Saturdays in Books

Can you tell I've been catching up on middle grade?

After a summer spent living with their long estranged mother, the sisters arrive home only to find everything changing around them. Their uncle is back from Vietnam with a sickness he just can't shake, and their dad has a new lady friend. 

This series is great. The characters are all fantastic, and the historical backdrop is fascinating. Plot-wise, this one is a bit predictable, but in ways that don't diminish the reading experience. This is an emotional juggernaut, and not a mystery novel, after all. Knowing what's going to happen just makes the scenes before even more bittersweet. 

When I read One Crazy Summer, I had no idea this was a series. I'm so glad Ladybusiness reviewed this volume or I might have missed out altogether. There's a third one, set in Alabama!