Have you ever felt overshadowed by a prettier, more popular relative? Maybe a sibling, or a cousin? Someone who you think is just the worst person in the world, but everyone seems to love and make excuses for? And no matter how much you protest, that person is always held in highest regard, and YOU'RE the hysterical and mean one?Have you considered that perhaps your relative is a practicing witch? Because Lois Duncan sure has!Rachel lives a fairly good life in Albuquerque. She's close to her parents, has a couple of pretty nice brothers named Peter and Bobby, a friendly dog, a fun best friend named Carolyn and a wonderful boyfriend named Mike. Summer has just started, and she's expecting it to be a good one. Unfortunately, her family gets the news that her aunt and uncle on her mother's side were killed in a terrible car crash in the Ozarks, leaving behind her cousin Julia. Julia, with no where else to go, is taken in by Rachel's family. They've never actually met Julia before, as the aunt and uncle lived a very solitary life due to the uncle's pretentious 'I'm a writer I need peace and quiet!' lifestyle. So meeting Julia is kind of scary for Rachel. While her family takes to her right away, Rachel thinks that something is very wrong with her cousin. The dog, Trickle, immediately dislikes her. And everyone starts to favor Julia. Mother starts to treat her like her only daughter. Peter seems to fall in love with her (this seemed a bit George Michael Bluth to me!). Dad is also quite taken. And soon, Julia has stolen both Carolyn and Mike from Rachel, becoming a new girlfriend, a new best friend. Rachel knows that something is very wrong, and when she finds a burning wax figure in teh room they share together, things go from bad, to much much worse.Now, I get that there were extenuating circumstances here, in that Julia was a witch who was literally bewitching everyone. But my GOD, Rachel's parents are the worst parents ever. The frustration I felt for them was limitless, as even when Julia wasn't around (and it was implied that the power over them wasn't as great) they just had no interest in listening to THEIR OWN DAUGHTER at all. Granted, Rachel wasn't exactly the best player of the game of thrones (girl, don't act hysterical and accuse the girl of witchcraft willy nilly!), but she's their DAUGHTER for God's sake. Like, I would hope that if I said 'hey mom and dad, my cousin definitely stole my boyfriend', they would say 'well that's really awful of her, maybe we should all talk about this' instead of 'well boys fall in and out of love so fast and it's not Julia's fault that she's so pretty'. Cripes. But it was definitely the biggest frustration that Rachel went about this all wrong. You don't want to sound like the hysterical one, Rachel. Like, ever.The book was a bit dated. It wasn't explicitly dated until the Mom said she had gone on a double date with Elizabeth Montgomery of BEWITCHED fame, and suddenly everyone was wearing Paisley and bell bottoms in my mind. It did build up a nice amount of suspense though, as I was tearing through the last ten pages to see what happened. I had a feeling that it would all work out relatively okay (Duncan's endings tend to do that for the most part), but I was still racing on through. Just in case it took a KILLING MR. GRIFFIN turn. Witchcraft and bitchcraft abound, SUMMER OF FEAR was a quick read and would definitely have been right up my teenage alley, what with my love for the FEAR STREET novels and all that. Also, fun fact, Linda Blair starred as Rachel in a made for TV adaptation back in the 70s. If that doesn't date this, I don't know what does.
Summer of Fear is one of several stories written by noted author Lois Duncan (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Hotel for Dogs) famous for her young adult novels. It is told in the first-person from the perspective of Rachael, a teenage girl living an idyllic life in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the late 1970's. Rachael enjoys a loving, close-knit family (including two brothers), a best friend, and a dog named Trickle. Despite her hangups about her curly red hair, Rachael also has a cute boyfriend named Mike, who is literally the-boy-next-door. Things begin to change for Rachael when her older cousin Julie comes to live with her family after Julie's parents are killed in a car accident in the Ozarks where they had been living. Whereas before Rachael enjoyed being the only young female in the household, she now has to learn to share everything with her cousin, including her clothes, her bedroom, and her friends. At first, Rachael and Julie get along well but Rachael slowly begins to notice strange things about her cousin. First, her southern accent inexplicably comes and goes and then Trickle, who had always been a gentle dog, takes a strong dislike to Julie to the point of biting her which results in his banishment from the house.As Julie becomes more outgoing, Rachael draws into herself straining her relationships with her family, her best friend, and even her boyfriend Mike, who takes more than a liking to Julie. When it seems that Julie is going to take everything away from her, Rachael investigates her cousin further and finds some surprising inconsistencies as well as evidence that Julie may be practicing black-magic on her, her family, and her loved ones. As the mystery unfolds, Rachel discovers Julie's horrific plan for her and her family. There really isn't a lot to not like about this book. The characters were all believable and I really felt that the author captured the feel of the late 1970's (which was actually the present when Summer of Fear was written.) The plot was mysterious enough to hold one's interest, although the observant reader will figure out the twist way ahead of Rachael. I liked that the mythology of the story drew upon real-life beliefs and practices found along the Appalachian Trial and that Rachael alluded to the works of Vance Randolph in her research, although it is not explicitly stated. At just over 200 pages, Summer of Fear is a quick read perfect for whiling away a lazy summer day.Like some of Duncan's other novels before, Summer of Fear was renamed Stranger In Our House and made into a film in 1978 directed by Wes Craven and starring Linda Blair as Rachael and, a then unknown, Fran Drescher as Rachael's best friend. Stranger in Our House first aired on Halloween night in 1978 and later aired regularly on TBS along with other 70's occult movies such as The Spell (1977). In 2003, it was made available on both VHS and DVD.
What do You think about Summer Of Fear (1977)?
4 stars for content but gave only 3 because of edits. I absolutely loved Lois Duncan's books as a young adult reader. They were creepy, twisty stories but not so scary, I had to sleep with the light on. This story is still a fun read as an adult. Reading it as an adult made me think of the draw of this story...a teenager who knows something is horribly wrong but none of the adults will listen to her and then they find out she is right. Who of us didn't have some kind of fantasy like that in the midst of our misunderstood youth?However, I wish I'd realized I got an updated version. The updates were so poor I would have enjoyed the outdated 1970s version much more. In the updated version, they threw in cellphones here and there but still had the main character call her best friend from the house phone and return the phone to its cradle. The mother is a photographer who works for magazines and shuns digital photography and still uses film and her dark room and mails in her photos. I don't think most major magazines operate like that anymore. There is a major story line were the main character and her best friend go to the fabric store and pick out patterns and fabric to make their dresses for an upcoming dance. I'm pretty sure no one does that anymore. So the revisions are distracting and leave the reader not sure what the book's time period is.
—girl writing
The book that i read was Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan, this book is about when this girl named Rachel finds out that her Aunt and Uncle dies in a car accident her and her family realizes that they have to take Julia under their wing and take care of her now , but when Julia enters their home, Rachel senses evil and odd things start happening,but no one notices it but Rachel. The longer Julia was there the worse things start to get, Rachel's family ,boyfriend, and her best friend turned against her when Rachel started claiming that Julia is a witch but of course no one believes her, now it's up to Rachel to make everyone see what she sees.The characters in this book are: Julia Grant(evil cousin), Carolyn Baker(Rachel's best friend), Mike Gallagher(Rachel's boyfriend), Bobby Bryant(Rachel's younger brother), Pete Bryant(Rachel's older brother), and Rachel Bryant(main character) If you are somebody that likes thrills, chills, and mysteries I would definitely recommend this book to you because it's great book, the details in this book is amazing I would definitely suggest that you read this book.
—Samai Brown
Fifteen-year-old Rachel’s life gets turned upside down when her orphaned 17-year-old cousin, Julia, from the Ozarks moves in with them when her parents are killed in a car accident. Not only does Rachel have to share her bedroom with her unfamiliar cousin, but Julia quickly wins over Rachel’s brothers and parents who are entranced by her charming ways. Only Rachel seems to notice the new unusual happenings, like how the friendly family dog immediately dislikes and bites Julia or how Julia’s tone and manner of speaking changes from sophisticated teen to mountain folk. Julia’s bewitching ways, which cause Rachel to become an outcast in her family, only make Rachel more distrustful as she begins to uncover clues that Julia may not be who everyone thinks she is. In fact, Rachel starts to think she’s a witch. Unfortunately, no one believes Rachel’s fears and suspicions so they are not taken seriously and tragic events occur. As an adult reading this “modernized” version of what Duncan originally wrote over 30 years ago, there were no surprises to the mystery or outcome of the story. However, teens will enjoy her fast-paced writing and increasing tensions that surround the life of an average teenage girl.
—Sherri
