Mitch has come to live at Bird Lake when his mother and father decide to divorce. Mitch is angry and wants things to go back to the way they were before, when his parents got along. Spencer and his family have come to Bird Lake after years of being away. They are finally coming back to the house where Mitch's brother drowned at the age of four. Each boy has his secret, and, step-by-step, they connect with each other and share little pieces of who they really are and what life is really like.
190 pages
978-0061470790 Ages 9-12
Keywords: boys, divorce, dysfunctional family, anger, death and dying, secrets, friends, friendship, feelings, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
Read alikes: Two Under Par; Words of Stone
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Told in alternating voices, this smart and engaging middle grade novel from the beloved Kevin Henkes is the story of two boys coming together in friendship as they struggle with family conflicts and tragedy.
There are ghosts at Bird Lake, and they're haunting Mitch and Spencer. Not the Halloween kind, but ghosts of the past. Memories of how life was before—before the divorce, before the accident. Can their ghosts bring Mitch and Spencer together, as friends? Or will their secrets keep them apart?
Mitch feels isolated at his grandparents’ house and can’t help hating his father, who walked out on him and his mom two and a half weeks earlier. Spencer’s family has decided it’s finally time to return to Bird Lake, years after his brother, Matty, drowned there. Both boys arrive at the lake scarred and fragile, but as they become friends, the sharp edges of their lives smooth out and, slowly, they are able to start healing.---from the publisher