The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Hapgood - OPTIONAL

Hapgood, Harriet Reuter The Square Root of Summer. 291 pages. Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan), 2016.

Language: R (36 swears, 15 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG-13 (Brief Sexual Content, Death of a family member) Violence: G

Gottie has just gone through the most beautiful, heartbreaking summer of her life. She loses her grandfather and her first love all in the space of a couple of weeks, and as the school starts again all she wants to do is be alone, work on mathematical equations, and grieve for what she had. But then her best friend from when she was little girl comes to live with her family, and suddenly Gottie is travelling through time.  

The Square Root of Summer had some interesting thing to say about grief and how it effects the time line of your life. Gottie was an intriguing main character who carried the story well and remained sympathetic even when she was a bit selfish and narrow-minded. The time travel aspect was a fun and original addition to what would otherwise be a pretty standard plotline. I loved having a girl character interested in mathematics, which is something you sadly don’t see often in novels, and I also loved the emphasis on the importance of family as well as romance. It is meant for a more mature audience though, as Gottie reminisces on her first love quite frequently during the book, and subsequently also their sexual relationship as well. 

HS- OPTIONAL. Jewels