VVMBookBlog

Mitch is 12 and spending the summer with his mother at his grandparents’ house at Bird Lake.  His parents have separated and he’s trying to adjust to life without his father and an uncertain future.  Spencer is 10 and comes to spend the summer with his parents, younger sister, and dog, Jasper, in a home next door to Mitch on Bird Lake.  It’s the first time his family has been there since his older brother drowned in that lake when Mitch was two.

Chapter alternate between Mitch and Spencer telling the story each from their perspective.  Tensions between Mitch’s mother and grandparents cause him to want to live next door with his mother, but when Spencer’s family move in, he comes up with ways to scare them into leaving.  Then we read about Spencer’s reactions to those tactics.

There’s no big dramatic action here but we can really get into the boys’ heads to experience the pain and confusion they are both feeling.  Read Olive’s Ocean for more by this author.