Title: The Rest of The Story
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Format: Paperback ( 448 p) Personal Purchase
Description:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a big-hearted, sweeping novel about a girl who reconnects with a part of her family she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl—and falls in love, all over the course of a magical summer.
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, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges.
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. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is also divided into two people. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.
Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.
For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her—Emma or Saylor—will win out?
My Thoughts:
Emma Saylor has very few memories of her mom who died when she was young. Her dad is now remarried and finds herself with her grandmother on her moms side while his dad is on his honeymoon. She learns alot about her mom's life during this adventure. North Lake is nothing like Emma is prepared for and she spends her time switching her name back and forth Saylor vs Emma.
This was a great summer read. You walk next to Emma and see how she deals with all this family she knew nothing about. Family she seems very capable of adapting too. But buried deep are the secrets between Emma's mom and another local boy and what happened that one summer.
Definitely a great summer read for teens as they prepare for college. You find yourself pulled into Emma's world and can't wait to see how it ends!
