Every Other Weekend
Title: Every Other Weekend by Zulema Renee Summerfield
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Culture: American
Themes: Coming-of-Age, Divorce
The 80’s….Revisited
Funny, poignant, and heartbreaking Every Other Weekend by Zulema Renee Summerfield provides a close and in depth look at a parent’s divorce through the eyes of 8-year-old Nenny during 1988 when America is full of broken homes . As Nenny, her mother, and two brothers move in with her new stepfather and his two kids her old life replaced by this new configuration. Nenny's natural anxieties intensify, and both real and imagined dangers entwine: earthquakes and home invasions, ghosts of her stepfather's days in Vietnam, etc. she is far too small for the thoughts that haunt her.
At times, I found this book a bit chaotic with no real point in the stories it told. I couldn’t figure out where the book was going or why the anecdotal stories were even being discussed as they seem to be unconnected. But I began to realize this book is more about Nenny’s perception of the situations around her that inevitably shape her thinking and mental state. From extreme fear to crippling anxiety, Nenny navigates tough situations without the help of her parents and is left to determine what they mean and potential lessons learned. I feel this is true for many children of divorce; their lives upended in what feels like an instant and then learning to navigate 2 homes, 2 sets of parents, additional siblings and ultimately 2 worlds. I found this to be the most heartbreaking part of the story, seeing a young child navigate turbulent times not only at home but also in the world.
What kept me reading this novel was the quick pace, short chapters, and quick wit of the main character as I saw her life unfold over the course of a year. Summerfield does an excellent job weaving in the chaotic silliness of an 8 year with heavy and intense worldly matters that kept the story moving. From the language to the emotional reactions to mundane things, I truly enjoyed reading this novel.
~ Danielle
