Twelve-year-old Summer lives with her Uncle Ob in their trailer in Deep Water, West Virginia. Six months ago, her Aunt May died suddenly of a heart attack. May had been the one who took Summer in when no other relatives wanted her, giving her the first real home she had ever known. Now Uncle Ob sits in his chair all day, lost in grief and talking to May's spirit. Summer worries he might die from sadness. When their quirky neighbor Cletus suggests they visit a medium in Putnam County, Summer agrees to the journey, hoping it will help Ob find peace. The three of them set off in Ob's old car, but the trip becomes something different than Summer expected. As they travel through the mountains, Summer begins to understand that healing from loss takes time and that the love May gave them both still lives on in their hearts.
Genres: family-life, grief, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: Deep Water, West Virginia, Putnam County
Period: Contemporary
Paperback · Dell Yearling