Struggling to grow up with a dysfunctional family

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The Myth of Perpetual Summer will draw the reader into a world steeped in the heat and humidity of a southern summer. Young Tallulah James is struggling to deal with caring for her siblings while missing her mother who keeps disappearing from her life. Her father tries to act in a stable manner, but at times the burden of raising a family as a single parent weighs heavily on him. The grandmother does her best to help out. This book draws the reader into a world where peer pressure, racism and bullying are common. The story is told as a retrospective in which Tallulah uncovers some of the facts about her adolescence and why her life evolved as it did. She states, "I used to think if I held my breath, bad things wouldn't be able to touch me." How she manages to survive and thrive makes for a sometimes unpleasant but ultimately satisfying story as Tallulah eventually finds peace.