Surface Tension: A Novel In Four Summers (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
To put this simply, this book is stupid. Why? Because it doesn't make much sense!Don't get me wrong. It starts being really sweet and having fun, and look is a cool and funny character, but when he's 14 it pretty goes all down hill and starts not making sense. The ending is more questions than answers and just un realistic. I feel bad for the kid, but he's really obnoxious and mean. The idea for this book is good, but gets pretty boring after age 13. In my opinion. When Luke is thirteen, he can’t wait until his family vacation at their lake cottage. There are so many things he wants to do – swimming, skipping stones, visiting the waterfall – and only a few weeks to do them. The next summer, he’s too cool to do anything and bored with everything. The summer after that, he’s angry. And after that, in love. Four short vignettes chronicle the attitude and emotions of the same boy at different times in his life. Runyon captures both the excitement of vacation and the boredom of a summer on the lake perfectly. I found myself picturing my grandparent’s lakefront summer cabin, and their neighbors homes, even with the description of Luke’s cottage, the Richardson’s beautiful yard and house on one side, and the Minister’s creepy house on the other.I enjoyed this for the setting and the brief character study, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been tied together just a little more, especially after some of the (possibly overdramatic) events that happen towards the end of the book.
What do You think about Surface Tension: A Novel In Four Summers (2009)?
Ends with gratuitous F-bombs, but in light of the "coming of age" conclusion, it's tolerable.
—Angela
Luke and his family visit their lakeside cabin during the summers he's aged 13-16.
—hind232
