Betsy Byars (1928–2020)

The summer she turns fourteen, Sara feels upset and dissatisfied about almost everything. Exasperated by her family. Disgruntled that her older sister is pretty and popular, and she’s not. Frustrated with her younger brother, who is mentally disabled and non-verbal. She loves him, but gets impatient sometimes. In this short novel that takes place over little more than twenty-four hours, Sara argues with her sister, frets about her hair, despairs over the color of her shoes, and is angry at a boy from school who supposedly stole her brother Charlie’s watch. It’s one of his few treasured possessions, that brings him calm when he listens to the second hand ticking. Then some swans fly over town and land on the lake near their house. Sara takes Charlie to see them. He is captivated by their beauty and grace, so quietly gliding on the still dark water. It’s hard for Sara to drag him away when it’s time to go home. Later that night, Charlie goes missing. Sara is sure he went back alone to see the swans on the lake, but nobody can find him. In the tense, anxious search for her brother, Sara realizes that all the other things she’d been upset about don’t really matter. (And that boy she was angry with turns out the be kind and helpful, not a thief). Things are looking up on the final pages. It does have a happy ending.

This book won a Newberry Award. I’m pretty sure I read it a long time ago, some parts felt very familiar to me. It does feel quite dated, the dialog in particular is so seventies feeling. But still a very good read.… (more)