of a plethora of lies that have surrounded her life. Lou must find the strength to trust those close to her and trust herself. 

THOUGHTS: This is a powerful, intense, and emotional book. The characters in this book are dynamic and real. It is a heavy book with serious content and triggers.    

Realistic Fiction          Victoria Dziewulski, Plum Borough SD