The Rest of the Story

From number one New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a big-hearted novel about a girl who reconnects with a part of her family she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl – and falls in love, all over the course of a magical summer. Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever. Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable . . . until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family – her grandmother and cousins she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl. When Emma arrives at the Lake, and spends more time with her mother’s side of the family, she starts to feel like she is two different people . To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her. Then there’s Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little. Roo holds the key to her family’s history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past. It’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of the Lake – and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well. But when it’s finally time to go back home, which side of Emma Saylor will win? In this contemporary fiction, Emma Saylor navigates through the substance of her past, the social dynamics of her blended family, and the throes of teenage romance. The themes of coming of age and the effects of alcohol and drug abuse are subtly woven into the narrative, making it a top pick for young adult readers. For fans of Colleen Hoover (Finding Perfect), K. L. Walther (The Summer of Broken Rules), Ali Hazelwood (Bride), Alexandra Christo (To Kill a Kingdom), and Lynn Painter (Better Than the Movies).