Name: The Summer I Saved the World... in 65 Days
ISBN: 9780385371063

Michele Weber Hurwitz

Inspired by her late grandmother, thirteen-year-old Nina spends a summer secretly doing good deeds for her neighbors and enjoying the changes she brings about, even as she is dealing with changing friendships and family issues.

The Summer I Saved the World... in 65 Days

Heaven Adore

If I’m upfront and honest, I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel all that well. I definitely don’t think I would read it again...it just wasn’t my cup of tea. But let’s see what this book is about shall we?

Nina Ross is dealing with a lot of change this summer. Jorie has become more interested in “being trendy” and flirting with boys, her brother seems to have closed up, her parents are so busy with work and Eli is dealing with so much hurt. Nina is feeling so alone and doesn’t know how to spend her summer...until she embarks on her own challenge.

I loved the idea of Nina spending her whole summer doing random acts of kindness around her neighbor. From leaving treats, to planting flowers, to sewing, to pretty much anything that’s kind. What a lovely way to spend time! 

It’s quite humorous because at the beginning of the book, she said, “[I’m not] the kind of person who goes out of her way to help people.” That seemed to have changed when she decided to help an injured neighbor and felt good about it. She then discovered that being kind and helping others doesn’t have to be left to others, and instead, she can make an impact by doing it. A small thing can go a long way.

Let’s move onto the things I disliked.

I felt like Nina was slightly obsessing over Eli. She always saw him as a friend when they were little while Jorie had liked him since jump street. In the summer she saved the world, she developed a crush on him and her constant thoughts about him (after their first kiss *shutters*) was annoying. Oh, and Jorie’s reaction when she saw them kiss (their second one *shutters more*) was um, a little over the top. Avoiding Nina? Seriously?? Over a boy???

Anyway, another thing I didn’t like was how the Lord’s name was used in vain pretty constantly towards the end of the book. And even d***** was once said by one of the adults. I was flabbergasted, which resulted in my rating going down.

Oh, and there were barely any descriptions. That is the best part of books for me, and I was disappointed to not see that. I feel like descriptions are what makes the story itself come alive and allows the reader to feel like they're in that novel’s world. Having no descriptions usually makes the writing feel somewhat blunt.

This was a pretty short read (198 pages) and easily readable in a day. While it was pretty cute, I’m not sure if I would read it again. It just wasn't really, really good. I’d give this novel 3 ½ stars and would think it’s best to be read at age 12 and up.

The Summer I Saved the World... in 65 Days

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