Once Upon a Summer

---

Seasons of the Heart Book 1 Paperback: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. All The Way Home. From a rough area of LA during the Depression to the civil rights struggles of the 60s comes a vivid portrayal of a family trapped by circumstances. Aboard Providence Uncharted Beginnings Volume 1. Marian and Jonah leave Virginia for a new settlement, hoping to escape the looming Civil War.

Will God lead them to the love they desire? The Land Uncharted Volume 1. Can a city girl with roots deep in Chicago and a bull-riding rancher with roots deep in Texas give themselves a second chance at love? Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention janette oke upon a summer young boy really enjoyed well written easy read year old good read point of view highly recommend heartwarming great book story line looking forward sweet story auntie lou seasons of the heart oke books enjoyed this book auntie lou.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Wonderful beginning of a wonderful series! Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I didn't think I'd get hooked on this book. I have read the two Canadian series by Janette Oke and wasn't sure what I'd find. I was in love with the character Josh and his family from the start of the first several lines.

The author tells the story of Josh through using seasons and relating them to how the heart life is like spring, summer, fall and winter. As always, she has lots of nuggets of wisdom in life and walking in faith. The story of Josh has so many things in it from a time long past that are so great to read about. Though many tough times, Josh and others in the story had so much stamina. There are, through the series, great characters and lesser characters.

Wonderful introductions and goodbyes. I've read all four of the books and it's been a few weeks since I finished them. I want to read them again. I'm so glad Janette has written such wonderful books. I especially like this series. It may well be a life-time favorite for me. The books are written in first person. In this first book, Josh is fairly young and his vocabulary is very informal The phrase "just that" is rendered as Josh would speak 'jest thet'. It changes as Josh grows but some words never change, like "crick" for "creek".

And I smile as I write that. I may not be spelling it all out as Janette does, but you get the idea I hope. I wish I could say more about what I liked and all, but that just gives away too much! And, as I have been saying in my reviews of her books, Janette seems so much like a friend and mentor, that I call her by her first name sometimes. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. The story is told from the point of view of Josh, who is a young man that lives on a farm. Josh was a very likable boy and I fell in love with him and his spirit. Being a young man, Josh faced a lot of uncertainties and was a little bit loss.

Thankfully Aunt Lou, Grandpa, Uncle Charlie and later Gramps were there to help him grow and shape him as a young man. I really enjoyed how this story was just about family and how in times of trial, they work together and become stronger.

What is the Tomatometer®?

Jun 20, Angie rated it it was amazing. Fun, clean, great writing. May 13, Ruth rated it liked it Shelves: A very sweet book.

It was slow with hardly any suspense but I enjoyed it all the same. Apr 09, Emily Erickson rated it really liked it. So his great grandpa is coming to live with them. Josh has sort of a hard time with that. Then, as they wait for him to arrive, Grandpa and Uncle Charlie think that Lou is getting older and could soon be finding someone to marry so they secretly decide to push her in the right direction of people they approve of.

Which is something Josh is also not a fan of. They do this by inviting over a couple guys over to dinner on different Sundays. They do chores and go fishing together. Next comes harvest season, which Josh absolutely loves. As that passes, Josh must go back to school. But one day, Gramps surprises him and gets him a puppy. When something tragic happens to it it leaves Josh heart broken. So Gramps to the rescue gets him another puppy. Which Josh falls in love with. Next, the church they go to is getting a new parson.

His name is Nathaniel Crawford. So Grandpa comes around and Lou and Nat officially date and when they were ready, they got married. Cons A couple cons of the book would be that the language was very informal and broken, making it sort of hard to read. Offensive Content The language, as I mentioned before, was very broken and informal, some of which could be seen as offensive by some. It is also a religious book so some of those aspects could also be seen as offensive to some.

Pros I know I mentioned the language as a con, but I also sort of see it as a pro. Although it made it a little harder to read, it added to the book and helped to get to know the characters a little better. Also a pro, after the book technically ends, it has like a little postscript to wrap up everything.

Thanks God for this special gift of his that lets ya sorta live yer experiences again and again. Apr 09, Cathy rated it it was amazing Shelves: I first read this as a teen years ago, with my own mother, on a long car-ride, just the two of us. I thought it was so funny that I read it aloud to her as she drove.

Frequently bought together

The book transformed what could have been -and still was, to an extent - a scary trip for me into one of gentle laughter. Now, I've read this with my youngest teen. The older teens prefer other genres, so I never tried it with them, but this child thoroughly enjoyed it with me. Grandpa and his brother, Uncle Charlie, whom my teen ca I first read this as a teen years ago, with my own mother, on a long car-ride, just the two of us.

Grandpa and his brother, Uncle Charlie, whom my teen called "the Grandpa Society" tried to find a romantic match for Aunty Lou. But, Josh and Gramps, whom my teen dubbed "the Home-Alone Society," after the movie tried to derail and sabotage all of the candidates. This might loosely be called a romance, but it's not told from any of the romantic partners' point of view, and so it's lost it's cloud-9, lovey-dovey feel to it, and all that was left was the humor. It's told from Josh's perspective, a sort-of kid brother character. I just thought the book might be funny and that it would be a welcome change of pace from some of the more serious ones we've done lately.

It's also a character-story, which this teen enjoys. I hadn't realized that this teen could relate to Josh more than I realized, and has been horrified with an older sibling occasionally going out on dates. But we are NOT going to sabotage things We might have to wait and see. This book was my favorite of Janette Oke's books - for its simplicity, charm, and humor.

I liked the second-hand way that the romance was told, through the eyes of the kid "brother. I never could quite get into her more popular series, "Love Comes Softly," where a character married someone before she fell in love with him. That just seemed to be taking too huge of a gamble. I have to say that I also appreciated the sequel to "Once Upon a Summer," "Winds of Autumn" because it included some reasons for faith, some apologetics that stood up against severe questioning.

It reminded me a little of C. Lewis' "Perelandria" in that regard, but it's of a completely different genre. The tone of "Winds of Autumn" was more serious than "Once Upon a Summer," though, and I think maybe the reader should be a little older. My teen also liked the surprise for Josh at the end. If you don't tend to them right away when they're small and controllable, they grow with amazing speed. Sep 07, Loraine rated it really liked it Shelves: Janette Oke was one of the first Christian authors I discovered, and I fell in love with her books.

Once upon a Summer

She still treats me to a delightful story each time I pick up one I haven't read. Her books are a quintessential blend of the strong pioneer family ties of Little House on the Prairie, the faith of Grace Livingston Hill's books, and the reality of the life and times of Lori Benton books.

There was an error trying to load your rating for this title.

Oke's storyline brought me to laughter, joy, and tears throughout the book. I loved the relationship between Gr Janette Oke was one of the first Christian authors I discovered, and I fell in love with her books. Grandpa and Uncle Charles' attempts at finding a beau for Lou where hysterical and I loved the role Joshua played in trying to nix them along with Gramps after he moved in. The fact that Oke chose to write this story from the viewpoint of 12 year old Joshua gave it an entirely different perspective; one that I really liked.

Clean, sweet easy to read series that is light on romance and a quick read. When the person that ya loved is gone, when the happy time is over, then ya've still got yer memories. Thank God for this special gift of His that lets ya sorta liver yer experience again and again. S'pose there ain't no price one would settle on fer the worth of memories. You didn't have to be a ma and a pa and four kids to be a family. All you needed was people llivin' together and lovin' and helpin' one another.

That's what made a family--blood-ties and love-bonds. I'd jest been lookin' in the wrong place for them.

Like families, memories didn't come in only one kind of package. I really enjoyed the story of Josh Jones and his unusual family. It is a sweet story of family, love and friendship in the face of change and challenges. I know a lot of people found this book boring, and many of them haven't bothered to get past the first few chapters - but that is there loss.

'Once Upon a Summer' both warm, heart-wrenching

Like a lot of Janette Oke books, Once Upon a Summer really takes off in the middle of the story and you find yourself enjoying it without realising when you began too. It is deceptively simple as it is to I really enjoyed the story of Josh Jones and his unusual family. It is deceptively simple as it is told from an adolences boy's point of view, but really it isn't. And it isn't the usual Janette Oke story of romance either. When it suddenly occurs to Grandpa and Uncle Charlie that Auntie Lou is ready for marriage, they take it upon themselves to find an appropriate suitor - with hilarious results.

Josh is not happy about their match making, wanting to keep the Aunt who has been a sister, mother and best friend all wrapped into one, to himself, and his attempts at sabotage is fun to read. Then along comes Gramps, Josh's great grandfather, and Josh learns that sometimes change is a good thing. A refreshing story that reminds us, families come in all shapes and sizes. May 04, Chloe aka Crystal rated it it was amazing Shelves: I, at first, judged a book by it's cover I really loved this book. I normally don't like romance, but it really spiced this book up a bit.

It was kind of funny view spoiler [when Grandpa and Uncle Charlie tried to match-make Lou with guys to marry her off, but she really didn't like any of them. She feel in lo I, at first, judged a book by it's cover Jul 19, Hanna rated it really liked it Shelves: Half of me loves the perspective from the nephew-but-brotherly type. The other wishes there could be a first look at the romance, because it would be amazing to see things from Aunt Lou's perspective--Josh's totally unromantic personality doesn't do it quite justice.

The way it was written, however, was appropriate. Josh's narration sounded just like he was speaking leaving the g's off of his 'ing' verbs , which was a little strange; I guess it was to feel the setting more, but it di Half of me loves the perspective from the nephew-but-brotherly type. Josh's narration sounded just like he was speaking leaving the g's off of his 'ing' verbs , which was a little strange; I guess it was to feel the setting more, but it didn't really succeed with me.

But the setting was amazing, anyway. Even though I couldn't really figure out the exact time period.

Jun 02, Sara Cardon rated it it was amazing Shelves: Totally sweet, just like I expect from Janette Oke. Josh is twelve and narrates this story. I really love how the great grandfather comes to live with Josh's family his grandfather, great uncle, and Aunt Lou. The great grandfather made the story for me. He was incredible and helped Josh work through the issues he carries around with him. I found the details about farm life enjoyable. Watch the biggest recent trailers in the shortest amount of time: Take a look back at the most memorable moments ever to grace the Emmys, including the shortest acceptance speech in Emmys history!

Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video. Start your free trial. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! Enjoy unlimited streaming on Prime Video. There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property.

Please reload or try later.

• ULTRAMARATHON
• The Nigger of the Narcissus and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)
• Learn to Pray
• Hit The Mark: Maximize Your Chances of Getting Pregnant
• Receptions of Descartes: Cartesianism and Anti-Cartesianism in Early Modern Europe (Routledge Studie