Lisa Colleen Graff

After her brother Jared dies, ten-year-old Annie worries about the hidden dangers of everything, from bug bites to bicycle riding, until she is befriended by a new neighbor who is grieving her own loss.

Umbrella Summer

Lisa Graff

Hannah Yang

I honestly wish I could say I loved this book like most of my friends, but I have to give it likeee... a 3.4223 at most. Yes, this book was amazing. No, I didn't love it.

Let's start with the positive. This book is wonderful: it's sad, heartwarming, has a moral, and I would definitely read it again. It's filled with this beautiful wisdom that doesn't sound like wisdom until you finish the book (that might not make sense now, but it will once you read it).
It's definitely heartwarming. Are your eyes sweaty? Mine sure are. When Annie said "Try harder," to her parents (context: she is talking about how 'they still have to be her parents' even after the death of her brother Jared) I was teary-eyed for sure.

Buuuuuttt. I love Annie, really I do. Her voicing is perfect: she sounds like a 10 year old even when she's saying things that 99 year olds should be saying. It's just that her way of grieving is a bit too unrealistic for me. I understand that people have different ways of grieving, and it's hard for Annie to accept Jared's passing (because everyone thought he would be okay, but he died anyways). However, there wasn't one point when she just broke down and cried, or said she really really missed him, or some sort of 10 year old thing. I felt like there was just a lack of emotion on her part.

But I'm pretty sure Doug Zimmerman's amazingness solves all my problems because he obviously likes Annie and it totally makes sense - the romance isn't shoved into the book. It doesn't feel overdone. Plus, he builds an obstacle course that requires pillows. And he tells Annie, "You used to be fun." Can I get a collective Awwww?

Overall, yes: Umbrella Summer is a good book, and I would recommend it. It is a light read but a meaningful one, and Annie teaches us a valuable lesson. Mockingbird is similar but deals with finding closure instead of finding happiness. A very sweet read!

Sometimes you just have to close your umbrella of sadness and step back into the sunshine.

Heaven Adore

Annie is struggling quite heavily with the lose of her older brother, Jared. How’s she dealing with it? By being extremely careful. From covering herself in bandages to not biking at fast speeds to reading a book about diseases (what!?), she is just struggling. But it’s not until an elderly woman moves into “the haunted house on the block” she finally learns to let go.

I was pretty surprised to discover that the MC was 10 years old. I had no idea until it was mentioned about halfway through the novel. But how the author wrote the novel was in a non-childish way.
If I’m honest, there actually wasn’t anything I disliked, so we can talk all about the good.


I felt sad with Annie! Like I could’ve cried several times while reading because it was saddening to see how she dealt with the loss.

I kept thinking to myself though, “If she put her hope in the Lord, it would make things easier. Not perfect, but she’d have Someone to lean on and gain strength to move on.”

Nevertheless, you could really sympathize with her. The reader knew what was running through her mind and how she felt about certain things. That definitely helps the reader to connect with the MC, which I think is crucial.

All the characters had their own weird quirks that made them unique. Annie’s best friend would suck on her hair if she was thinking, or the Girl’s Scout Troop leader would always give bear hugs like she hadn’t seen you in a long time.

How the characters acted made it feel like a small town. Everyone knew everything, which created some humor.


The themes were SO vividly woven. And a lot of them are applicable to the Christian walk.
Annie as coping by being fearful, which is an awful way to live. You feel like there is no hope and something could happen to you any day now. Surely, anything can happen to us at any given time, but we shouldn’t be consumed with those thoughts.

The days are evil, so we must make the best use of the time. Instead of being obsessed with ways you could die, run to Hope. Christ is here to walk through life with you and get you through the difficult times. It will still be rough, but you can feel peace and joy by doing so.

This was a sweet and emotional short read. But would I recommend it? For sure! Though as a forewarning, you’ll definitely have all the feels, but it’s a great reminder to let go of the past and move forward. You don’t have to forget what happened, but you don’t need to dwell on it either. I give this book 4.5 stars.

Umbrella Summer

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