Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award Winner, Brigham Young University • Charlotte Awards Nominee, New York State Reading Association

 

Between helpings of mouthwatering shortcake, mysterious ferret disappearances, and a romance that misfires, thirteen-year-old Johnny and his fifteen-year-old cousin Remember forge a lifelong friendship in a summer they will never forget.

 

Thirteen-year-old Johnny’s summer plans fly out the window when he finds out his mother is leaving town for an important job in upstate New York. His aunt Collette tells his mother that he can stay with her as long as he “helps out” with his autistic older cousin, Remember. Johnny thinks it will be the most boring summer ever, since he and his cousin have nothing in common. For Johnny, Remember is just a gawky, awkward kid with strange habits like spending hours glued to the Weather Channel and repeating what people say. Boy, is Johnny wrong! As the weeks unfold, the cousins master video games, salvage the pizza guy’s romance, and even save a bully from drowning. It just may turn out to be the best summer of their lives.

 

'Vernick populates Johnny and Remember's town with quirky versions of classic characters, from bullies to curmudgeons with hearts of gold. … Captures an important part of growing up—that time when young people first start to see beyond their own perspectives and really understand the people around them.'—School Library Journal