The Magpie Summer

Elizabeth Siegel Masih is the editor of Write On: The Newsletter for
Young Canadian Writers and Readers.

As 12-year-old Jessie examines her life in rural Saskatchewan over the
course of one summer, she sees life and death on the farm; learns about
relationships from her bickering aunt and uncle, the couple down the
road, and a “crazy” woman named Mabel; and feels the pressures of
conformity when she is sent to a Bible camp. She also gets her first
period, has her first encounter with a member of the opposite sex, and
finds out that people, like animals, can die. In this pivotal summer,
Jessie learns lessons she will carry through the rest of her life.

Judith Wright has produced an enchanting and well-written book. In
addition to her strong characters, Wright’s deliberate choice of words
and unexpected but deft use of metaphors and descriptions add to the
originality and quality of her writing. However, despite the age of its
protagonist, it would be difficult to categorize The Magpie Summer as a
children’s or even a young-adult novel. The book has a dreamlike
feeling that suggests a nostalgic albeit blunt look at adolescence from
an adult’s point of view. As such, it cannot be recommended in the
young-adult category unless the reader is particularly mature.