Ah, nostalgia! I love this book! Ever since my friend introduced me to this book a few months back and I read it, it always stood with me as a very moving, beautiful story. I enjoyed reading this again for the second time and for many more times to come, I'm sure! Everything about the novel from the characters to the plot to the writing itself was simply amazing and I cannot say enough of how great this book is. I truly do not regret picking this up!Cynthia Rylant is such a good author. Her writing style is simple but effective. It's perfect for children to understand, seeing as how this is a middle-grade book. My favorite part of Rylant's writing style is her use of analogies. She uses things we know, things children can pick up on easily through their schooling, and inputs those analogies in the situation of the main character herself. It was very amusing and well-executed. The story she conjured up in this novel is one many of us can relate to. Whenever we lose a love one, it's very difficult to let go but the fact that we are able to move on and keep fighting... that's what makes living in this world worthwhile. The message is a great message for children to learn and I feel with this book, they could do that. I loved how she kept things consistent. This consistence helped the story flow more smoothly and effectively! Truly beautiful!The characters were amazing! Summer, main character, was great! At first, you see she is quite pessimistic. However, this is through no fault of her own. She's been through so much at her young age that it effected her in such a negative way that she doesn't expect any good to come her way. She even takes out a lot of her frustration with Cletus, a boy from school. But, by the end of the novel, you witness her grow into something more strong and capable that you have no fear about her not being able to cope anymore about what may befall her. Ob, her father-figure, was a sweet man who cared for his wife dearly and was suffering from her lost. He was caring and, in his own right, strong with what happend. You see him rise from defeat and become something much more as the novel progresses! Cletus was just a bundle of joy. He helped both Ob and Summer cope with the lost of May. His outlook on life and his quirkiness was definitely something to admire. I really wished I knew someone like him when I was in seventh grade! Things would have gome much more better for me! >_< May... ah... such a sweet lady. Though never really seeing her alive throughout the novel, you get to know her through other characters and let me tell you, she is one of the nicest ladies I have ever seen in literature! Much love to her!This book was just great for me. It had such wonderful characters, a great plot, and a meangingful message. I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I am that my friend told me about this book. It was right up there with all the good books I have been reading. This book is great for kids to read in order to get a better understanding of life. I highly recommend this book to all who love children's literature and who just want a beautifully told story with a very good message. This novel contains something for all ages to enjoy! The only reason why this doesn't get five stars is because I felt that it was a bit lacking in detail in some areas where it could have been expanded upon. But other than that, a great read! Go out there, find yourself a copy, and read it! You will not regret it!
A quiet, bittersweet book, "Missing May" is mostly about the grief experienced after May’s sudden death by her devoted, aging husband Ob and by Summer, their beloved adopted daughter. Summer is six years old when the childless couple rescues her from a joyless existence, and she is 12 when May dies. In remembering May, Summer narrates in sweet detail the beauty that she saw in May and Ob’s impoverished trailer, the obvious love that old May and Ob have for each other, and the care that they lavish on their growing daughter who made them a family and to whom they gave the gift of security.The book is realistic in Summer’s and Ob’s heart-brokenness and in their need for each to protect the other. Cynthia Rylant provides the assistance of a third person to help them—here in Summer’s unusual classmate, Cletus Underwood, whose eccentricities initially annoy Summer until she realizes that the friendship Cletus provides helps Ob to “turn this buggy around” and continue living a good life with Summer as well as missing his May. Even more—hints of a blossoming writer, the art in “whirlygigs,” the owl, the security that a home can provide, West Virginia, a small medium at large, the positives in eccentricities—definitely make "Missing May" Newbery-worthy to me.
What do You think about Missing May (2004)?
Read this, my friends. It's good medicine. Heartwarming, realistic, subtle, and funny in a subdued style. Winner of 1993 Newbery Medal. Set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, present day, this is one of the better depictions of grieving, despair, and eventual renewal. It's also a story about adoption, and loving relationships between young people and old folks.Summer's parents died when she was a baby, leaving her orphaned. After being passed from one reluctant relative to another, she finally finds a home at age six, moving in with her kindly but quite elderly relatives, Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Summer finds a serene happiness in their kitschy old trailer, surrounded by pinwheel wind spinners -- the colorful whirligigs they create and sell.Happy, that is, until Aunt May suddenly dies, six years later. Now, with his beloved wife gone, Ob must step up to the plate as primary caregiver, but he misses May so much, it's plain hard to get up in the morning. The days turn gray and bleak. In a sense, old Ob has become the orphan.Summer, now 12 years old, is there for him. She forms an initially reluctant friendship with Cletus, because this oddball classmate -- bizarre suitcase always in tow -- has a positive affect on Uncle Ob. Cletus understands the grieving old guy, perhaps because he had a near-death experience himself. Eventually, they all go for a drive, pulling up at a sign labeled "small medium at large" (chuckle). They are hoping to commune with May's spirit. In time, as grief waxes its way in an accepting environment, Ob decides to "turn that buggy around" -- a pivotal moment, reflecting his decision to shake it off and start living again. A sleeper type of story that seemed almost negligible when I read it, but -- surprisingly enough -- it has stayed with me for two decades. Must have burrowed into my heart.
—Kathleen
Summer and Uncle Obe recently lost their beloved May. Summer is coping, not only with her own grief, but also with the fact that Uncle Obe is dying inside. The unique character, Cletus Underwood, enters their lives and the three go on a quest for a spiritual connection to May.Of Missing May, Cynthia Rylant says, "I'm not sure where this story came from. But I was raised in rural West Virginia and I knew a lot of characters like Ob and Cletus and May. I just felt I was writing about my own people."Newbery Winner----1993
—Sharon
"Missing May" is a short book that can be read in one sitting. Even though it is short there is nothing lacking in the story. All the characters are developed wonderfully and they all end up feeling like old friends.It is a poignant novel about death and the depression that follows the loss of a loved one.Summer loses her mother and goes to live with various kin, but never feels unconditionally loved by any of them, she is even afraid to ask for more milk. Then Ob and May come visiting and they take her home with them that very day. Summer belongs heart and soul to them from that day on. Summer's joy is turned to sorrow when May passes on and Ob has a hard time dealing with the depression of losing his wife.Together along with a neighbor boy named Cletus, Summer and Ob are able to work through their grief and find hope during a trip to the Capitol.One bad thing about finishing this book so quickly is that you feel the loss of new found friends.
—Pauline
