BOOKFINDS

The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams

The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams

For the past nine years, Helena Waite has been returning to summer camp at Southpoint. Every year the camp and its familiar routines, landmarks, and people have welcomed her back like a long-lost family member. But this year she is returning not as a camper, but as a counselor, while her best friend, Katie Bell remains behind. All too quickly, Helena discovers that the innocent world of campfires, singalongs, and field days have been pushed aside for late night pranks on the boys’ camp, skinny dipping in the lake, and stolen kisses in the hayloft. As she struggles to define herself in this new world, Helena begins to lose sight of what made camp special and the friendships that have sustained her for so many years. And when Ransome, her longtime crush, becomes a romantic reality, life gets even more confusing.

If you could capture summer in a book, this is it! Helena Waite is thrilled to be returning to her favorite place in the world, Southpoint. This summer she is coming back as a counselor but her best friend Katie Bell, having missed the cut-off by a few months, will have to spend one more summer as a camper. That tiny twist wreaks havoc on the girls’ tight bond and causes both to question what it means to be a child and what you have to give up to be an adult. The themes in this story are those that anyone can relate to and will have you wishing you too could return to those simple, carefree childhood days. They go by so quickly and unfortunately, Helena is reminded of that all too frequently during her first summer in the “adult” world.

Kathryn Williams has written an extraordinary book about the power of friendship, the dilemmas we face as we outgrow our childhood selves and the tug-of-war we often feel between our adult self and our childhood memories. The depiction of young love is honest and real and will have you rapidly turning the pages to find out what happens. The characters are so vivid and true that they honestly jump right off the page. An absolutely perfect read!