Summerlost

Gr 5–9—A year ago, Cedar Lee's father and brother Ben were killed in a car accident. This summer Cedar, her brother Miles, and their mother have come to Iron Creek, her mother's hometown. They've bought a home that they can live in during the summer and rent out to college students during the school year, and their mother is spending much of her time fixing up the house. Cedar is still grieving her family's loss, and soon small objects begin appearing on her windowsill, items that Ben might have collected. One day a strangely dressed boy rides by on his bicycle. Cedar follows him to the Shakespeare festival, where the boy, Leo, is working as a program seller. A friendship grows as they attempt to solve a mystery involving the death of one of the festival's most famous actors. As Cedar works through her grief, she also learns how healing friendships can be. Phoebe Strole provides subtle but distinct voicing of each character with an appropriate level of emotion and pacing of the story.