'A brilliant and beautifully crafted tale... I loved it!' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs
A summer she can't remember
A friendship she won't forget
Nothing much happens in Sycamore, the small village where Clara lives - at least, that's how it seems. She loves eating ripe mangoes fallen from trees, running outside in the rainy season and escaping to her secret hideout with her best friend Gaynah. There's only one problem: she can't remember anything about the previous summer.
When a quirky girl called Rudy arrives from England, everything starts to change. Gaynah stops acting like a best friend, while Rudy and Clara roam across the island and uncover an old family secret. As the summer reaches its peak and the island storms begin, Clara's memory starts to return and she must finally face the truth of what happened last year.
This book, wow. Just wow. I don't even know where to begin to unpack all of the fantastic things about this book. As a middle grade, I really didn't expect the themes that were prevalent, including intense relationships with family, friendship and loss/grief through the eyes of a child. This book wasn't even remotely mysterious, but the plot twist was incredibly unexpected.
I had so many different ideas of what would have happened in this book, all of which were much less exciting than the actual outcome and I am so glad I was given the chance to read this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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24 June, 2020:
Finished reading
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24 June, 2020:
Reviewed