Honey Butter

Honey Butter by Millie Florence is a darling middle-grade fiction book, reminiscent of childhood summers. It is beautifully written, and I have to say that I like this book better than “Beyond Mulberry Glen,” another one of Millie Florence’s books. The storyline of this book is sweet and homey, just like Honey Butter! Jamie Johnson (age seven.) is bored, summer is boring, and all she seems to do is fight with her older sister, Erica. She spends her days collecting paint cards, and though that saves her from the clutches of extreme boredom, summer still stretches endlessly ahead of her, and her fights with Erica hang thickly in the air. So, when the rent sign in front of the mint green house disappears, and a family moves in, Jamie is intrigued. Especially when she discovers that a “roadschooled” almost-teenaged girl is living there. But this girl, Laren Lark, is special. She believes in finding “blue sky moments,” looking for adventure, and reading,-a LOT. Plus, she’s an aspiring poet. Laren and Jamie become good friends, and Jamie learns the value of stories, looking up, and just how much fun it is to make an enchanted garden with chalk. No matter how much Erica irritates Jamie, Laren is still her best friend. But what happens when Jamie overhears something hurtful that Erica says? And if Laren has to leave soon, will summer ever be the same? I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope you do too!!