The Summer of Impossibilities - by Rachael Allen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Four girls are forced to spend the summer together when their moms reunite at their childhood lake house. What happens next involves midnight boat rides, flaming marshmallows, sandbar parties, crushes and heartache, and a summer they'll never forget.

Always-sunny Skyler is a softball star who's hiding how bad her joint pain has gotten. Always-stormy Scarlett, Skyler's twin, would much rather be hanging out with her boyfriend back home. Amelia Grace just wants to escape her conservative stepdad after he caught her kissing a girl. And homeschooled social-media star Ellie is just excited at the chance to make some friends IRL.

The girls are facing a long few months together, until they find the remnants of a secret society whose rules included playing poker, wearing pearls, telling the truth . . . and accomplishing something impossible by the end of the summer.

"Allen's well-rounded, realistic teen characters grow throughout, and she interlaces the story with complicated relationships that reveal each character's idea of friendship . . . An engaging coming-of-age story." --Kirkus

Review Quotes

"To Allen's credit, the story covers potentially toxic elements with grace, humor, and maturity, never getting bogged down or growing maudlin. Instead, it stays firmly rooted in the gentle affection among the characters and their sturdy humanity, which never falters." --School Library Journal

"Allen's well-rounded, realistic teen characters grow throughout, and she interlaces the story with complicated relationships that reveal each character's idea of friendship. . . An engaging coming-of-age story."--Kirkus Review

"The characters' alternating first-person voices are distinctive, the writing is sharp, and messages about honesty and being oneself add ballast to this satisfying multigenerational story of four girls finding the people they need."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author