The Summer of the Swans

The Summer of the Swans (1970) is a Newbery Medal award-winning middle grade novel written by Betsy Byars. Byars (1928-2020) was the author of over 50 works of fiction for children and young adults, including six book series. Her novel The Night Swimmers was awarded the National Book Award For Young People’s Literature in 1980, and her novel Wanted…Mud Blossom was awarded the Edgar Award in 1991. In 1987, Byars was awarded the Regina Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Catholic Library Association. For several years, she lived in West Virginia where The Summer of the Swans takes place.

The Summer of the Swans is a coming-of-age story that follows 14-year-old Sara Godfrey, a girl caught between a family crisis and her own adolescent struggles. The novel spans roughly 24 hours as Sara searches for her 10-year-old brother Charlie (with an intellectual disability) who goes missing. She must draw upon hidden strength in order to find him. With its third person point-of-view, the novel explores agency and identity, grief and loss, and above all, various social dynamics—these dynamics being explored via both Sara and Charlie’s viewpoints.

This guide is based on the 1996 Puffin paperback edition.

Written in 1970, the language used to describe Charlie’s intellectual disability is reflective of the time period. Then used in everyday speech and medical terminology, the term “retarded” appears occasionally in the text, its implications varying depending on the speaker’s intent. This guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the term.

Plot Summary

When a flock of swans briefly relocates to the lake near 14-year-old Sara Godfrey’s home, she considers them a welcome sight during an otherwise abysmal summer. Sara experienced—and continues to experience—abrupt mood swings, her familial relationships suffering as a result. Living in close quarters with her 19-year-old sister Wanda, her 10-year-old brother Charlie, and their paternal aunt, Aunt Willie, Sara feels confined and restless. She enters a period of self-loathing, dissatisfied with every aspect of herself from her appearance to her belief that there is nothing special about her. She’s preoccupied with social standing and begins to resent her responsibility for her younger brother.

One afternoon, Sara takes Charlie to the lake to see the swans where he’s immediately mesmerized by their beauty and synchrony. So intense is Charlie’s newfound attachment to the swans that he leaves the house in the middle of the night in order to find them. Charlie loses his way and becomes stranded in the surrounding wilderness. The following morning, the police mount a search and Sara enlists the help of her friend Mary to find Charlie themselves.

Sara later (reluctantly) accepts the help of Joe Melby, a classmate she believes stole Charlie’s prized watch. When this misunderstanding is finally cleared up, she’s apologetic and embraces his help in locating her brother. Though search parties are assembled, Sara believes she’s the only one who can find Charlie, and she and Joe travel deeper into the woods. They find Charlie at the bottom of a ravine, frightened and exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. Together, they return home to a happy reunion with family and community. Joe invites Sara to a friend’s party, and she accepts—the novel closing as she prepares for it.