The Summer It Rained Champions

De: Sarah Cordwell Scott

Narrado por: Maria Nicola Johnson

Six-year-old Sharon Rowling has a lot to contend with. Her gorgeous mum, Maria, literally stops traffic with her beauty, much to the annoyance of dodgy dad, Ricky, who is under-height as well as underemployed. And then there are her three excruciating siblings who remain stubbornly oblivious to her unrelenting fear of being outed as a "gypo."

Sharon opens her comical tale during the sweltering British summer of 1976 when even an incredibly handsome World Boxing Champ finds himself on the wrong end of her clueless dad's fists. However, it soon becomes clear that Sharon's embarrassing family are not the only bizarre inhabitants of the English village of Widdleton, and the stifling weather is getting the better of all of them.....

This book should appeal to listeners wishing to escape from modern life and drift back to an era when avocado was just a bathroom colour, and mindfulness meant staring at a blank TV. Come and spend a comical summer amongst the villagers of Widdleton as they encounter some tough lessons in self-acceptance and little Sharon learns how to deal with her internalised prejudice.

©2023 Sarah Cordwell (P)2025 Sarah Cordwell

I loved this audiobook

This was a very enjoyable audiobook to listen to. The combination of the story and the narration of the story made for a very enjoyable listen. This story has a lot of moments that had me giggling. The shenanigans that the characters find themselves in are really funny sometimes and when I realized what was about to happen at moments in the story before the characters did, I was delighted and on the edge of my seat waiting to see how they would react to the situation. I recommend this audiobook 100%!

The Summer it rained Champions

It took me an hour to feel this book was going to live up to the 'hype'.Being on the 'other side of the pond' a lot did not translate well. The family stuff did.What a family! The rest was enjoyable. Narration by Maria Johnson was terrific! I was given this book free for an honest review.

Fabulous modern English story!

Terrific family tale. Made even better by the narrator Maria Nicola Johnson. All of her great voices make this story hard to stop listening to and make the story amazing!

A heartwarming story

My husband and I listened to “The Summer it Rained Champions” over the span of a long road trip this summer. The story kept us engaged throughout and we found ourselves smiling along as well as feeling the tug of our heartstrings at various moments. The narrator, Maria Johnson, does an outstanding job with the character voices and accents. Through her telling, she fully colors the characters personalities and brings an artistry and warmth to the complexities of a story about a life and all its ups and downs. A story well worth listening to!

Delightful!

This was a very fun listen! It’s as if a goofy family-oriented 90’s sitcom were made into a book. And the narration is key: the varied voices, pacing, and tone make the many lighthearted vignettes of Widdleton come to life and ensures that all the punchlines land. Would recommend!