When Rachel's orphaned cousin comes to live with the Bryants, 17-year-old Julia, whom the family had never seen before, charms everybody: Rachel's parents, her brothers, her best friend, and worst of all, her steady boyfriend. But for Rachel, Julia's arrival signals a Summer of Fear…. Sweet, lovely Julia, it turns out, is a witch: how Rachel finally uncovers the truth and saves her family from the ruthless sorceress makes for a sensational climax that may cause even young cynics to suspend their disbelief in black powers.

Sarah Law Kennerly, in her review of "Summer of Fear," in School Library Journal (reprinted from the December, 1976 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1976), Vol. 23, No. 4, December, 1976, p. 69.