The summer before Anna's junior year, her father moves them back to the beach where he and her mother met. Aside from being uprooted, this stirs up memories, issues, emotions and questions that they had both suppressed since her mother's death when Anna was seven.



Wow, what a powerful read. I was not expecting this at all, I thought it ywas kind of a beachy summer albeit bittersweet book (I mean, look at the cover, right?) but it really affected me on many levels. First, it is a very well crafted book -- all the elements which seem so random and disparate and fragmented come together like the stones in a kaleidoscope suddenly forming a recognizable and impactful image that you realize was there all along, you just needed to shift focus to see it(sorry for the crazy extended metaphor, there ;). Second, the story is so believable and real you are completely drawn into it. The characters and the setting are also beautifully drawn and have a depth and intensity not found in many books. Sarah Dessen blurbs the jacket, and it is reminiscent of her best books. It has that dreamy, intense and vivid summer languor that she is so good at creating, but it has its own authentic voice, too. One of the best of this summer for me!