Full disclosure–my local Burlington Public Library stocks one copy of my 2024 novel Blue to the Sky and when I vanity search to see if someone’s taken it out, there are suggestions of what to read “while you are waiting.” I love reading middle-grade novels, so I try to read all the books they are recommending (instead of buying another copy of my book. LOL.) I love The Summer of June and for once I can see some comparison here. June struggles to overcome anxiety and her single mom worries nonstop about helping her. June finds friendship and discovers a passion for nurturing a garden and this gives her a couple of coping tools. My character Ella writes out her feelings in poetry and step by step engages with her fear of presenting and reciting all the while training to climb the CN Tower stairs. He mother over-protects her because of her multiple allergies. If the two stories don’t seem too similar, trust me there’s an eerie similar feel. Also trust me that none of the other books my library wants readers to read while they’re waiting, are any where as close. Water melon pie–mentioned as Mom’s go to hit at bake sales and dinners in The Summer of June–I had to make some but as I tried a vegan recipe, it was a bust. I wish Jamie Sumner would have included Mom’s recipe.