The Summer I Remembered Everything by Catherine Con Morse
ISBN: 0593711424
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Young Adult
Goodreads

After being grounded for the summer for a bad grade, Emily Chen-Sanchez is not sure how she is going to survive, considering her best friend Heather is overseas, and she hasn’t spoken to her other best friend Matt in two weeks. Add in her mother’s thyroid cancer diagnosis and the fact that she can never live up to the standard set by her older sister, Emily is desperate to get out of the house. So when she sees a job posting to be a companion to an elderly woman, Emily jumps at the chance. The only problem is that Mrs. Granucci is showing signs of Alzheimers. When she accuses Emily of stealing a piece of jewelry, everything changes. 

Emily’s struggle to feel at home with her overbearing family and a sister who can do no wrong will be relatable to many teens. Undoubtedly, seeing an older person succumb to the tragedy of Alzheimer’s will be a scenario readers may be familiar with. Emily’s decision to reach out to Mrs. Granucci’s family about her illness, even though she promised not to, reminds teens that sometimes doing the hard thing is the right thing in the end. A gentle coming-of-age story with Asian-Latine representation. 

Grades 7 & up

Kerrie Lattari, York Middle School. York