The Summer We Turned Green

About this book

Luke is an average teenage boy in a seemingly normal family, until environmental protestors start squatting in the house opposite, protesting against a planned new airport runway.

Luke’s family and neighbours despise the protestors as much as they do the planned runway… Until Rose, Luke’s older sister, moves across the road into the squat, and one of the protestors’ children, Sky, moves the other way – into Rose’s abandoned normal life. Then their dad, David, does the unthinkable and joins Rose. A perfect family is suddenly anything but...

Luke is a believable teenage boy, with plenty of emotional depth but few words. He is full of detached unease as his family falls apart around Dad’s midlife crisis. The view of the environmental crisis is firmly centred on this particular family's experience, and the portrayal of the climate change protestors can feel a little dated, but the book is funny and moving and the characters are convincing.

Older teenagers will enjoy the wry humour and adults will appreciate the social satire on adult relationships.