The Summer of Owen Todd

Starred review from August 28, 2017
Fifth grade has just ended, and 11-year-old Owen is ready for go-kart racing, baseball, and trips to Cape Cod’s beaches with his best friend Sean. But the summer takes a horrifying turn after Owen learns that Sean is being sexually abused by Paul, a 20-something man from church who Sean’s working mother hired to babysit him, because of her son’s diabetes. As the abuse escalates and video cameras get involved, Owen is desperate but afraid to help his friend; Sean has sworn him to secrecy, not wanting the abuse to become public, and has threatened to kill himself if Owen tells anyone. Abbott (the Copernicus Legacy series) nails the casually jokey relationship between Owen and Sean, the way that it is slowly poisoned by what’s happening (“Every time I get dressed or undressed I think of what Sean told me”), and how trapped and powerless both boys feel. It’s a difficult, important, and possibly lifesaving story of children forced into terrible situations, as well as what real loyalty and friendship look like. Wishing books like this weren’t necessary doesn’t make them less so. Ages 10–14. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio.

Starred review from August 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-It's the summer after fifth grade, and lifelong best friends Owen and Sean are looking forward to a vacation full of baseball, go-karts, beach trips, and, now that they are getting older, a bit more independence in their Cape Cod hometown. Things don't go as planned, however, when Sean's single mom hires Paul to help look after Sean, who depends on insulin injections to manage his diabetes, while she goes to work at a new job in a neighboring town. Paul, a friendly older guy from church, seems nice enough, if a little strange, but before long, Sean tells Owen about some uncomfortable incidents between them. As Paul's behavior escalates into child abuse and sexual assault, Sean continues to confide in Owen, but threatens suicide if Owen tells anyone else what is happening. The story is told from Owen's point of view as he struggles with how to handle the situation and what might happen if he breaks his promise to keep Sean's secret. Ultimately, witnessing Sean's abuse firsthand spurs Owen to action, and he records the assault on his father's cell phone before telling his parents everything. While doing so costs Owen his friendship with Sean, Paul is eventually arrested and Sean is able to get help. An author's note at the close of the book further encourages readers to speak out if they or someone they know is being abused, and includes contact information for RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network). The setting is particularly well drawn, and woven into the story are threads about family, friendship, trust, courage, and growing up. VERDICT Unsettling and at times painful, this book offers an empathetic portrayal of a difficult and important subject.-Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Elkins Park, PA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2017
During the summer between fifth and sixth grades, Owen's best friend is exploited by an adult male babysitter. Narrator Owen Todd is 11, white, living with his parents and 5-year-old sister in a small town on Cape Cod. His father is co-owner with Owen's uncle of a go-kart business, and his mother makes crafts and volunteers "a couple of places." Sean Huff, Owen's best friend from kindergarten, is also white, but he's diabetic, shorter than Owen, and frequently sits out their baseball games on the bench, and his parents are separated. Sean's mother has engaged a young white man from their church to "babysit" Sean while she works at a new job in Provincetown. Paul behaves oddly with Sean, failing to close the bathroom door while urinating and, later, "accidently" showing Sean a picture of a naked boy on his cellphone. Sean later reveals to Owen that Paul's behavior has become aggressive--and includes other men. Abbott handles this escalation with care, demonstrating the ways that a predator can isolate and intimidate a victim. Sean is so wounded and terrified that he convinces Owen he will kill himself if Owen breaks his confidence. Owen acts at last, with a bit of rash courage, but the end of the story is only partly happy. A horror story based on reality, believably and sensitively constructed in the voice of the young protagonist. (author's note) (Fiction. 10-14)

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January 1, 2018
Eleven-year-old Owen struggles to decide whether breaking his promise of silence to his best friend is worse than allowing Sean to endure sexual abuse. Owen is driven to act when he realizes Sean is contemplating suicide. The aftermath--legal, societal, and emotional--of the revelation is described with sensitivity and heart. Information about organizations supporting sexual abuse victims and young people considering suicide is appended.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)