One boy, displaced by divorce and seeking a permanent residence of his own, haunts the house next door to his grandparents' hoping the owners will pick up and leave so he can move in. Eerily, the family he is "haunting" lost a son, brother, friend to a tragic death at Bird Lake, making them prone to feeling spooked. Will the family move away or will two boys experiencing deep emotional turbulence find a serendipitous friendship? ( )

Mitch is dealing with the reality that his parents are getting a divorce. Spenser is dealing with the reality that his parents may never recover from his brother's death. The two boys meet as neighbors at Bird Lake one summer, but secrets between them make for an uneasy relationship. Told in alternating points of view.

(#61 for the 2008 Book Challenge)

I love Kevin Henkes, he's the Kitten's First Full Moon guy -- oh, and the Lily guy -- but I think I like his picture books better. This is a problem novel in the core sense of the word. Two boys move into lake houses next door to each other. The one kid's parents are getting divorced, and the other kid's parents are having a hard time coping with the death of a child. If you removed these kids' problems, there would be absolutely nothing going on with the book. On the plus side, Henkes is a charming writer and the book is very atmospheric, and speaking as someone who loved my own childhood lake house so much I grew up and bought one right down the street, it captures everything that is excellent about living on a lake.

Grade: B-
Recommended: To lake lovers? It's one of those books that is both lovely and rather dull. ( )

Mitch is at the lake because his parents are getting a D-I-V-O-R-C-E and he and his mom are staying with his grandparents while she gets things sorted out. Spencer is at the lake because his brother died there when he was little and his mom wanted to see if she could stand being there again. Each of the boys is dealing with his own problems and they'll come together to form a brief friendship that's exactly what they needed at that moment.

It was fine. Well-written. But kind of boring. Felt kind of timeless, like it could be modern but it could have been 50 years ago. ( )

12-year old Mitch's parents have separated, and he and his mother have gone to stay with her parents on Bird Lake. Spencer and his family have returned to the family cottage on the lake after many years, not having come since his brother drowned in the lake. Friendship helps heal wounds, and they come closer to each other and gain understanding of their own families. ( )