Summerlost

By: Ally Condie
Location: FIC CON
Genre: Coming of age- family grief

By the author of the "Matched" series

“My dad used to say that life was like turning the pages in a book. 'Oh, look,' he'd say, pretending to flip the pages in the air after we'd had something bad happen to us. 'Bad luck here on page ninety-seven. And on ninety-eight. But something good here on ninety-nine! All you had to do was keep reading!”

This follows an incredibly moving coming-of-age story about 12-year-old Cedar Lee, who has moved to Iron Creek, Utah, for the summer with her mother and younger brother, Miles.
And it follows their journey trying to regroup after an accident that claimed the lives of Cedar’s father and younger brother, Ben.

Outside her new house, Cedar quickly meets enthusiastic and enterprising Leo Bishop, who gets her a job at Summerlost, the town’s yearly Shakespeare festival.

As they team up to give secretive walking tours about the life of legendary actress and hometown hero Lisette Chamberlain, they become enthralled by the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death. Together, Cedar and Leo explore the town of Iron Creek and find a twenty-year-old mystery they might have the key to solving. Along the way, they discover the power of friendship to mend a broken heart.
Infused with emotion and rich with understanding,  that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.


This book managed to encompass everything that I wanted in a contemporary book:
Incredible friendships ✓
Exciting adventures with a hint of mystery ✓
Hilarious dialogue ✓
Realistic family relationships ✓
A great summer feel to it ✓
Natalie