Name this old YA book please

January 10, 2023 11:19 AM

My brain will not let me rest until I can recover the title of a YA book I read about 30 years ago. What I remember: the main character was a tween girl named Lydia, visiting family (her aunts, I think?) for the summer. There was a coming of age feel to it but no real plot or tension, mostly just her hanging out with the neighborhood kids doing summery things. They played hide-and-seek in the dark and went swimming a lot. The title may have invoked fireflies or dragonflies. Ring a bell with anyone?

I've googled seven ways from Sunday and can't come up with anything even remotely close. Google keeps suggested YA authors named Lydia but I'm quite sure it was the main character's name. Thanks for any help you can provide!

posted by anderjen to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: I think it is Just for the Summer by Christine McDonnell.

The book description doesn't give much info but I found this review that has more detail about the book including staying with the aunts.
posted by CleverClover at 11:50 AM on January 10, 2023 [2 favorites]

Also you can use this page to see snippets of the book. Like one of the aunts is Aunt Connie.
https://books.google.com/books?id=pglRuo32SyMC&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Fireflies
posted by CleverClover at 11:59 AM on January 10, 2023

Response by poster: YES! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm ordering a copy right now.
posted by anderjen at 12:01 PM on January 10, 2023 [1 favorite]