Description
“Gorgeous prose and heartbreaking storytelling.” —Paste Magazine
“Grabs your heart and won’t let go.” —Book Riot
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
Three starred reviews for this stunning novel about a mixed-race teen who struggles to find her way back to her love of music in the wake of her sister’s death, from the author of the William C. Morris Award finalist Starfish.
Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.
Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the “boys next door”—a teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesn’t take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years ago—Rumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.
Aching, powerful, and unflinchingly honest, Summer Bird Blue explores big truths about insurmountable grief, unconditional love, and how to forgive even when it feels impossible.
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First of all, the cover is gorgeous. It’s probably one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen. Now, let’s talk about the book. ‘Summer Bird Blue’ is about Rumi who just lost her sister in a car accident. This book captures the complicated feelings of grief and loss.I gotta admit, Rumi is not a likeable character (in realistic way). Her point of view is depressing and exhausting to read. She’s full of anger and acts really mean, even to people who try to help her. I think Rumi already has a “kinda-jerk” personality before Lea died, and her sister’s death only made it worse. Sometimes I can’t help but feel irritated with Rumi, however I don’t have excuse to hate her. The pacing of book is pretty slow, with a lot of repetitive parts about Rumi’s mourning for Lea. Despite of that, I adore Rumi & Lea’s precious relationship and how they shared the same love for music. I have sisters too, and this book made me feel an imaginary pain of losing someone who could be family and a best friend in my life. Other things I like about this book: the Hawaii setting and the nice side characters (my fav is Mr. Watanabe and Kai). I also like that the plot explores other conflicts, such as Rumi problem with her mother and how she struggles to figure out her sexuality.I expected this book would end up like a typical YA, where love can solves every problems. Guess what? The book is not actually about how love cures the sadness and trauma. It’s simply about Rumi’s journey to face her own pain. So yeah, I'll give an extra star for that.