Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G (one brief kiss); Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
12yo Brooke and her family are struggling to move forward following the accidental death of their mother. They are each working through their grief in different ways. The dad is working a lot. Brooke's older sister Calla (17) is busy with multiple clubs and school work and trying to fill in the gaps at home by cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Brooke is distracted. She is making mistakes in her favorite sport, softball, and is forgetting to do her homework. Then Brooke comes up with a plan to help everyone. With the help of her best friend Derek (whom she is also starting to have romantic feelings towards) and her new friend Marley, they decide to bring back the annual town picnic, Lakefest, something her mother used to put on every year. Brooke is certain that Lakefest will bring joy back to her family, help them heal, and make new memories. Can she and her friends pull it off in less than two weeks?
I enjoyed this sweet story of a girl trying to work through her grief and help her family to heal. She is not perfect; she procrastinates. She tries to be perfect at softball but ends up making mistakes instead. But in the end, she finds ways to honor the memory of her mother while still moving forward with her family. She also learns that people are not who they appear to be on the surface, once you get to know them.
Brooke and her family present white. Derek is Hispanic.
Reviewer: A. Snow, Librarian
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