Sarah Dessen was my favourite author as a teen, and I read this last year before *that* twitter scandal emerged and banged on for WEEKS about how much I loved her as a writer/this book. Anyhow, it was a nice return to a comforting read, which is kind of what I feel we all need at the moment.
Emma Saylor lives with her dad as a family of two after her mother's death. She's never met her mother's family until this summer: with her dad and grandma unavailable, she needs somewhere to stay. It's only when Emma arrives at North Lake that she discovers she stayed there as a child. Her mother's family came from the working class side of the lake, residents all year around working at the big resort to keep tourists happy, whilst her dad lived around the other side of the lake (and other side of the wealth gap).
Over the summer, Emma learns not only more about her mother than she ever expected, but more about herself. She's reunited with Roo, a boy who remembers her as his best friend when she stayed at North Lake as a child. He holds the key to the mystery that changed the course of her mother's life, and Emma's not sure she wants all the answers.
I've been a fan of all of the books Sarah Dessen has written - there's never just the boy meets girl element to the plot, but always something a little deeper. Her books remind me a little bit of a sort of Jacqueline Wilson for young adults. I loved this coming-of-age, trying to navigate your identity story. Emma doesn't live in a vacuum, and as with most teens there's a LOT of different pressures on her from different people to be a certain type of person, and the book follows this as well as Emma's attempts to really work out who she'd like to be.
I'd recommend this if you're a fan of romance or YA books, especially for a slightly comforting read in these anxiety-ridden times!
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