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Not to be confused with the 2004-2005 CW show of the same name, [[TabletopGame/{{Summerland}} the 2009 tabletop game]], the 2012 book by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi, all of which share the same name.
to:
Not to be confused with the 2004-2005 CW show of the same name, [[TabletopGame/{{Summerland}} the 2009 tabletop game]], the 2012 book by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi, or [[Film/Summerland2020 the 2020 film by Jessica Swale]], all of which share the same name.
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Dewicked trope
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* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: By the end of the book, the main party has swelled up to nine characters, not counting the numerous antagonists and supporting characters. Justified, since the heroes are forming a baseball team and need nine people to fill all of the positions. Inevitably, some members of the party get more focus than others.
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Not to be confused with [[TabletopGame/{{Summerland}} the 2009 tabletop game]], the 2012 book by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi, all of which share the same name.
to:
Not to be confused with the 2004-2005 CW show of the same name, [[TabletopGame/{{Summerland}} the 2009 tabletop game]], the 2012 book by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi, all of which share the same name.
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Not to be confused with the 2012 book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi.
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Not to be confused with [[TabletopGame/{{Summerland}} the 2009 tabletop game]], the 2012 book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi. Rajaniemi, all of which share the same name.
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The Fair Folk refers to evil or dangerously alien fairies, which doesn't seem to be the case here.
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Its less basic premise is this: Summerland is a magical place where the local Little League gathers to play baseball on a perfectly manicured lawn, and the sun is always shining in a flawless blue sky. However, the small beings known as [[TheFairFolk ferishers]], who ensure this perfect weather, are threatened by an ancient enemy and need a hero—a baseball star, in fact—to vanquish their foe.
to:
Its less basic premise is this: Summerland is a magical place where the local Little League gathers to play baseball on a perfectly manicured lawn, and the sun is always shining in a flawless blue sky. However, the small beings known as [[TheFairFolk [[LittlePeople ferishers]], who ensure this perfect weather, are threatened by an ancient enemy and need a hero—a baseball star, in fact—to vanquish their foe.
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* CoolOldGuy: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Jennifer T. gets irked when people just call her "Jennifer." Or "Jenny."
* EccentricMentor: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Jennifer T. gets irked when people just call her "Jennifer." Or "Jenny."
* EccentricMentor: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
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* DoNotCallMePaul: Jennifer T. gets irked when people just call her
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* EvilRedhead: Coyote.
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* HijackedByJesus
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* MagicalNegro: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
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* MissingMom: Ethan's and Jennifer T.'s moms.
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* MrExposition: Cutbelly the werefox.
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* NoSmoking: Surprisingly averted.
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* {{Tomboy}}: Jennifer T., and how.
* TookALevelInBadass: Thor.
* TookALevelInBadass: Thor.
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* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Coyote and Padfoot.
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* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Ethan's dad has developed a new type of Zeppelin that the average American family can use for transportation in lieu of a car. This is our first hint that not everything in Ethan's life is quite normal.
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* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Ethan's dad has developed a new type of Zeppelin zeppelin that the average American family can use for transportation in lieu of a car. This is our first hint that not everything in Ethan's life is quite normal.
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* EvilAlbino: Rob Padfoot.
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Not to be confused with the 2012 book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand.
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Not to be confused with the 2012 book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand.Hildebrand, or the 2018 book by Hannu Rajaniemi.
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from Michael Chabon
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* {{Reconstruction}}: Reconstructs adolescent HighFantasy like ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' by giving it a fresh setting -- in this case, a fantasy-world based on American culture and folklore.
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* TheObiWan: Chief Cinquefoil.
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Handsome Devil is being redirected to Hot Guys Are Bastards per TRS. Misuse and zero context examples will be cut.
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* HandsomeDevil: Coyote is described like this.
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!! This Novel provides examples of:
* AffablyEvil: Coyote, just… Coyote.
* AffablyEvil: Coyote, just… Coyote.
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!! This Novel novel provides examples of:
* AffablyEvil: Coyote, just… Coyote.%%* AffablyEvil:
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None
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* ShoutOut: Spider Rose is named after Chabon's daughter, Ida-Rose Chabon.
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* ShoutOut: ShoutOut:
** Spider Rose is named after Chabon's daughter, Ida-Rose Chabon.
** Spider Rose is named after Chabon's daughter, Ida-Rose Chabon.
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** Considering the book's use of MagicalRealism and its QuirkyTown setting, the burned-out baseball player Rodrigo Buendía may be named after the Buendía family of Creator/GabrielGarciaMarquez's ''Literature/OneHundredYearsOfSolitude''.
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No, it is not one of the most popular children\'s books ever. That is a exaggeration.
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''Summerland'' is a 2002 juvenile/young adult novel by Creator/MichaelChabon about a group of young children who seek to save the world by playing [[SeriousBusiness baseball]]. It interweaves elements of a parallel-universe road trip, TheQuest and a World Series. It is one of the bestselling children's books of all time.
to:
''Summerland'' is a 2002 juvenile/young adult novel by Creator/MichaelChabon about a group of young children who seek to save the world by playing [[SeriousBusiness baseball]]. It interweaves elements of a parallel-universe road trip, TheQuest and a World Series. It is one of the bestselling was a popular children's books of all time.
book.
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None
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* ArtificialHuman: Thor Wignutt is convinced that he's one.
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* ArtificialHuman: Thor Wignutt is convinced that he's one. [[spoiler: He's actually a Changeling.]]
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* ChangelingTale: [[spoiler: Thor]] is a changeling.
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None
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Not to be confused with the 2012 book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand.
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None
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* MonsterModesty: Averted with Cutbelly the werefox, who prefers to go around naked. Ethan understands that werefoxes aren't obligated to wear clothes, but [[LampshadeHanging he finds himself wishing that Cutbelly would at least put on some pants]].
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None
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* SeriousBusiness: Baseball is the way to save the universe, and its laws are based on those of the universe.
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A Worldwide Punomenon cleanup
* PunnyName: Ethan's nickname on his baseball team is "the Dog," because he's always hoping for a "walk" when he goes up to bat.
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* AWorldwidePunomenon: Ethan's nickname on his baseball team is "the Dog," because he's always hoping for a "walk" when he goes up to bat.
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namespace
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** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to Creator/DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
to:
** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to Creator/DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.''Literature/TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
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* TomBoy: Jennifer T., and how.
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* TomBoy: {{Tomboy}}: Jennifer T., and how.
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namespace thing fixed!! - also, sorted a bit
* FluffyTheTerrible: One of Ethan's companions is a hulking, monstrous Sasquatch named..."Taffy."
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* FluffyTheTerrible: One of Ethan's companions is a hulking, monstrous Sasquatch named..."Taffy."
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Technically.
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* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Technically.
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* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Technically.TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
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* SadlyMythtaken: (taken from the page) ''Summerland'' takes place in a world that cheerily mashes together Native American and Norse mythology. This leads to the reveal, utterly brain-breaking if you know your mythology, that [[spoiler:Coyote Changer]] is also [[spoiler:Loki and the Devil]]. Seriously. (And for its next trick, the rules of the Universe are based on those of baseball.)
to:
* SadlyMythtaken: (taken from the page) ''Summerland'' takes place in a world that cheerily mashes together Native American and Norse mythology. This leads to the reveal, utterly brain-breaking if you know your mythology, that [[spoiler:Coyote Changer]] is also [[spoiler:Loki and the Devil]]. Seriously. (And for its next trick, the rules of the Universe are based on those of baseball.) )
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** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
to:
** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, Creator/DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
* TomBoy: Jennifer T., and how.
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* [[TomBoy Tomboy]]: Jennifer T., and how.
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namespace
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** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large {{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
to:
** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large {{Hellboy}} ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
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move to namespace
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:185:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/summerlandcovverbook_4607.JPG]]
''Summerland'' is a 2002 juvenile/young adult novel by Creator/MichaelChabon about a group of young children who seek to save the world by playing [[SeriousBusiness baseball]]. It interweaves elements of a parallel-universe road trip, TheQuest and a World Series. It is one of the bestselling children's books of all time.
Its less basic premise is this: Summerland is a magical place where the local Little League gathers to play baseball on a perfectly manicured lawn, and the sun is always shining in a flawless blue sky. However, the small beings known as [[TheFairFolk ferishers]], who ensure this perfect weather, are threatened by an ancient enemy and need a hero—a baseball star, in fact—to vanquish their foe.
The ferishers recruit [[KidHero Ethan Feld]], possibly the worst ballplayer in the history of the league, as their leader. No one is more surprised than Ethan at their choice, but their faith spurs him on. Also, the [[ProphecyTwist prophecy]] of an oracular clam.
Accompanied by his friends [[{{Tomboy}} Jennifer T. Rideout]], a boy named Thor Wignutt who thinks he's an android named [=TW03=], and a motley crew of creatures that includes a Sasquatch and a werefox, Ethan struggles to defeat giants, bat-winged goblins, and one of the toughest ball clubs in the realms of magic to save the Summerlands, and, ultimately, the world.
----
!! This Novel provides examples of:
* AffablyEvil: Coyote, just… Coyote.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: Picofibers, the material that Ethan's dad uses to make his airship, [[spoiler: and that Coyote plans to use to destroy the Lodgepole]].
* ArtificialHuman: Thor Wignutt is convinced that he's one.
* AwesomeButImpractical: What the general public thinks about Mr. Feld's family airships. As Ethan and his friends find out, they're actually very practical if you need to traverse miles and miles of mountainous terrain, but they seem pointless to the average American family.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: The reason Ethan was brought to the Oracular Clam in the first place.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Jennifer T. comes from one.
* BilingualBonus: On the team listings near the end, we learn that Cutbelly the werefox's last name is "Reynard."
* BumblingDad: Mr. Feld is introduced as this.
* BunglingInventor: Subverted with Ethan's dad. He's actually a very competent inventor...he just can't find a market for his big project (affordable family [[CoolAirship airships]]) because nobody sees the point of it.
* ChekhovsBoomerang: [[spoiler: Splinter]] comes in use several times throughout, and to an extent the [[spoiler: Knott and the pain it causes]], too.
* ChekhovsGunman: Early on, Ethan mentions that his Dad owns a baseball card of the famed ballplayer Rodrigo Buendia. Later in the book, Chiron Brown ends up recruiting Buendia (who turns out to be a cynical burn-out) to help the kids out in their quest.
* ChekhovsHobby: Baseball, considering how you know, the whole fate of the universe rests on it.
* CoolAirship: Ethan and his friends carry out their travels in one.
* CoolOldGuy: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Jennifer T. gets irked when people just call her "Jennifer." Or "Jenny."
* EccentricMentor: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: What Coyote is setting out to achieve.
* EvilAlbino: Rob Padfoot.
* EvilRedhead: Coyote.
* FantasyKitchenSink: The Summerlands and nearby realms are based on a weird mishmash of Native American and Norse mythology and American tall tales. With wormholes, ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld, and universe-destroying AppliedPhlebotinum thrown in for good measure.
* {{Flying Car}}s: The Ferishers regularly get around in flying buses.
* FluffyTheTerrible: One of Ethan's companions is a hulking, monstrous Sasquatch named..."Taffy."
* GenreShift: Starts out as MagicRealism, but becomes HighFantasy once the SaveTheWorld plot begins.
* HandsomeDevil: Coyote is described like this.
* HijackedByJesus
* InvisibleToNormals: The Ferishers are able to get around pretty easily because they're invisible to anyone who doesn't believe in fairies.
* IronicNickname: Chiron Brown is nicknamed "Ringfinger" because his ring finger is missing.
* KidHero: Ethan, Thor and Jennifer T. are these; subverted slightly in that two of them do drive during the course of the story.
* KryptoniteFactor: All Ferishers can be poisoned by the touch of iron.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: By the end of the book, the main party has swelled up to nine characters, not counting the numerous antagonists and supporting characters. Justified, since the heroes are forming a baseball team and need nine people to fill all of the positions. Inevitably, some members of the party get more focus than others.
* MagicalNegro: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* MagicalRealism: The book starts out as this before shifting into full-on HighFantasy.
* MissingMom: Ethan's and Jennifer T.'s moms.
* MrExposition: Cutbelly the werefox.
* {{Muggles}}: To Ferishers and other creatures from the Summerlands, humans from The Middling (our world) are called "Reubens."
* NoSmoking: Surprisingly averted.
* TheObiWan: Chief Cinquefoil.
* TheOmniscient: The Oracular Clam. Pity he has to spit out all his prophecies.
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: The Ferishers. They're just miniature-sized humans who dress like Native Americans, play baseball obsessively, and have limited access to magic. And they get around using flying buses.
* ProphecyTwist: The Oracular Clam's prophecy is not about Ethan after all; it's about [[spoiler:his father]].
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Technically.
* Really700YearsOld: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown is 109 years old, but hasn't aged in decades.
* SadlyMythtaken: (taken from the page) ''Summerland'' takes place in a world that cheerily mashes together Native American and Norse mythology. This leads to the reveal, utterly brain-breaking if you know your mythology, that [[spoiler:Coyote Changer]] is also [[spoiler:Loki and the Devil]]. Seriously. (And for its next trick, the rules of the Universe are based on those of baseball.)
* ShoutOut: Spider Rose is named after Chabon's daughter, Ida-Rose Chabon.
** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large {{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
* ThinkingUpPortals: There is a whole subclass of people, called "Shadowtails," who can do this either to teleport from place to place (called "scampering") or to teleport to different worlds on the Lodgepole (called "leaping"). Thor Wignutt turns out to be one, and he uses his power to take himself and his companions to the Summerlands.
* TookALevelInBadass: Thor.
* [[TomBoy Tomboy]]: Jennifer T., and how.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Most of the references to Norse mythology likely went right over the head of the target audience.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Coyote and Padfoot.
* WorldTree: The Lodgepole. Ethan and his friends are trying to fix it (by playing baseball).
* AWorldwidePunomenon: Ethan's nickname on his baseball team is "the Dog," because he's always hoping for a "walk" when he goes up to bat.
* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Ethan's dad has developed a new type of Zeppelin that the average American family can use for transportation in lieu of a car. This is our first hint that not everything in Ethan's life is quite normal.
----
''Summerland'' is a 2002 juvenile/young adult novel by Creator/MichaelChabon about a group of young children who seek to save the world by playing [[SeriousBusiness baseball]]. It interweaves elements of a parallel-universe road trip, TheQuest and a World Series. It is one of the bestselling children's books of all time.
Its less basic premise is this: Summerland is a magical place where the local Little League gathers to play baseball on a perfectly manicured lawn, and the sun is always shining in a flawless blue sky. However, the small beings known as [[TheFairFolk ferishers]], who ensure this perfect weather, are threatened by an ancient enemy and need a hero—a baseball star, in fact—to vanquish their foe.
The ferishers recruit [[KidHero Ethan Feld]], possibly the worst ballplayer in the history of the league, as their leader. No one is more surprised than Ethan at their choice, but their faith spurs him on. Also, the [[ProphecyTwist prophecy]] of an oracular clam.
Accompanied by his friends [[{{Tomboy}} Jennifer T. Rideout]], a boy named Thor Wignutt who thinks he's an android named [=TW03=], and a motley crew of creatures that includes a Sasquatch and a werefox, Ethan struggles to defeat giants, bat-winged goblins, and one of the toughest ball clubs in the realms of magic to save the Summerlands, and, ultimately, the world.
----
!! This Novel provides examples of:
* AffablyEvil: Coyote, just… Coyote.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: Picofibers, the material that Ethan's dad uses to make his airship, [[spoiler: and that Coyote plans to use to destroy the Lodgepole]].
* ArtificialHuman: Thor Wignutt is convinced that he's one.
* AwesomeButImpractical: What the general public thinks about Mr. Feld's family airships. As Ethan and his friends find out, they're actually very practical if you need to traverse miles and miles of mountainous terrain, but they seem pointless to the average American family.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: The reason Ethan was brought to the Oracular Clam in the first place.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Jennifer T. comes from one.
* BilingualBonus: On the team listings near the end, we learn that Cutbelly the werefox's last name is "Reynard."
* BumblingDad: Mr. Feld is introduced as this.
* BunglingInventor: Subverted with Ethan's dad. He's actually a very competent inventor...he just can't find a market for his big project (affordable family [[CoolAirship airships]]) because nobody sees the point of it.
* ChekhovsBoomerang: [[spoiler: Splinter]] comes in use several times throughout, and to an extent the [[spoiler: Knott and the pain it causes]], too.
* ChekhovsGunman: Early on, Ethan mentions that his Dad owns a baseball card of the famed ballplayer Rodrigo Buendia. Later in the book, Chiron Brown ends up recruiting Buendia (who turns out to be a cynical burn-out) to help the kids out in their quest.
* ChekhovsHobby: Baseball, considering how you know, the whole fate of the universe rests on it.
* CoolAirship: Ethan and his friends carry out their travels in one.
* CoolOldGuy: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Jennifer T. gets irked when people just call her "Jennifer." Or "Jenny."
* EccentricMentor: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: What Coyote is setting out to achieve.
* EvilAlbino: Rob Padfoot.
* EvilRedhead: Coyote.
* FantasyKitchenSink: The Summerlands and nearby realms are based on a weird mishmash of Native American and Norse mythology and American tall tales. With wormholes, ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld, and universe-destroying AppliedPhlebotinum thrown in for good measure.
* {{Flying Car}}s: The Ferishers regularly get around in flying buses.
* FluffyTheTerrible: One of Ethan's companions is a hulking, monstrous Sasquatch named..."Taffy."
* GenreShift: Starts out as MagicRealism, but becomes HighFantasy once the SaveTheWorld plot begins.
* HandsomeDevil: Coyote is described like this.
* HijackedByJesus
* InvisibleToNormals: The Ferishers are able to get around pretty easily because they're invisible to anyone who doesn't believe in fairies.
* IronicNickname: Chiron Brown is nicknamed "Ringfinger" because his ring finger is missing.
* KidHero: Ethan, Thor and Jennifer T. are these; subverted slightly in that two of them do drive during the course of the story.
* KryptoniteFactor: All Ferishers can be poisoned by the touch of iron.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: By the end of the book, the main party has swelled up to nine characters, not counting the numerous antagonists and supporting characters. Justified, since the heroes are forming a baseball team and need nine people to fill all of the positions. Inevitably, some members of the party get more focus than others.
* MagicalNegro: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown.
* MagicalRealism: The book starts out as this before shifting into full-on HighFantasy.
* MissingMom: Ethan's and Jennifer T.'s moms.
* MrExposition: Cutbelly the werefox.
* {{Muggles}}: To Ferishers and other creatures from the Summerlands, humans from The Middling (our world) are called "Reubens."
* NoSmoking: Surprisingly averted.
* TheObiWan: Chief Cinquefoil.
* TheOmniscient: The Oracular Clam. Pity he has to spit out all his prophecies.
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: The Ferishers. They're just miniature-sized humans who dress like Native Americans, play baseball obsessively, and have limited access to magic. And they get around using flying buses.
* ProphecyTwist: The Oracular Clam's prophecy is not about Ethan after all; it's about [[spoiler:his father]].
* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: Technically.
* Really700YearsOld: Chiron "Ringfinger" Brown is 109 years old, but hasn't aged in decades.
* SadlyMythtaken: (taken from the page) ''Summerland'' takes place in a world that cheerily mashes together Native American and Norse mythology. This leads to the reveal, utterly brain-breaking if you know your mythology, that [[spoiler:Coyote Changer]] is also [[spoiler:Loki and the Devil]]. Seriously. (And for its next trick, the rules of the Universe are based on those of baseball.)
* ShoutOut: Spider Rose is named after Chabon's daughter, Ida-Rose Chabon.
** One scene mentions that Ethan sleeps wearing an extra-large {{Hellboy}} t-shirt. This is likely a ShoutOut to DarkHorseComics, who published a comic book spin-off of Chabon's previous novel ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay''.
* TheQuest: If you strip the book down to its bare bones, this is essentially the plot.
* ThinkingUpPortals: There is a whole subclass of people, called "Shadowtails," who can do this either to teleport from place to place (called "scampering") or to teleport to different worlds on the Lodgepole (called "leaping"). Thor Wignutt turns out to be one, and he uses his power to take himself and his companions to the Summerlands.
* TookALevelInBadass: Thor.
* [[TomBoy Tomboy]]: Jennifer T., and how.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Most of the references to Norse mythology likely went right over the head of the target audience.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Coyote and Padfoot.
* WorldTree: The Lodgepole. Ethan and his friends are trying to fix it (by playing baseball).
* AWorldwidePunomenon: Ethan's nickname on his baseball team is "the Dog," because he's always hoping for a "walk" when he goes up to bat.
* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Ethan's dad has developed a new type of Zeppelin that the average American family can use for transportation in lieu of a car. This is our first hint that not everything in Ethan's life is quite normal.
----
