Review Detail

The Blossoming Summer by Anna Rose Johnson is set during WWII, this charming and thoughtful middle grade novel follows 12-year-old Rosemary, who’s forced to leave everything she knows in England when her family flees to America to escape the Blitz. She ends up in the quiet woods of Northern Wisconsin with a grandmother she barely knows and soon discovers a family secret that changes everything.

Rosemary learns she’s Anishinaabe, a part of her identity her father has hidden in shame, but one her bold, stylish Grandmother Charlotte proudly embraces. As her grandmother begins teaching her Anishinaabemowin, and as Rosemary bonds with a local boy who shares his love of gardening, she slowly begins to bloom learning what it means to belong, and that sometimes home is something you grow into, not just something you leave behind.

Anna Rose Johnson weaves a gentle but layered story about finding your roots, building new connections, and coming of age during uncertain times. It’s a story full of heart, resilience, and quiet beauty.