MMGM- The Blossoming Summer

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Johnson, Anna Rose. The Blossoming Summer

July 29, 2025 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

It's 1940, and Rosemary Rivers parents, who have struggled with employment and have had to split up their children, have decided that it's no longer safe to stay in England. They decide to go to the US and stay with the father Leslie's estranged mother, Charlotte, in Wisconsin. Rosemary, who has been staying with an aunt, is looking forward to the move, even though she is apprehensive about reconnecting with her brothers, Patrick and Kenneth, whom she hasn't seen in five years. The journey by ship goes well, if a little awkwardly, and the family is fortunate that a man is willing to sell them a car for $22 at the end of their train ride. The grandmother's property is enormous, and had been run as a resort by her grandmother and her Aunt Ann, the wife of Leslie's deceased brother. Leslie and Charlotte often bickered, and the mother's controlling ways are what motivated Leslie to move away from home. At 72, she hasn't changed much, and tells her son right away that he needs to get a job. Rosemary is enthralled by the gardens, and makes friends with Jacob, who works on the property. Her grandmother is nice to her, taking her shopping for clothes, telling her about the family's Ojibwa heritage that the father has never discussed (the family name is really Rivière), and asking Rosemary for a big favor. Charlotte has always wanted to win all of the ribbons at the Sturges County Fair, but can't do it alone. Rosemary does her best, and encourages the rest of her family to help as well, which they do mainly because Charlotte has promised any cash prizes to them. Rosemary is also interested in the attic full of antiques that her cousin Corinne shows her, and a farmhouse on the property. Two days before the fair, when preparations are well underway, her grandmother slips on the stairs and has a concussion. The family bands together to get the produce and flowers to the fair, where they make a decent, but not winning, show. In the end, the grandmother doesn't care about the winnings; she is just glad to be able to make peace with her son and his children, and even gifts the family part of the property that they can use for running a resort. Even with the war raging in Europe, Wisconsin is the paradise of which Rosemary has long dreamed. 

Strengths:This is certainly a love letter to Wisconsin's Northwoods, and I have to admit to looking up some of the scenery on Google Earth as well as looking up some family resorts! There's enough about the poor conditions in England, and Rosemary's estrangement from her family, that Wisconsin does really seem like a paradise. It was good to see that her grandmother wasn't horrible, and that her father was able to make peace with his past, and even find a job. The descriptions of the flowers, the house, and the family items in the attic was wonderful. Johnson's other titles, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry and The Star That Always Stay also showcase various aspects of Native American identities, and Rosemary's lack of knowledge about this part of her identity makes sense for the time period. This has a happy ending that had me envisioning the Rivers having a lovely time running their resort through the 1950s and 60s. 
Weaknesses: This was very lovely, but a bit slow and atmospheric. Readers looking for action packed World War II titles will need to look elsewhere. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who are interested in homefront tales like Elliot's  Louisa June and Nazis in the Waves, Albus' Nothing Else but Miracles, Cushman's The War and Millie McGonigle, or Giff's Gingersnap.