 | Rest of the story Author: Dessen, Sarah | |
| Price: $10.65 | ||
Summary:
Emma Saylor doesn't remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was twelve. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever. Now it's just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable ... until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother's family that she hasn't seen since she was a little girl. When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 4.50 Points: 16.0 Quiz: 504115 |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 05/01/2019 Emma Saylor Payne has always been Emma to her dad’s side of the family. Her mom called her Saylor, but her mom, an addict who’d been in and out of rehab, has been dead for five years now and was divorced from Emma’s father five years before that. But then a twist of fate leads Emma to spend the summer at her mom’s childhood home North Lake. At North Lake, Emma—though everyone here knows her as Saylor—reconnects with the family she hardly knows and learns about the mother she can barely remember and the place where her parents met, which is divided sharply into two worlds: the wealthy vacation spot her father visited and her mother’s working-class community. And she begins to realize that she’s not the girl she—or her father—has always thought she was. With one foot in her father’s world and one in her mother’s, Emma Saylor tentatively navigates issues of class, addiction, and identity. Hers is a summertime journey of self-discovery, family secrets, and first love, and it’s exactly where Dessen shines brightest.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Dessen, a reliable best-seller, a Margaret A. Edwards Award winner, an all-around big deal—do you even need us to tell you? - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 06/01/2019 Gr 8 Up–Emma Saylor's sheltered life is jostled when her summer plans are canceled last minute and her father scrambles to find her lodging before heading out of the country. With no options left, Emma crashes with Mimi, her maternal grandmother, whom she last saw years earlier at her mother's funeral. Vacationing at Mimi's lakeside motel with unfamiliar family leads Emma to reconnect with relatives who may be the key to discovering how her mom's life, and addiction, impacted the whole family's history as much as her own. Dessen has a vivid way of exploring a character's features, feelings, and flaws that leaves readers wanting more. Emma's a deceptively simple narrator whose complex reality is revealed slowly as she uncovers a new side of her family tree. Emma collects stories of her mom's childhood and her parents' relationship, leading her to reevaluate all the ways a person can love someone. At the same time, her realistic struggle of how she deals with anxiety is undeniably relatable for teens today. Ultimately, it's the budding friendship with local boy Roo that pushes Emma to see that understanding your family's past can make all the difference in accepting the memories and identity of those you hold dear. VERDICT A beautiful addition to Dessen's repertoire, and an examination of conflicting social classes, strained familial relationships, and delightfully evolving romance that is unforgettable.—Emily Walker, Lisle Library District, IL - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
