Rest of the Story

Another strong effort by YA Queen Sarah Dessen. I really liked Emma and identified with her struggle to learn more about her late, alcoholic mother's life when she makes an unexpected summer visit to her family's lakeside home. There are numerous visit secondary characters, a swoony boy (he's the only one to get Emma's sense of humor - how perfect is that?), and a rich tourist/working class resident conflict slightly reminiscent of Dirty Dancing (without the dancing). Emma's father was a bit unrealistically overbearing, and the pacing flagged a bit in the last quarter, but those a minor quibbles in a very enjoyable summer read.