Chapter 1 Summary

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Cromer Byars is a sweet, coming-of-age novel about a young girl who is struggling with the transition from childhood to adulthood, while carrying the added burden of having to care for her younger, mentally impaired brother. Young Sara's life is further complicated when her brother walks out of the house in the middle of the night and disappears. This novel won the John Newberry Medal in 1971 and still rings true for readers of all ages thirty years later.

Sara is lying on her bed tying a scarf on her dog, Boysie, too bored to find anything else to do. Wanda, her sister, is at the dressing table preparing for a date. Wanda tells her to leave the dog alone and then changes her mind when she sees how unhappy Sara is. However, Sara has already given...