SUMMER STORM

This outstanding coming-of-age story is painful, unique, and utterly realistic. In Münster, Germany, Annie's cousin Gina and her father are moving in with her family. Eager to make her cousin feel welcome, Annie takes Gina and her four best friends to Silver Lake swimming hole. Narrator Emily Beresford captures the lifelong friends, who are each quite different from one another. The parents are also well rendered, particularly the adult brother and sister. When Gina goes missing, Annie comes to realize that what she thought she knew about her friends wasn't necessarily accurate. Soon family secrets emerge to further shake her world. Beresford’s portrayal of Annie’s emotions as she copes with tragedy is deeply moving and helps communicate the subtle lesson of the story. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2012]