• Once Upon a Summer

  • Seasons of the Heart, Book 1
  • By: Janette Oke
  • Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
  • Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (536 ratings)

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Once Upon a Summer  By  cover art

Once Upon a Summer

By: Janette Oke
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
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Publisher's summary

An excerpt from the book: "Sure, it's unusual to have an 18-year-old mother when you're 12. But when you're an orphan and she's your aunt and the only mother you've ever had well, as I explained, it had worked out real well.

That's why I got so riled up when I heard Grandpa and Uncle Charlie talkin' about findin' a fella for Auntie Lou!

You see, somethin' had to be done! I couldn't just sit back and watch our special family get broken up. But with Grandpa and Uncle Charlie workin' so hard to get Auntie Lou married off, I really had my job cut out for me.

Then, when that poor preacher came along, it really got complicated.

And maybe you'll find out what I found out about the best kind of family, I mean."

©1981 Janette Oke (P)1999 Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Once Upon a Summer

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wrestling with God . . . Learning . . .and Loving

This is a sweet story about family, faith and loss . . . a young man growing up without his parents, being raised by his grandpa and his aunt, who isn't too much older than he is . . . and blaming God that he can't even remember his parents . . . it is a different era, a time of working on the family farm, of respecting and obeying one's elders, and going to church in a wagon . . . a gentle tale of life, growing, changing, accepting . . . I only wish is that a different narrator had been chosen . . . I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the voice of Josh had not been a woman . . . it set me on edge throughout the whole book

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very nice story

This is not my typical genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Such a nice. Story but it was fun to put myself back in time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • L
  • 03-26-12

great for young teens

Good christian values and it is a easy read/listen.... My 11 year old loved this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Easy Listen/Read

I have kind of a neutral opinion about the plot, but I do love the wholesome, Christian theme and that it is an easy listening story while I get my chores done at home.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • CH
  • 01-20-24

I hope it picks up…

I’m halfway through chapter two of what I thought is a Canadian Midwest novel but the southern accent of the narrator is really throwing me off. I can’t tell you who the characters even are she is so tough to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good moral standards

Hearing Josh speak & wrestle with personal feelings is encouraging as well as eye opening. Young hearts are so tender & minds so innocent. As adults, we tend to forget or not notice that even the simplistic situations are gigantic to them & need explanations or time to process. They haven’t lived long enough but we expect them to think like adults.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Finding God

A families love for one another. Strength of community. God’s love working all things together for good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌

𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚'𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍! 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐❤️𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

From a young boy’s viewpoint

I really enjoyed this story. I connected with the boy and his dog part because my youngest son had a dog who followed him everywhere. We called him Bear because at his puppy stage he looked like a polar bear cub. We lost him when a truck ran over him. Very clean story with humorous parts. Recommend to anyone.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story of a faithful, loving family.

I bought this series & read these books while in college. I was very happy when I saw them on audible. The story was just as wonderful now as it was then. I felt like I was at a family reunion. I still love these characters as I did the first time I was introduced to them.

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