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Missing May
Since summer was six years old she lived with dear Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Now, six years later, Aunt May has died. Summer, who misses May with all her might, is afraid something will happen to Ob. Most days Ob seems like he doesn't want to go on.
But then Ob feels May's spirit around him and he wants to contact her. Cletus Underwood, a strange boy from school, reads about someone who could help him do that. Summer wants to hear from May too.
Ob and Summer don't know what to expect when they set off on their search for some sign from May. They only know they need something to ease their sorrow and give them strength to go on living--always knowing they will never stop missing may.
But then Ob feels May's spirit around him and he wants to contact her. Cletus Underwood, a strange boy from school, reads about someone who could help him do that. Summer wants to hear from May too.
Ob and Summer don't know what to expect when they set off on their search for some sign from May. They only know they need something to ease their sorrow and give them strength to go on living--always knowing they will never stop missing may.
96 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
137 people are currently reading
7630 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia Rylant
514 books862 followersAn author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she is the creator of contemporary novels and historical fiction for young adults, middle-grade fiction and fantasy, lyrical prose poems, beginning readers, collections of short stories, volumes of poetry and verse, books of prayers and blessings, two autobiographies, and a biography of three well-known children's writers; several volumes of the author's fiction and picture books are published in series, including the popular "Henry and Mudge" easy readers about a small boy and his very large dog.
Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.
from bookrags.com
Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.
from bookrags.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 869 reviews
January 23, 2023
Read this, my friends. It's good medicine. Heartwarming, realistic, subtle, and funny in a subdued style. Winner of 1993 Newbery Medal. Set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, circa 1992, this is one of the better depictions of grieving, despair, and eventual renewal. It's also a story about adoption, and loving relationships between young people and old folks.
Summer's parents died when she was a baby, leaving her orphaned. After being passed from one reluctant relative to another, she finally finds a home at age six, moving in with her kindly but quite elderly relatives, Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Summer finds a serene happiness in their kitschy old trailer, surrounded by pinwheel wind spinners -- the colorful whirligigs they create and sell.
Happy, that is, until Aunt May suddenly dies, six years later. Now, with his beloved wife gone, Ob must step up to the plate as primary caregiver, but he misses May so much, it's plain hard to get up in the morning. The days turn gray and bleak. In a sense, old Ob has become the orphan.
Summer, now 12 years old, is there for him. She forms an initially reluctant friendship with Cletus, because this oddball classmate -- bizarre suitcase always in tow -- has a positive affect on Uncle Ob. Cletus understands the grieving old guy, perhaps because he had a near-death experience himself.
Eventually, they all go for a drive to the city. Spotting a shingle for "small medium at large" they pull over and knock, hoping to commune with May's spirit.
In time, as grief works its way in an accepting environment, Ob decides to "turn that buggy around" -- a pivotal moment, reflecting his decision to shake it off and start living again.
A sleeper type of story that seemed almost negligible when I read it, but -- surprisingly enough -- it has stayed with me for two decades. Must have burrowed into my heart.
Summer's parents died when she was a baby, leaving her orphaned. After being passed from one reluctant relative to another, she finally finds a home at age six, moving in with her kindly but quite elderly relatives, Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Summer finds a serene happiness in their kitschy old trailer, surrounded by pinwheel wind spinners -- the colorful whirligigs they create and sell.
Happy, that is, until Aunt May suddenly dies, six years later. Now, with his beloved wife gone, Ob must step up to the plate as primary caregiver, but he misses May so much, it's plain hard to get up in the morning. The days turn gray and bleak. In a sense, old Ob has become the orphan.
Summer, now 12 years old, is there for him. She forms an initially reluctant friendship with Cletus, because this oddball classmate -- bizarre suitcase always in tow -- has a positive affect on Uncle Ob. Cletus understands the grieving old guy, perhaps because he had a near-death experience himself.
Eventually, they all go for a drive to the city. Spotting a shingle for "small medium at large" they pull over and knock, hoping to commune with May's spirit.
In time, as grief works its way in an accepting environment, Ob decides to "turn that buggy around" -- a pivotal moment, reflecting his decision to shake it off and start living again.
A sleeper type of story that seemed almost negligible when I read it, but -- surprisingly enough -- it has stayed with me for two decades. Must have burrowed into my heart.
April 21, 2012
It seems to Summer that everybody in her life leaves too soon. Her mother died when she was young, and after that she was passed around to live with relatives, to be “treated like a homework assignment somebody was always having to do,” and never staying with any relative for very long. And then Ob and May came along when Summer was six. Her aunt and uncle were elderly by the time Summer went to live with them in their Deep Water trailer, but she didn’t mind. For the first time since her mother’s death, Summer felt loved and safe. She had found a home with Ob and May, and not a moment too soon; their trailer was filled to the brim with love – May cooked big breakfasts and used to tell Summer she was the best little girl she ever did know. Ob makes whirligigs – but not the typical cartoon ones most people stick in their gardens to frighten away birds. Ob’s whirligigs are works of art – he makes fire whirligigs and storm whirligigs, and spirit ones too.
But if there’s one thing Summer knows, it’s that everything good will eventually come to an end.
May has just died – keeled over while tending to her beloved garden. Now there’s just Ob and Summer left behind, and Summer can already feel her uncle pulling away . . . he doesn’t wait with her for the bus anymore, doesn’t cook big breakfasts like May used to and he has gotten to sitting around in his pajamas all day long.
In the midst of their grief, Summer’s classmate (and resident oddball) Cletus takes to popping round for a visit. Cletus used to collect chip wrappers, now he is obsessed with photos. He and Ob get along like a house on fire; Summer just wishes she wasn’t so jealous about seeing Ob light up when Cletus comes round with his suitcase of pictures, like he’s helping to ease Ob’s grief when Summer can’t seem to do anything.
And then Ob gets a visit from May’s spirit, and Summer knows what she must do to keep Ob here with the living, where she needs him.
‘Missing May’ was the 1992 highly-acclaimed middle-grade novel from Cynthia Rylant. The book won the coveted Newbery Medal and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
I've become a little bit obsessed with reading Newberry and Printz books. These are two of the biggest children’s book awards in the US, and lately I have been gorging on winning and honour books recognized by these prestigious organizations. It started with ‘Vera Dietz’, progressed with ‘Frankie Landau-Banks’ and hit a high-point with ‘The First Part Last’. I especially love perusing past and recent nominee lists because I find they are full of books I would have otherwise never heard of. Take Cynthia Rylant’s incredible ‘Missing May’, for example. An old book, first published in 1992, and very short (89 pages). But ‘Missing May’ caught my eye when I perused an old list of Newberry winners, and I am so glad I went hunting for a copy to purchase online. . . because in just 89-pages, Rylant has written a heartbreakingly beautiful book that is exquisite for its honesty and simplicity.
‘Missing May’ is a book about grief. We meet Summer shortly after her aunt May has died, leaving behind Summer and her old uncle Ob in their trailer on a hill which now feels filled to the brim with grief. As Ob sinks further and further into his grief and loneliness, Summer becomes concerned that she won’t be enough to keep Ob on this earth. Summer becomes particularly worried when Ob claims to have received a visit from May’s spirit, and becomes hell-bent on tracking down her wayward soul. Helping in the spiritual mission is Summer’s classmate Cletus; a strange young boy who touts around a suitcase full of photos, and does not find Ob’s obsession with May’s spirit the least bit strange;
Cletus never once asked why I wasn’t at school that day. Never once commented on Ob being in his pajamas.
He sure had some gifts.
May would have liked him. She would have said he was “full of wonders”, same as Ob. May always liked the weird ones best, the ones you couldn’t peg right off. She must be loving it up in heaven, where I figure everybody must just let loose. That’s got to be at least one of the benefits of heaven – never having to act normal again.
But while Summer tries to help Ob find May’s spirit, and gets to know Cletus better, she seems to be forgetting about her own grief. . .
Rylant’s novel is beautiful. I read this on the train, and I got a few odd looks from people when they saw how thin the book was (with clearly a children’s front cover). I bet those same commuters found it especially odd when tears welled up in my eyes and I quietly sniffled through the last pages. That’s the thing about ‘Missing May’ – it may be only 89-pages, but Rylant has filled her book with such achingly precise observations of grief and missing, that 89 pages is all she needed to move me. I felt the same way about Angela Johnson’s (Printz-winning) novel ‘The First Part Last’ – “it takes a true maestro to move a reader to tears with a word-count that some authors spend on first chapters alone.”
Summer’s story is told with the utmost patience and care by Rylant, who has written a wise young narrator in Summer. She is a young girl who has had more than her fair share of heartache – from losing her mother to feeling rejected by nearly all her relatives . . . all, except Ob and May. Summer’s aunt and uncle were the best kind of people – they didn’t have much, but what they did have they gave to Summer – all their love, care and attention was heaped on her, until it almost felt like all the pain she had previously gone through was worth it, to end up in that trailer on the hill with May’s big hugs and Ob’s whirligigs.
Everybody should read Cynthia Rylant’s ‘Missing May’ – it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, this is a book which beautifully and painfully communicates the ache of missing and the hopelessness of grief. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
But if there’s one thing Summer knows, it’s that everything good will eventually come to an end.
May has just died – keeled over while tending to her beloved garden. Now there’s just Ob and Summer left behind, and Summer can already feel her uncle pulling away . . . he doesn’t wait with her for the bus anymore, doesn’t cook big breakfasts like May used to and he has gotten to sitting around in his pajamas all day long.
In the midst of their grief, Summer’s classmate (and resident oddball) Cletus takes to popping round for a visit. Cletus used to collect chip wrappers, now he is obsessed with photos. He and Ob get along like a house on fire; Summer just wishes she wasn’t so jealous about seeing Ob light up when Cletus comes round with his suitcase of pictures, like he’s helping to ease Ob’s grief when Summer can’t seem to do anything.
And then Ob gets a visit from May’s spirit, and Summer knows what she must do to keep Ob here with the living, where she needs him.
‘Missing May’ was the 1992 highly-acclaimed middle-grade novel from Cynthia Rylant. The book won the coveted Newbery Medal and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
I've become a little bit obsessed with reading Newberry and Printz books. These are two of the biggest children’s book awards in the US, and lately I have been gorging on winning and honour books recognized by these prestigious organizations. It started with ‘Vera Dietz’, progressed with ‘Frankie Landau-Banks’ and hit a high-point with ‘The First Part Last’. I especially love perusing past and recent nominee lists because I find they are full of books I would have otherwise never heard of. Take Cynthia Rylant’s incredible ‘Missing May’, for example. An old book, first published in 1992, and very short (89 pages). But ‘Missing May’ caught my eye when I perused an old list of Newberry winners, and I am so glad I went hunting for a copy to purchase online. . . because in just 89-pages, Rylant has written a heartbreakingly beautiful book that is exquisite for its honesty and simplicity.
‘Missing May’ is a book about grief. We meet Summer shortly after her aunt May has died, leaving behind Summer and her old uncle Ob in their trailer on a hill which now feels filled to the brim with grief. As Ob sinks further and further into his grief and loneliness, Summer becomes concerned that she won’t be enough to keep Ob on this earth. Summer becomes particularly worried when Ob claims to have received a visit from May’s spirit, and becomes hell-bent on tracking down her wayward soul. Helping in the spiritual mission is Summer’s classmate Cletus; a strange young boy who touts around a suitcase full of photos, and does not find Ob’s obsession with May’s spirit the least bit strange;
Cletus never once asked why I wasn’t at school that day. Never once commented on Ob being in his pajamas.
He sure had some gifts.
May would have liked him. She would have said he was “full of wonders”, same as Ob. May always liked the weird ones best, the ones you couldn’t peg right off. She must be loving it up in heaven, where I figure everybody must just let loose. That’s got to be at least one of the benefits of heaven – never having to act normal again.
But while Summer tries to help Ob find May’s spirit, and gets to know Cletus better, she seems to be forgetting about her own grief. . .
Rylant’s novel is beautiful. I read this on the train, and I got a few odd looks from people when they saw how thin the book was (with clearly a children’s front cover). I bet those same commuters found it especially odd when tears welled up in my eyes and I quietly sniffled through the last pages. That’s the thing about ‘Missing May’ – it may be only 89-pages, but Rylant has filled her book with such achingly precise observations of grief and missing, that 89 pages is all she needed to move me. I felt the same way about Angela Johnson’s (Printz-winning) novel ‘The First Part Last’ – “it takes a true maestro to move a reader to tears with a word-count that some authors spend on first chapters alone.”
Summer’s story is told with the utmost patience and care by Rylant, who has written a wise young narrator in Summer. She is a young girl who has had more than her fair share of heartache – from losing her mother to feeling rejected by nearly all her relatives . . . all, except Ob and May. Summer’s aunt and uncle were the best kind of people – they didn’t have much, but what they did have they gave to Summer – all their love, care and attention was heaped on her, until it almost felt like all the pain she had previously gone through was worth it, to end up in that trailer on the hill with May’s big hugs and Ob’s whirligigs.
Everybody should read Cynthia Rylant’s ‘Missing May’ – it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, this is a book which beautifully and painfully communicates the ache of missing and the hopelessness of grief. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
March 20, 2020
I can understand wanting to write a children’s book about coping with death and the questions it raises. I just don’t get why you would mix so many religions together in your attempt to provide an explanation. Unless, … your intent was to keep the reader confused. Maybe that’s what the author was going for.
In any case, be prepared to follow a girl’s journey of loss with numerous explanations of heaven, angels, spirits, spiritualists and the like. Oh, and there’s a plan to meet with the Reverend Miriam who is a medium that can help the grieving family members get in touch with their loved one. But no worries; when they show up to her house, they find out she’s been dead for a year herself, gone to the Spirit World, so there’s no seance scene in the book (such a relief, haha).
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities - 4 Incidents: hotd*mn, h*ck, h*ll, c*cky
Name Calling - 3 Incidents: flat-out lunatic, fool
Scatological Terms - 1 Incident: holy cr*p
Religious Profanity - 4 Incidents: holy bejeezus, ungodly, God's truth, holy cr*p
Religious & Supernatural - 6 Incidents: “She had a helpless kind of fear about water, about rain, and she’d say God was testing her sense of humor, setting her up in a place called Deep Water.”
“She’d tell us we don’t have to give up if this life doesn’t give us everything we want. There’s always another one.” “But maybe God intended for me to sleep in that morning, needed me to stay home, as He counted on all of the day’s events spreading out just like He’d planned them.” “She must be living it up in heaven, where I figure everybody must just let loose. That’s got to be at least one of the benefits of heaven - never having to act normal again.” Talks about how people are angels before they are born. Leads into thoughts and questions of living when there’s so much pain.
“But I didn’t say any prayers for me. I was too afraid to hope for things.”
Violence - None
Romance Related - None
Attitudes/Disobedience - 6 Incidents: A girl is told that she’s always fighting off her visions. This makes her depressed, feel lost and wanting to give up. “My heart was breaking in half, and at the same time I was so mad at him I wanted to kill him.” A girl realizes that a boy didn’t invite her over to his house because he didn’t want his parents seeing her disgust of him. Lying: a man lies about the real intent of wanting to take a trip, saying it is for his girl (when it’s for himself). The girl thinks the lying is “slick.” A boy’s stories are usually “exaggeration and gossip.” People laughed together about a man’s lie and his fear of telling the truth.
Conversation Topics - 13 Incidents: A man makes a whirligig for his wife. The parts are all white to represent her Spirit and it’s grounded to an oak tree to represent her Power. A woman dies in her garden and the girl thinks it’s only right that “May should have flown up out of her body right there… before she waved good-bye to us and went on to be that bright white Spirit.” A man thinks his wife’s spirit comes back to be with him. A girl explains how she believes in ghosts and how May (the dead lady used to believe in them too; particularly the spirits of her parents that would give her strong feelings to do or not do something. (This happens a few times in the book or is referenced).
A boy explains that he believes in the afterlife because he died once and went there. A man thinks that this boy might be able to speak to his dead wife, May. The boy replies, “Well, I’m no psychic or nothing… I feel a connection to the spirit world because I’ve been there… but I never get any supernatural messages or anything. I don’t know any ghosts - personally, I mean.” People think a guy is either drunk or has a speech problem. A boy recommends that they go to a spiritualist to get help connecting to May (who is dead). They decide to go. A man makes a joke about “Rent-a-Seance Man!” “Waking himself up with a few choice swear words. Ob always said cussing was like taking a strong drink of whiskey. It thawed him out and got his engine running again.” A girl thinks a man might pull down his pants to show a battle wound (he does not). Mentions Jim Beam whiskey. The spiritualists they are seeking is a female reverend. They find out she is dead but talk to her relative and get information. It mentions telepathy, the Spirit World, a medium, spiritual powers, and psychics. “She’s still here, honey. People don’t ever leave us for good.” A boy reads an excerpt of a spiritualist brochure: “‘What is the true mission of spirit messages? To bring us consolation in the sorrows of life..’”
Parent Takeaway
The entire premise of this book is coping with death and discusses heaven, God, signs, connecting/communicating with the dead and spirits (all from a non-biblical perspective).
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!
In any case, be prepared to follow a girl’s journey of loss with numerous explanations of heaven, angels, spirits, spiritualists and the like. Oh, and there’s a plan to meet with the Reverend Miriam who is a medium that can help the grieving family members get in touch with their loved one. But no worries; when they show up to her house, they find out she’s been dead for a year herself, gone to the Spirit World, so there’s no seance scene in the book (such a relief, haha).
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities - 4 Incidents: hotd*mn, h*ck, h*ll, c*cky
Name Calling - 3 Incidents: flat-out lunatic, fool
Scatological Terms - 1 Incident: holy cr*p
Religious Profanity - 4 Incidents: holy bejeezus, ungodly, God's truth, holy cr*p
Religious & Supernatural - 6 Incidents: “She had a helpless kind of fear about water, about rain, and she’d say God was testing her sense of humor, setting her up in a place called Deep Water.”
“She’d tell us we don’t have to give up if this life doesn’t give us everything we want. There’s always another one.” “But maybe God intended for me to sleep in that morning, needed me to stay home, as He counted on all of the day’s events spreading out just like He’d planned them.” “She must be living it up in heaven, where I figure everybody must just let loose. That’s got to be at least one of the benefits of heaven - never having to act normal again.” Talks about how people are angels before they are born. Leads into thoughts and questions of living when there’s so much pain.
“But I didn’t say any prayers for me. I was too afraid to hope for things.”
Violence - None
Romance Related - None
Attitudes/Disobedience - 6 Incidents: A girl is told that she’s always fighting off her visions. This makes her depressed, feel lost and wanting to give up. “My heart was breaking in half, and at the same time I was so mad at him I wanted to kill him.” A girl realizes that a boy didn’t invite her over to his house because he didn’t want his parents seeing her disgust of him. Lying: a man lies about the real intent of wanting to take a trip, saying it is for his girl (when it’s for himself). The girl thinks the lying is “slick.” A boy’s stories are usually “exaggeration and gossip.” People laughed together about a man’s lie and his fear of telling the truth.
Conversation Topics - 13 Incidents: A man makes a whirligig for his wife. The parts are all white to represent her Spirit and it’s grounded to an oak tree to represent her Power. A woman dies in her garden and the girl thinks it’s only right that “May should have flown up out of her body right there… before she waved good-bye to us and went on to be that bright white Spirit.” A man thinks his wife’s spirit comes back to be with him. A girl explains how she believes in ghosts and how May (the dead lady used to believe in them too; particularly the spirits of her parents that would give her strong feelings to do or not do something. (This happens a few times in the book or is referenced).
A boy explains that he believes in the afterlife because he died once and went there. A man thinks that this boy might be able to speak to his dead wife, May. The boy replies, “Well, I’m no psychic or nothing… I feel a connection to the spirit world because I’ve been there… but I never get any supernatural messages or anything. I don’t know any ghosts - personally, I mean.” People think a guy is either drunk or has a speech problem. A boy recommends that they go to a spiritualist to get help connecting to May (who is dead). They decide to go. A man makes a joke about “Rent-a-Seance Man!” “Waking himself up with a few choice swear words. Ob always said cussing was like taking a strong drink of whiskey. It thawed him out and got his engine running again.” A girl thinks a man might pull down his pants to show a battle wound (he does not). Mentions Jim Beam whiskey. The spiritualists they are seeking is a female reverend. They find out she is dead but talk to her relative and get information. It mentions telepathy, the Spirit World, a medium, spiritual powers, and psychics. “She’s still here, honey. People don’t ever leave us for good.” A boy reads an excerpt of a spiritualist brochure: “‘What is the true mission of spirit messages? To bring us consolation in the sorrows of life..’”
Parent Takeaway
The entire premise of this book is coping with death and discusses heaven, God, signs, connecting/communicating with the dead and spirits (all from a non-biblical perspective).
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!
February 12, 2019
This book is very emotional, has so much power and discusses death and the emotional toll in which death can bring, how a simple couple from West Virginia delivered a small girl, who is a relative back from Ohio and made her at home, But May passes one and leaves Summer and Ob alone to find peace and notions on what they're going to do without her, how she was trying to find the love of her lovable May and find a way to help her grieving Ob find a way to come with May's death. A very moving and emotional book that softly breaks you into tears, but also enables you to understand the things that need to be said and done to make a little bit of feeling come back. I cried reading the last five pages, but it was an excellent read.
February 5, 2025
A sweet story. I identified with a lot of things in it because it’s set in Appalachia. I highly recommend it if you enjoy a kids book every now and then.
February 7, 2019
I thought this was good but not great. Rylant skillfully describes grief and it's effects on Summer and Uncle Ob, but there was not much complexity to the story. I felt like I did not learn much about Summer or her connection with Ob and May. The book is short, though, so I suppose there may have not been enough time to fully flesh out the characters. This was a sad read, and the ending felt unsubstantial, but I would still recommend this for those who have experienced loss of their own.
June 3, 2019
Warm US american children's story about loss and grief and the relief of crying.
July 2, 2010
I did not like this book. I read it as a fifth grader, and I have had no desire to read it since. I didn't like the characters and I didn't feel like they were very real. Sometimes I wonder what the Newbery committee is thinking. I've always thought that the books they choose to honor should be ones that kids can enjoy.
October 25, 2014
Short children's novel about coping with loss and moving on. Shallow at times and very focused on finding spiritual relief for physical pain. Not my favorite Newbery at all.
March 24, 2016
Be sure to have a box of tissues by your side if/when you read this poignantly wonderful book of loss that wounds and love that transcends the sadness of death, enabling the spirit to keep living through the pain.
Cynthia Rylant, the author of this 1993 Newbery Medal award winning book, is rightfully deserving of the honor.
While small in the number of pages, it is large in depth and meaning. It packs a soft wallop as each and every word is used with such powerful poetry that I marveled as I turned the pages.
Narrated by Summer, we learn of the difficult early years after her mother died and she was complacently passed along to a series of family members. "Every house I had ever lived in was so particular about its food, and especially when the food involved me. I felt like one of those little mice who has to figure out the right button to push before its food will drop down into the cup. Caged and begging. That's how I felt sometimes."
Rescued by elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ob, Summer finally finds a secure, stable home as she lives with these two wonderful people who, while lacking in financial resources, have an abundance of love.
When Aunt May dies, in deep grief, Summer's fears of abandonment and insecurity arise as she watches Uncle Ob slip into depression.
Enter anything but ordinary, highly eccentric, classmate Cletus Underwood who brings a unique joy and unconventionality to the two deeply hurting souls.
I liked everything about this book. Rich in symbolism, the words gentle power come to mind.
Highly recommended.
Cynthia Rylant, the author of this 1993 Newbery Medal award winning book, is rightfully deserving of the honor.
While small in the number of pages, it is large in depth and meaning. It packs a soft wallop as each and every word is used with such powerful poetry that I marveled as I turned the pages.
Narrated by Summer, we learn of the difficult early years after her mother died and she was complacently passed along to a series of family members. "Every house I had ever lived in was so particular about its food, and especially when the food involved me. I felt like one of those little mice who has to figure out the right button to push before its food will drop down into the cup. Caged and begging. That's how I felt sometimes."
Rescued by elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ob, Summer finally finds a secure, stable home as she lives with these two wonderful people who, while lacking in financial resources, have an abundance of love.
When Aunt May dies, in deep grief, Summer's fears of abandonment and insecurity arise as she watches Uncle Ob slip into depression.
Enter anything but ordinary, highly eccentric, classmate Cletus Underwood who brings a unique joy and unconventionality to the two deeply hurting souls.
I liked everything about this book. Rich in symbolism, the words gentle power come to mind.
Highly recommended.
June 11, 2024
"It almost felt like a funeral...and in some ways, it was more comfort, more real, to me than May's true funeral had been. Seems once people bring in outsiders who make a career of bereavement—undertakers, preachers—their grieving gets turned into a kind of system, like the way everybody lines up the same way to go in to a movie or sits the same way in a doctor's office. All Ob and me wanted to do when we lost May was hold on to each other and wail in that trailer for days and days. But we never got the chance, because just like there are certain ways people expect you to get married, or go to church, or raise kids, there are certain ways people expect you to grieve. When May died, Ob and me had to talk business with the funeral parlor, religion with the preacher, and make small talk with dozens of relatives and people we'd hardly ever seen before. We had to eat their food. We had to let them hug us. We had to see them watching our faces for any sign of a nervous breakdown.
"May's funeral turned Ob and me into temporary sort-of socialites, and we never really got the chance to howl and pull our hair out. People wanted us to grieve proper."
This is a Newberry Medal book about how an old man and a young girl learn to mourn a larger-than-life woman in a way that heals and restores them.
"May's funeral turned Ob and me into temporary sort-of socialites, and we never really got the chance to howl and pull our hair out. People wanted us to grieve proper."
This is a Newberry Medal book about how an old man and a young girl learn to mourn a larger-than-life woman in a way that heals and restores them.
May 21, 2008
"Missing May" is a short book that can be read in one sitting. Even though it is short there is nothing lacking in the story. All the characters are developed wonderfully and they all end up feeling like old friends.
It is a poignant novel about death and the depression that follows the loss of a loved one.
Summer loses her mother and goes to live with various kin, but never feels unconditionally loved by any of them, she is even afraid to ask for more milk. Then Ob and May come visiting and they take her home with them that very day. Summer belongs heart and soul to them from that day on. Summer's joy is turned to sorrow when May passes on and Ob has a hard time dealing with the depression of losing his wife.
Together along with a neighbor boy named Cletus, Summer and Ob are able to work through their grief and find hope during a trip to the Capitol.
One bad thing about finishing this book so quickly is that you feel the loss of new found friends.
It is a poignant novel about death and the depression that follows the loss of a loved one.
Summer loses her mother and goes to live with various kin, but never feels unconditionally loved by any of them, she is even afraid to ask for more milk. Then Ob and May come visiting and they take her home with them that very day. Summer belongs heart and soul to them from that day on. Summer's joy is turned to sorrow when May passes on and Ob has a hard time dealing with the depression of losing his wife.
Together along with a neighbor boy named Cletus, Summer and Ob are able to work through their grief and find hope during a trip to the Capitol.
One bad thing about finishing this book so quickly is that you feel the loss of new found friends.
February 19, 2014
اینقدر دوستش داشتم....
اینقدر دوستش داشتم....
«مِی اگر الان اینجا بود به من و کلتوس میگفت کار درست هم این است. که آدم قدر هرکس و هرچیزی را که دارد بداند و محکم نگهش دارد. میگفت که ما آدمها باید دو دستی به یکدیگر بچسبیم چون مقدر این است که با همدیگر باشیم.مقدر این است که به هم نیاز داشته باشیم.»
ص31
ممنون از خانوم توکلی و بشری :)
اینقدر دوستش داشتم....
«مِی اگر الان اینجا بود به من و کلتوس میگفت کار درست هم این است. که آدم قدر هرکس و هرچیزی را که دارد بداند و محکم نگهش دارد. میگفت که ما آدمها باید دو دستی به یکدیگر بچسبیم چون مقدر این است که با همدیگر باشیم.مقدر این است که به هم نیاز داشته باشیم.»
ص31
ممنون از خانوم توکلی و بشری :)
May 15, 2018
Narrated by Summer, we observe the grief of those around her while processing Summer's own pains. Her voice is appropriately young and is peppered with easy to understand analogies. As a reader, you can easily identify with Summer's experiences. She is both selfish and self-less at different moments.
Rylant's writing, however, makes it easy for the reader to identify how Summer and those around her are processing their emotions. Everyone deals with grief and pain differently. RThe writing explores the complexity of grief with the different styles of grieving so clearly.
I also love how clearly Rylant paints a picture of Appalachia. I've read quite a few books set here in the last few months and I believe Rylant does the best job setting the stage.
That said, I struggled with the details of the story and plot. Or the lack of details. Ob attempts to cope with the death of his wife by seeking to make contact with her in the spirit world. There is a classmate of Summer's, Cletus, who somehow gets mixed up with Ob, and the three of them seek May's spirit while seeking their own release from the pain they are experiencing. There's nothing wrong with this plot. It just didn't do anything for me.
And a little thing for me: So much time was spent exploring May and Ob that I felt I knew those characters better than the children. There's nothing wrong with this, as we're exploring the world from Summer's grieving perspective. But I wanted to know more about Summer and Cletus!
I highly recommend it to middle-grade readers coping with loss and grief. But, perhaps not to adults coping with similar emotions.
Rylant's writing, however, makes it easy for the reader to identify how Summer and those around her are processing their emotions. Everyone deals with grief and pain differently. RThe writing explores the complexity of grief with the different styles of grieving so clearly.
I also love how clearly Rylant paints a picture of Appalachia. I've read quite a few books set here in the last few months and I believe Rylant does the best job setting the stage.
That said, I struggled with the details of the story and plot. Or the lack of details. Ob attempts to cope with the death of his wife by seeking to make contact with her in the spirit world. There is a classmate of Summer's, Cletus, who somehow gets mixed up with Ob, and the three of them seek May's spirit while seeking their own release from the pain they are experiencing. There's nothing wrong with this plot. It just didn't do anything for me.
And a little thing for me: So much time was spent exploring May and Ob that I felt I knew those characters better than the children. There's nothing wrong with this, as we're exploring the world from Summer's grieving perspective. But I wanted to know more about Summer and Cletus!
I highly recommend it to middle-grade readers coping with loss and grief. But, perhaps not to adults coping with similar emotions.
November 1, 2019
It's not always obvious to me why certain books win the Newbery, but Missing May is a winner for so many reasons. This short book packs an emotional wallop touching on life, love, grief, and the quiet strength of moving forward.
January 7, 2025
A very sweet story. It's a Newberry winner, and I like to read one of them from time to time. We have several of Cynthia Rylant's picture books at the library. She's a good author.
April 20, 2018
First sentence: When May died, Ob came back to the trailer, got out of his good suit and into his regular clothes, then went and sat in the Chevy for the rest of the night.
Premise/plot: Missing May won the Newbery Medal in 1993. This novel for young readers explores grief. Summer and Ob are the central characters; they are the ones most 'missing' May. All the happiness Summer has known has been in the home of her aunt and uncle. May and Ob took her in and adopted her; times were good, love abounded. But May died in her garden, and life hasn't been the same since she's left.
Ob wants more than anything to make contact with May's spirit. Summer isn't sure that that is even possible, but she hopes it is for Ob's sake. Cletus is relatively new friend of the family. He's around Summer's age. But he has a way--a knack--with Ob that is healing and comforting. Together these three set out on a road trip. The destination? A spiritualist church that Cletus read about with a medium as a pastor. Will May reach out from beyond the grave with a message for Ob? for May?
My thoughts: Did I like it? No. Yes. No. Maybe. I'll start with what I did like. Rylant is a strong writer. She did a great job with the setting. It's set in West Virginia a place where she herself grew up. She captures a specific place--if not a specific time. Which brings me to her characterization. Her characters were human--there's a rawness to them, a take-me-like-I-am rawness. I think Cletus may just be my favorite among them. Her writing was GREAT.
Here is one of her descriptions of May:
She understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she ever met, and this never failed her, for nobody ever disappointed May. Seems people knew she saw the very best of them, and they'd turn that side to her to give her a better look. (15-16)
And one of Cletus:
Cletus had some gifts--I was learning this bit by bit--and knowing when to talk and when not to was turning out to be one of them. (37)
I can certainly see why it was honored with the Newbery award.
So what didn't I like? I didn't like the content, the story. Specifically, I did not like the ongoing quest to make contact with the dead--either through Cletus (that attempt failed) or through a professional medium (that one failed as well). In a way, it is thought-provoking. When someone you love dies--where is your hope? Is your hope in making contact with them again in the here and now? Is your hope in finding messages in feelings, signs, visions, dreams? Is your hope in mediums and psychics?
Or is your hope found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is your hope in heaven? That you will spend eternity with them in heaven because you both believed that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life--the only way to the Father? Is your comfort found in the Word of God? Can you find peace and comfort through the Spirit and the fellowship of believers?
Summer and Ob are both searching for peace and comfort. Specifically Summer wants Ob to come to a place of peace so that he will start living again. She fears that he has lost all the will to live. And if he's lost the will to live, then who will take care of her? who will love her?
As a Christian, I saw the lost-ness, the despair of Summer and Ob. Ob is in need of answers, in need of peace, in need of comfort. But he's seeking in the wrong places in the wrong ways. Summer is young and confused. She doesn't believe strongly--one way or the other--about the after life. I pitied them both. I'm not sure readers are supposed to pity them. I'm not sure readers are not supposed to pity them either.
Grief wears many faces. There isn't one right way to grieve. Each person is different. Christian or not--every person grieves in his or her unique way. And it's not like anyone--insider or outsider--can say a handful of phrases to 'snap someone out of their grief' to 'fix them' or 'heal them.' There are plenty of WRONG things to say that hurt whether than help. I think everyone could learn from Cletus--a bit--in just BEING there and listening. (But to be fair, Cletus is far from perfect, it is Cletus who suggests going to a professional medium.)
Would I have liked Missing May as a child? I probably would not have read it. a) I was still AVOIDING all books that had the potential for sadness. b) I was certainly reading in 1992/1993, but probably not books for this age group. c) I attended a Christian school with a small library budget and high standards of what was appropriate and inappropriate. I don't think a book with talk of mediums and contacting the dead would have made the cut. But I could be wrong. It DID win the Newbery. And I honestly can't say if the librarian was reading every book before it was ordered and placed within the collection.
Christian families shouldn't necessarily avoid the book at all costs. But if you do read it, you may want to read it together and use it as a discussion opportunity. As I said, it is thought-provoking.
Premise/plot: Missing May won the Newbery Medal in 1993. This novel for young readers explores grief. Summer and Ob are the central characters; they are the ones most 'missing' May. All the happiness Summer has known has been in the home of her aunt and uncle. May and Ob took her in and adopted her; times were good, love abounded. But May died in her garden, and life hasn't been the same since she's left.
Ob wants more than anything to make contact with May's spirit. Summer isn't sure that that is even possible, but she hopes it is for Ob's sake. Cletus is relatively new friend of the family. He's around Summer's age. But he has a way--a knack--with Ob that is healing and comforting. Together these three set out on a road trip. The destination? A spiritualist church that Cletus read about with a medium as a pastor. Will May reach out from beyond the grave with a message for Ob? for May?
My thoughts: Did I like it? No. Yes. No. Maybe. I'll start with what I did like. Rylant is a strong writer. She did a great job with the setting. It's set in West Virginia a place where she herself grew up. She captures a specific place--if not a specific time. Which brings me to her characterization. Her characters were human--there's a rawness to them, a take-me-like-I-am rawness. I think Cletus may just be my favorite among them. Her writing was GREAT.
Here is one of her descriptions of May:
She understood people and she let them be whatever way they needed to be. She had faith in every single person she ever met, and this never failed her, for nobody ever disappointed May. Seems people knew she saw the very best of them, and they'd turn that side to her to give her a better look. (15-16)
And one of Cletus:
Cletus had some gifts--I was learning this bit by bit--and knowing when to talk and when not to was turning out to be one of them. (37)
I can certainly see why it was honored with the Newbery award.
So what didn't I like? I didn't like the content, the story. Specifically, I did not like the ongoing quest to make contact with the dead--either through Cletus (that attempt failed) or through a professional medium (that one failed as well). In a way, it is thought-provoking. When someone you love dies--where is your hope? Is your hope in making contact with them again in the here and now? Is your hope in finding messages in feelings, signs, visions, dreams? Is your hope in mediums and psychics?
Or is your hope found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is your hope in heaven? That you will spend eternity with them in heaven because you both believed that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life--the only way to the Father? Is your comfort found in the Word of God? Can you find peace and comfort through the Spirit and the fellowship of believers?
Summer and Ob are both searching for peace and comfort. Specifically Summer wants Ob to come to a place of peace so that he will start living again. She fears that he has lost all the will to live. And if he's lost the will to live, then who will take care of her? who will love her?
As a Christian, I saw the lost-ness, the despair of Summer and Ob. Ob is in need of answers, in need of peace, in need of comfort. But he's seeking in the wrong places in the wrong ways. Summer is young and confused. She doesn't believe strongly--one way or the other--about the after life. I pitied them both. I'm not sure readers are supposed to pity them. I'm not sure readers are not supposed to pity them either.
Grief wears many faces. There isn't one right way to grieve. Each person is different. Christian or not--every person grieves in his or her unique way. And it's not like anyone--insider or outsider--can say a handful of phrases to 'snap someone out of their grief' to 'fix them' or 'heal them.' There are plenty of WRONG things to say that hurt whether than help. I think everyone could learn from Cletus--a bit--in just BEING there and listening. (But to be fair, Cletus is far from perfect, it is Cletus who suggests going to a professional medium.)
Would I have liked Missing May as a child? I probably would not have read it. a) I was still AVOIDING all books that had the potential for sadness. b) I was certainly reading in 1992/1993, but probably not books for this age group. c) I attended a Christian school with a small library budget and high standards of what was appropriate and inappropriate. I don't think a book with talk of mediums and contacting the dead would have made the cut. But I could be wrong. It DID win the Newbery. And I honestly can't say if the librarian was reading every book before it was ordered and placed within the collection.
Christian families shouldn't necessarily avoid the book at all costs. But if you do read it, you may want to read it together and use it as a discussion opportunity. As I said, it is thought-provoking.
February 2, 2022
A great story about family relationships, adoption and grieving the death of a loved one. Much to talk about if you read this aloud with your family. A quick read!
Find Missing May at the Westminster Public Library today!
And if you are in search of new books to read, try our services, What Do I Read Next. Our library staff are standing by to create a personalized recommendation list for you!
Find Missing May at the Westminster Public Library today!
And if you are in search of new books to read, try our services, What Do I Read Next. Our library staff are standing by to create a personalized recommendation list for you!
August 7, 2023
A short book about a 12 year old girl brought up by an uncle and aunt. When aunt May dies (in the first chapter), Summer and her uncle Ob have to find a way to grieve and move forward with life. An awkward school friend helps them. The story is quite unusual.
March 3, 2018
My mission to read all the Newbery winners continues with Missing May, the winner from 1993. This book is tiny—only 89 pages—but it has a lot of depth. The Newbery winners I’ve read so far have been hit or miss (mostly miss) with me. Sometimes, I have no idea what the award committee is thinking. Luckily, I didn’t have that problem with Missing May. This little book deserves its Newbery.
When Summer’s Aunt May dies suddenly, her Uncle Ob changes. He no longer wants to build whirligigs, or work in the garden, or leave the house. Some days, he won’t even get out of bed. Summer doesn’t know what to do. Then, her neighbor, Cletus, suggests that Ob should visit a psychic medium and try to contact May. At first, Summer is skeptical. She doesn’t believe in psychics. But, she’ll try anything to help Ob.
This book is quirky enough to be entertaining and real enough to be meaningful. It talks about depression in a way that’s realistic but not too overwhelming for kids. Summer is confused by Ob’s drastic change in personality. She’s upset that her love isn’t enough to make him better. Eventually, she learns that Ob will always miss May, and he needs time to get better on his own. She can’t cure him by herself.
The story is set in a small town in West Virginia. Even though the book is tiny, the reader gets a good sense of the culture of Appalachia. The characters don’t have much money, and they’re used to being self-sufficient. Summer doesn’t have many people she can rely on to help her with Ob. She starts the story by trying to avoid her weird neighbor, Cletus, but by the end of the book, she learns that Cletus is exactly the friend she needs.
I actually think Missing May could have been longer. Ob snaps out of his depression quite suddenly at the end. That works well for the plot, but I don’t know how realistic it is.
If the book was longer, the reader could have learned more about Summer and Cletus. I feel like the reader knows more about the adult characters than the child characters. For a kids’ book, that’s weird. It might be a turn-off for some young readers.
Still, this is one of the better Newbery books I’ve read. Some of them are very disappointing.
TL;DR: The book could have benefitted from being longer, but I still think it’s a good resource for kids whose caregivers are dealing with grief or depression.
When Summer’s Aunt May dies suddenly, her Uncle Ob changes. He no longer wants to build whirligigs, or work in the garden, or leave the house. Some days, he won’t even get out of bed. Summer doesn’t know what to do. Then, her neighbor, Cletus, suggests that Ob should visit a psychic medium and try to contact May. At first, Summer is skeptical. She doesn’t believe in psychics. But, she’ll try anything to help Ob.
“What is it that makes a person want to stay here on this earth anyway, and go on suffering the most awful pain just for the sake of getting to stay? I used to think it was because people fear death. But now I think it is because people can't bear saying goodbye.” – Missing May
This book is quirky enough to be entertaining and real enough to be meaningful. It talks about depression in a way that’s realistic but not too overwhelming for kids. Summer is confused by Ob’s drastic change in personality. She’s upset that her love isn’t enough to make him better. Eventually, she learns that Ob will always miss May, and he needs time to get better on his own. She can’t cure him by herself.
The story is set in a small town in West Virginia. Even though the book is tiny, the reader gets a good sense of the culture of Appalachia. The characters don’t have much money, and they’re used to being self-sufficient. Summer doesn’t have many people she can rely on to help her with Ob. She starts the story by trying to avoid her weird neighbor, Cletus, but by the end of the book, she learns that Cletus is exactly the friend she needs.
“We wanted a family so bad, all of us. And we just grabbed each another and made us one. Simple as that.” – Missing May
I actually think Missing May could have been longer. Ob snaps out of his depression quite suddenly at the end. That works well for the plot, but I don’t know how realistic it is.
If the book was longer, the reader could have learned more about Summer and Cletus. I feel like the reader knows more about the adult characters than the child characters. For a kids’ book, that’s weird. It might be a turn-off for some young readers.
Still, this is one of the better Newbery books I’ve read. Some of them are very disappointing.
TL;DR: The book could have benefitted from being longer, but I still think it’s a good resource for kids whose caregivers are dealing with grief or depression.
April 9, 2022
I wanted to like this more because it did have a warmth and goodness to it; but ultimately it was just a little slow and a bit dull. There really isn't much of a plot, and what there is seems to be solved quickly without any explanation. I was glad for a happy ending, but confused about how we arrived there so fast when things looked kind of bleak for a minute.
Of course, I struggle to NOT read others' reviews, and because of that I just have fire back by saying that not every child grows up with religion, and therefore not every child has a faith-based understanding of life and death, and the concepts of an afterlife or post-mortal existence. Criticisms about the references to angels, spiritualism, signs, omens, ghosts, etc. are just petty and stupid. If you are Christian and this book offends you for not referencing biblical views on our existence, then don't share it with your kids.
Of course, I struggle to NOT read others' reviews, and because of that I just have fire back by saying that not every child grows up with religion, and therefore not every child has a faith-based understanding of life and death, and the concepts of an afterlife or post-mortal existence. Criticisms about the references to angels, spiritualism, signs, omens, ghosts, etc. are just petty and stupid. If you are Christian and this book offends you for not referencing biblical views on our existence, then don't share it with your kids.
June 11, 2013
Summer and Uncle Obe recently lost their beloved May. Summer is coping, not only with her own grief, but also with the fact that Uncle Obe is dying inside. The unique character, Cletus Underwood, enters their lives and the three go on a quest for a spiritual connection to May.
Of Missing May, Cynthia Rylant says, "I'm not sure where this story came from. But I was raised in rural West Virginia and I knew a lot of characters like Ob and Cletus and May. I just felt I was writing about my own people."
Newbery Winner----1993
Of Missing May, Cynthia Rylant says, "I'm not sure where this story came from. But I was raised in rural West Virginia and I knew a lot of characters like Ob and Cletus and May. I just felt I was writing about my own people."
Newbery Winner----1993
April 4, 2018
What a sad little book. I experienced two big losses in my life within the last year and a half, and this book does resonate with my grieving process. I fell into a sort of depressed hibernation, and then one day I started to come out of it, too, for no obvious reason. I can't say whether that is standard or even common when it comes to death and loss, but Missing May feels authentic to me.
December 19, 2017
I remember being moved by this small and quiet novel as a child, and it is still just as moving as an adult. This is a slight book--hardly more than a short story--but it is anything but insubstantial. Rylant masterfully describes the complexity of grief and the reality of different styles of grieving with characters so dear they are not easily forgotten. A lovely and tender story.
March 11, 2017
This is a wonderful book about a young girl and a loss in her family, and how they deal with it.
It is written for 8-12 year old children, but I laughed and I cried, and I read it in one sitting! Absolutely loved it and the way it was written. Recommended to Everyone!!
It is written for 8-12 year old children, but I laughed and I cried, and I read it in one sitting! Absolutely loved it and the way it was written. Recommended to Everyone!!
April 25, 2017
Poignant and sometimes funny story about a girl who is finding her way in the world after her beloved Aunt May dies, and her relationship with her uncle and her friend. Takes place in the mountains of West Virginia. Loved it. Highly recommended.
February 21, 2015
Wonderful, heart warming book. I am re-naming it to "missing Mary" cuz all I could do was think about my mom as I read the book. Now to pull myself back together!
November 16, 2023
"Missing May” is a children’s novel set in rural West Virginia focusing on orphaned teen girl Summer coping with the death of her beloved Aunt May.
The novel consists of twelve chapters divided into two parts.
Part one “Still As Night” begins with the reader being learning that day after May died, her husband Ob is dealing with his grief by sitting in an abandoned Chevy next to their trailer.
Early in the novel, the reader learns that the narrator Summer previously lived in Ohio with her mother. After Summer’s mother died, she was passed from relative to relative and not mistreated was ignored by her caretakers until she is visited by her elderly relatives Aunt May and Uncle Ob from rural West Virginia when she is six years old, and they decide to take her home with them. Despite May and Ob not having money to buy Summer things, they do provide Summer with plenty of love.
After six years of Summer living with May and Ob, May suddenly dies while in the garden. Six months since May has died, Summer and Ob are struggling to move on with their lives. Ob tells Summer that he feels May’s spirit with them although her body is no longer there. Twelve-year-old Summer chooses to believe Ob and asks him for more details about how May’s spirit felt but is annoyed when Ob explains that May’s spirit felt like it was torn between staying her on Earth and going to heaven.
In addition to worrying about keeping her Uncle Ob alive, Summer soon has a new problem on her hands when her strange classmate Cletus Underwood happens to stop by their trailer in search of something and Ob immediately takes an interest in him. Summer is surprised when Ob takes a genuine interest in Cletus since Cletus’ parents are as old as May and Ob and Ob appreciating anyone crazier than he is.
Summer tries to fill the role for Ob left behind by May but Ob isn’t having that and tells her to stop thinking like a tired old woman. Although Summer does well in school, especially in English class, she still misses May and reluctantly associates with Cletus.
After Ob shares with Cletus his experience with May’s spirit, Cletus shares information on a spirit medium who can help reconnect May and Ob. Summer begins to feel even more disconnected from Ob when she learns that he’s had more spiritual visits from May. Part one ends with Ob having Cletus come to their trailer regularly in order to see if May’s spirit is still there, and Summer feeling lost when it comes to Ob.
Part two “Set Free” begins with Summer feeling concerned when then day after Cletus visits the trailer but doesn’t feel May’s spirit, Ob doesn’t get out of bed to wake Summer up, and she misses the school bus. Ob is humiliated to have overslept since he never oversleeps and Summer feels that everything must happens for a reason. Ob expresses to Summer his worry of being able to take care of her now that May has died, and Summer encourages him to make new whirligigs, but Ob stays he can’t because his mind is stuck on missing May.
To help Ob get through his sorrow, Cletus convinces Summer and Ob to make a road trip to see a spiritual medium. Despite Summer agreeing to supporting Ob and Cletus in making a three-hour drive to a hopefully communicate with May’s spirit, she secretly worries about what will happen if the medium doesn’t connect them to May. Prior to leaving for their roadtrip, Ob and Summer go to meet Cletus’ parents and Summer makes a shocking discovery.
After the trio reach their destination of a spiritualist church, they experience profound sadness. With Summer and Cletus being worried about Ob after experiencing disappointment, they are excited when he surprises them with a visit to the West Virginia state capital. The novel ends with in nearly Spring with Ob coming out of his ongoing depression, Summer finally grieving the loss of her beloved Aunt May, Ob’s whirligigs finding a new home, and a new family of sorts being formed of Summer, Ob, and Cletus.
As I finished this novel, I thought how death can affect people differently and how society often expected people to grieve in a certain way and for a certain length of time. In addition, I liked reading the transformation of Summer from initially being annoyed by Cletus into realizing that he is much loved by his parents and how much he values her although she has treated him poorly. By Cletus stopping by their trailer unexpectedly, Summer eventually realizes that he has provide her and Ob with an opportunity to freely grieve as well as giving her an appreciation for the family she had and the new family she has with Ob.
The novel consists of twelve chapters divided into two parts.
Part one “Still As Night” begins with the reader being learning that day after May died, her husband Ob is dealing with his grief by sitting in an abandoned Chevy next to their trailer.
Early in the novel, the reader learns that the narrator Summer previously lived in Ohio with her mother. After Summer’s mother died, she was passed from relative to relative and not mistreated was ignored by her caretakers until she is visited by her elderly relatives Aunt May and Uncle Ob from rural West Virginia when she is six years old, and they decide to take her home with them. Despite May and Ob not having money to buy Summer things, they do provide Summer with plenty of love.
After six years of Summer living with May and Ob, May suddenly dies while in the garden. Six months since May has died, Summer and Ob are struggling to move on with their lives. Ob tells Summer that he feels May’s spirit with them although her body is no longer there. Twelve-year-old Summer chooses to believe Ob and asks him for more details about how May’s spirit felt but is annoyed when Ob explains that May’s spirit felt like it was torn between staying her on Earth and going to heaven.
In addition to worrying about keeping her Uncle Ob alive, Summer soon has a new problem on her hands when her strange classmate Cletus Underwood happens to stop by their trailer in search of something and Ob immediately takes an interest in him. Summer is surprised when Ob takes a genuine interest in Cletus since Cletus’ parents are as old as May and Ob and Ob appreciating anyone crazier than he is.
Summer tries to fill the role for Ob left behind by May but Ob isn’t having that and tells her to stop thinking like a tired old woman. Although Summer does well in school, especially in English class, she still misses May and reluctantly associates with Cletus.
After Ob shares with Cletus his experience with May’s spirit, Cletus shares information on a spirit medium who can help reconnect May and Ob. Summer begins to feel even more disconnected from Ob when she learns that he’s had more spiritual visits from May. Part one ends with Ob having Cletus come to their trailer regularly in order to see if May’s spirit is still there, and Summer feeling lost when it comes to Ob.
Part two “Set Free” begins with Summer feeling concerned when then day after Cletus visits the trailer but doesn’t feel May’s spirit, Ob doesn’t get out of bed to wake Summer up, and she misses the school bus. Ob is humiliated to have overslept since he never oversleeps and Summer feels that everything must happens for a reason. Ob expresses to Summer his worry of being able to take care of her now that May has died, and Summer encourages him to make new whirligigs, but Ob stays he can’t because his mind is stuck on missing May.
To help Ob get through his sorrow, Cletus convinces Summer and Ob to make a road trip to see a spiritual medium. Despite Summer agreeing to supporting Ob and Cletus in making a three-hour drive to a hopefully communicate with May’s spirit, she secretly worries about what will happen if the medium doesn’t connect them to May. Prior to leaving for their roadtrip, Ob and Summer go to meet Cletus’ parents and Summer makes a shocking discovery.
After the trio reach their destination of a spiritualist church, they experience profound sadness. With Summer and Cletus being worried about Ob after experiencing disappointment, they are excited when he surprises them with a visit to the West Virginia state capital. The novel ends with in nearly Spring with Ob coming out of his ongoing depression, Summer finally grieving the loss of her beloved Aunt May, Ob’s whirligigs finding a new home, and a new family of sorts being formed of Summer, Ob, and Cletus.
As I finished this novel, I thought how death can affect people differently and how society often expected people to grieve in a certain way and for a certain length of time. In addition, I liked reading the transformation of Summer from initially being annoyed by Cletus into realizing that he is much loved by his parents and how much he values her although she has treated him poorly. By Cletus stopping by their trailer unexpectedly, Summer eventually realizes that he has provide her and Ob with an opportunity to freely grieve as well as giving her an appreciation for the family she had and the new family she has with Ob.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2021
After her mother's death, Summer was handed from one unwilling relative to another, "she was treated like a homework assignment somebody was always having to do". At Age six she was to taken to her elderly uncle and aunt. Her uncle Ob enjoyed creating unusual whirligigs; and then May liked gardening behind their trailer. They both loved each other with a whirlwind type love and that included Summer. Now, six year later May has died. Summer recounts Ob's depression in a poetic, narrative way. She also explain his growing conviction that May is still present. They then go on a expedition to find Miriam B. Conklin, a small medium. Meanwhile while all this is going on they have been befriended by a boy in Summer's class named Cletus that Summer is not really fond of his company but is intrigued by his vocabulary and his offhand characterization of her as a writer. Their quest seem to fail though because Conklin has died but on their way home Ob has put aside his grief to take Summer and Cletus to the state capital as he promised.
I really enjoyed reading this book it was a quick and easy read. I also loved how the book tenderly tased you through the stages of grief of a young elementary age child. Another favorite thing is how the author explained throughout the book of our need for each other on a human level. There was one thing that I disliked about this book and it was the ending, I honestly didn't get it it just ended. But other than that it was a very good book and I give it 5 stars.
I really enjoyed reading this book it was a quick and easy read. I also loved how the book tenderly tased you through the stages of grief of a young elementary age child. Another favorite thing is how the author explained throughout the book of our need for each other on a human level. There was one thing that I disliked about this book and it was the ending, I honestly didn't get it it just ended. But other than that it was a very good book and I give it 5 stars.
December 12, 2021
Missing May is a fiction novel. It has a total of 12 chapters equaling 97 pages. It is a narrative of a preteen girl named Summer. She had a rough upbringing and eventually went to live with her aunt and uncle, May and Ob. They are an older couple and took Summer in as their own. She loves living with them until the death of her aunt May. Life is now incomplete. She is barely grasping the days along with her uncle Ob. She meets a friend named Cletus. She thinks he is logically odd for their age. Cletus is a collector off all things sees the world through objects. One day Ob is really Missing May and feels her presence. He tries to convince Summer and Cletus what just transpired. That is when Cletus pulls an article out of his suitcase with the information of a spiritualist. They take a journey to make sense of knowing that May’s spirit is always with them. Summer wants to believe this especially because she does not want to lose her uncle to a broken heart. They decide to take a road trip to ask questions and get answers about the spiritual realm. Will they get what they are looking for? Is this a good way to grieve? Many people try to find answers and understand death. We as people do not know how to let go so we look for any sign of connection or life to comfort our sorrow.
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