Emma Saylor Northup spends her summer at North Lake, the childhood home of her mother, who died from an overdose years earlier. While her father is away on a honeymoon with his new wife, Emma reconnects with her maternal grandmother and cousin, Roo. She navigates the social divide between the wealthy summer residents on the Lake side and the working-class locals in North Bay. Through long shifts at the family motel and nights on the water, she reconciles her memories of her mother with the reality of her family’s complicated history.
Readers of contemporary young adult fiction choose this book to observe the specific tensions of class identity and grief. Those who appreciate detailed settings and slow-paced character growth will find a realistic depiction of how family secrets shape a person's sense of self. The reader finishes the story with a clear understanding of how one individual can belong to two different worlds simultaneously without losing their own identity. This is for anyone interested in the technicalities of building a life after significant loss.
Practical, inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
