The Year Without a Summer
Reviewed By Ian Banks August 16, 2022
Author Arlene Mark
Distributor: Bookshout
ISBN: 978-1684631476
Publisher: SparkPress (August 16, 2022
Release Date: August 2022
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Environmental issues, immigrations, teenage angst and courage have all come together in this inspiring and timely work from Arlene Mark, The Year Without A Summer, which while written for the teen market is an excellent read for a wide range of ages.
Jaime Fulton is ecstatic. Snow in the middle of summer due to a volcanic eruption on the other side of the world. As a very keen snowboarder it is almost a dream come true; no summer!
Claire Montalvo has recently survived a hurricane in her home country of Puerto Ricco and is learning to settle to a new life. In Science class their teacher uses the volcanic eruption of Mt Tambora in 1815, which killed in excess of 50,000 people and bought a year without a summer to the world, as an investigate project, which sees both Claire and Jamie at complete opposite perspectives.
Claire is a top level student whereas Jamie is struggling to maintain his grades. The disruption to class caused by these two arguing the merits is bought to a head when the teacher advises them to either debate the issue or loose the grades.
Both teens are struggling with issues in the family which is adding extra stress; Claire’s father has returned to Puerto Ricco to search of missing relatives, while Jamie’s brother has returned home after serving in Afghanistan injured and mentally scared, which just adds another level to what is beginning to move on past the conflicting ideas and become a friendship.
Both Claire and Jamie begin to understand that what has happened in the past and more recently, has a wider effect on the environment and realise that the way forward is to recruit their school mates, use the resources available and begin to empower their community by taking a stand on Climate Change.
The Year Without A Summer is a well-crafted, well balanced story, combining with real skill the many issues facing the young people of today, the delicate balance of teen friendship and how, by sharing what is going on in their own lives, somehow the burden is lighter.
A very timely book aimed at the market that can, and will, and should, be able to make serious changes to the world in which they live on an environmental basis.