Over the weekend, I decided to reorganize my bookshelves, and oh Lord, what a bigger task it was than I thought. I purchased a bookcase which was smaller, that my husband and I put together since I had books that needed to be properly housed other than on the floor. Then I came across the book “The Summer of Swans” by Betsy Byars, and decided to reread it.

The book surrounds a little boy who is non-verbal, and at the time this book was copywritten, he is deemed mentally retarded. In today’s terminology, he would probably be diagnosed as autistic. Charlie wanders off in the middle of the night, and of course, he gets lost, and no one knows where he is. His sister Sara usually looks after him but everyone is terrified of what could happen because of Charlie’s condition. When Sara and her friend…