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Emma Saylor doesn't remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was twelve. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges. 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 that she hasn't seen since she was a little girl. When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is also divided into two 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 North Lake--and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo's spell as well. For Saylor, it's like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it's time to go back home, which side of her--Emma or Saylor--will win out?… (more)
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**I was given an advanced reading copy from Harper Collins but this did not in any way influence the rating I gave.
Living in a motel on a lake with teens who all have jobs felt strange, but she pitches in to help while learning stories about her mom that begin to give her a sense of the person she’d never really known. Emma was cautious, and organized things to stay calm, however, she decides to become Saylor at the lake. There she’s someone who comes alive with the help of her new family and the very handsome Roo, whose memories of her mother intertwines with that of his father in his family photo album.
Just as Saylor begins to feel as if she’s part of lake life, her father returns and insists she leave and become Emma again. How can she make him realize she’s also Saylor, and that she’s changed? Learning her mother’s story helped her see herself in a new way, something Roo and her lake family made happen.
I loved this book so much!! Sarah Dessen always writes great stories, and she did not disappoint me. Reading about Emma Saylor and her family made me feel as if I was out on the lake with them, suffering through their troubles and cheering on their successes. Readers are invested, which is a sign of a great writer.
Highly recommended for ages 15 and older.
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen takes place on one lake with two communities: the upscale tourist resort Lake North and the working class
Emma Saylor's mom came from North Lake; her dad was a summer sailing instructor at Lake North. Their marriage ended in divorce, and then Emma's mother died. Emma's father doesn't talk about her mother's roots.
Circumstances bring Emma to stay with her maternal grandmother in North Lake for three weeks during the summer. Her grandmother and cousins are strangers to Emma. But the Calvanders know all about her--Saylor.
Over the summer, Emma becomes Saylor, learning her mother's history, growing to love her mother's family, and taking the risks she has avoided all her life. You can make your life, or life can make you, she learns.
This was a nice summer read with great characters and lake ambiance while touching on deeper themes of class, anxiety issues, alcoholism, identity, and self-determination. Plus, there is a touch of romance. The hard-working, hard-partying teenager world is well developed, and a crisis brings a happy ending.
I won a copy of the book in a giveaway on The Quivering Pen run by David Abrams, author of Fobbit and Brave Deeds. My review is fair and unbiased.
Sarah Dessen's stories have become summer for me just like Elin Hildebrand is for many of my adult patrons. Her teen girls coming of age are go-to reads of mine ever since grad school in 2007-08. But I'm starting to see a subtle shift in my reading now that I'm closer in age to the parents (in this one they were four years older than me) than the teens. In fact, I probably would've related to it a lot at the age of 17, because a lot of the self-discovery Emma goes through is learning that she can test the boundaries and not just be the good kid. This one fell a little flat for me, and I'm not quite sure why.
Her dad never talked much about her mother who was addicted to alcohol and drugs. He was always trying to protect her. Now, among her estranged family, the story of that family side comes out slowly but surely as she remembers details of her last visit and everyone else fills in the blanks.
This is a little different for Sarah Dessen, but actually somewhat more meaningful than many of her past books. It is totally enjoyable. My only criticism is that Emma is so placid when it comes to her dad dictating what she can and cannot do---as a seventeen year old, I'd imagine she'd be a bit more rebellious. But, criticism aside, I really like the book and its characters.
Here is a summary of what the book is about. Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when Emma was twelve. But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and
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 that she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.
When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is also divided into two 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 North Lake—and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo’s spell as well.
For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her—Emma or Saylor—will win out?
I enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be interesting. I thought the book was written very well. This is the first book I have read of Sarah Dessen.
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
Happy Reading Everyone!
Emma (to her father) Saylor to her mother's family.
Emma Saylor's parents met one summer at North Lake; her mother from the working class shore, her father from the summer visitor's shore. After they married & divorced; Emma Saylor's mother died of a drug overdose.
When Emma Saylor's father remarries he leaves Emma Saylor with her mother's family as he & his new wife spend their honeymoon in Greece.
Emma (now Saylor) works hard to fit in with a family she does't remember and just as she settles in her father & stepmother return, but to the other side of the lake for an additional two week stay, forcing Saylor into an uncomfortable situation attempting to move her father into acknowledging the person Emma-Saylor really is & her kinship with her mother's family.
I really enjoyed this book.
There are a LOT of family
Sadly, I've never been a big fan of Sarah Dessen and I think this will be the last time I bother reading any of her books.
“But all my life I’d felt more like an observer than an active participant…. Maybe there was a middle ground between living too hard and living at all, Maybe, here, I was finding it.” (Saylor p. 223)