Student Essay on Missing May: How My Life Compares

Missing May: How My Life Compares by Cynthia Rylant

Essay

My life is very different from the life of Summer. Both of my parents are alive, and her mother is dead. Summer was passed from her aunts' and uncles' houses for years, while I was never treated like that or have even lived with any of my relatives. At the age of 6, Summer's Uncle Ob and Aunt May took her in and brought her to their rusty, old trailer. I don't live in a trailer; I live in a house that is anything but old and rusty.

After May died, Summer didn't doubt Ob when he thought May was "with" them. If I had been Summer, I would have thought that Ob had gone crazy or was just imagining things. Also, Summer believes in ghosts; I don't (not now at least). If she didn't, she would have never gone with Ob and Cletus looking for someone to contact May after she passed. While I was reading the book, I wondered if they would find Reverend Young and get to communicate with May.

The book reminded me of when my great-grandfather died when I was 8. I believe that he went to heaven and that he could still watch over me and see me grow up. I have many happy memories of him, especially the times we spent at our camp in Pennsylvania. When we planted a tree at camp in his memory, I felt that his presence was with us, looking down with love; it makes me glad that I was able to be with him for eight years of my life.