The Summer Experiment - Tapa dura

"Pelletier has crafted a timeless coming-of-age story set in small town America. Hand this book to readers who enjoy good, old-fashioned stories." - School Library Journal

"Pelletier takes familiar themes-friendship, sibling rivalries, grief-and interweaves them with an unusual but enjoyable plotline; after all, how often do middle-grade protagonists experience alien abduction? Readers will enjoy the originality and accessibility of this humorous hike through remote northern Maine-interest in UFOs not required. " - The Bulletin of The Center for Children's Books

"Pelletier effectively depicts a small town with no cell phone reception but plenty of drama... [Roberta] is smart and resilient enough to handle whatever life on earth-and elsewhere-has in store." - Booklist

"The details of Roberta's rural life... are well drawn and authentic. Roberta's self-confidence and determination are her calling card, and her quest to stand out entertains up through the wild twists of the final chapters." - Publishers Weekly

"[Roberta's] sassy, humorous voice and wild schemes, along with the well-drawn secondary characters and vivid setting, keep things humming (or wait, was that the spaceship?)." - Horn Book

"Roberta's first-person narration is believably authentic, and the mysterious spacecraft sightings add a modicum of suspense that weaves enticingly in and out of common coming-of-age themes... a heartfelt depiction of a summer of emerging self-realization." - Kirkus