by Kevin Henkes
First published 2001
Martha Boyle barely knew Olive Barstow at school. Then Olive gets struck by a car while biking on Monroe Street. Martha cannot shake thoughts of the dead girl. She heads to Cape Cod for summer vacation at her grandmother's beach house, hoping the familiar routine will clear her mind. Instead, memories of Olive follow her everywhere. The summer grows more complex when Martha encounters the Manning brothers: Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. Jimmy catches her attention most of all. Martha discovers she and Olive shared the same secret without either girl knowing it. These strange connections between two classmates who never became friends haunt Martha's days by the ocean. She wrestles with questions of what might have been different. The world shifts in an instant, and Martha must face how quickly everything can change.
Genres: literary-fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: Cape Cod, Monroe Street
Period: Summer
217 pages · Paperback · Perfection Learning