Starred Review Mitch Sinclair, 12, is at Bird Moon Lake because his parents are divorcing. But there are tense moments with his grandparents, so Mitch fantasizes about moving into the empty house next door. Then Spencer Stone and his family, who own the cottage, arrive. Spencer and younger sister love the lake, but it's also the place where their barely remembered brother, Matty, drowned at age four. Told in overlapping chapters, the story is spare. Mitch tricks Spencer into thinking Matty is haunting them; then he does something worse. After the boys become friends, the truth becomes both barrier and bridge. As in his Newbery Honor Book Olive's Ocean (2003), every word counts, moving the story forward moment by moment. Yet the writing is as evocative as it is precise: fireflies are "pinpricks of topaz." Emotions are just as carefully carved, turning characterization into portraiture; the children stand out in relief, against the deceptive tranquility of the lake. Some children may find the story too quiet or the ending too abrupt. But Henkes knows children and their secrets, and readers will lean close to hear the whispers.

In alternating chapters we hear from Mitch, whose parents are divorcing, and from Spencer, whose older brother drowned when Spencer was two. Their growing friendship, forged in spite of reticence, secrets, and misunderstandings, gives the boys a road out of sadness. Spare and unpretentious, the book is a convincing, understated depiction of the strength of children.

In a novel as tender as his acclaimed <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Olive's Ocean%0D, Henkes probes the psyches of two boys facing family conflicts. Spending long, lonely days at his grandparents' lakeside home, 12-year-old Mitch Sinclair has plenty of time to brood about his parents' impending divorce and to plot against the family of %C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9Cintruders%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%9D who have moved into his favorite spot, the house next door that he assumed was abandoned. What Mitch can't know is that the newcomers have been shaken by tragedy, the drowning of a child in the lake eight years ago, and their stay is destined to be short-lived. Mitch becomes friends with 10-year-old Spencer Stone, the elder of the surviving children, and as trust builds between them, the boys risk exchanging their family secrets. Tranquil Bird Lake serves as an effective setting for this reflective novel, with Henkes alternating between Mitch's and Spencer's points of view. The most remarkable aspect of the book may be the author's ability to isolate the sources of the boys' shared sense of loss and then to express, via easily recognizable and even ordinary experiences, their growing acceptance of what cannot be changed. Ages 10-14. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)%0D

After his father leaves, twelve-year-old Mitch Sinclair and his mother move in with Mitch's grandparents. Hurt and lonely, Mitch becomes preoccupied with the abandoned house next door, which he imagines is the perfect place to start a new life with his mother. He begins to clean the house and mark the territory as his own, but his plans are foiled when the owners of the house unexpectedly return. Ten-year-old Spencer Stone is apprehensive about returning to his family's house at Bird Lake where, eight years before, his older brother drowned. Spencer was too young to remember much about his brother or the lake house, but he is eager to escape the ever-present "fear of missing something" that overshadows his family's life at home. Told from alternating perspectives, the story reveals how Mitch and Spencer's short friendship begins to heal each other's wounds. Set against the lush backdrop of Bird Lake, Henkes's sensitive novel will be well received by readers who are fans of the careful, slow-paced style of Olive's Ocean (Greenwillow, 2003/VOYA December 2003) and Sun and Spoon (Greenwillow, 1997). Many young readers will relate to Mitch and Spencer's conflicted feelings as they fight the urge to give in to selfish desires because of their growing empathy for others. Henkes's respect for the complexity of these emotions is apparent, even if the characterizations and plot are somewhat unremarkable. Nevertheless the novel embodies the sympathy and kindness of which Henkes is capable when creating young characters dealing with loss.-Jennifer M. Miskec.

Henkes's third-person narrative, in alternating chapters, presents the inner lives of Mitch, 12, and Spencer, ten. Over a few summer weeks, each wrestles with family travail in adjacent houses at Bird Lake. Mitch's father has left the family for a new relationship, and Mitch and his mom retreat to his grandparents' place to recover. Spencer, whose four-year-old brother drowned in the lake eight years before, returns with his parents and younger sister Lolly. At first, Mitch thinks of the Stone family as intruders—he has fantasized that the house next door could be his and his mom's—and tries to unnerve them clandestinely. A misguided prank (he secretly unleashes the Stones' dog and subsequently finds him) weighs heavily on Mitch. Yet, in tandem, the two boys gravitate toward friendship and find, despite their respective psychological distress, a satisfying, if potentially only summer-sized pocket of companionship and play. Through artfully observed details and perfectly pitched dialogue among the boys and clever Lolly, Henkes deftly locates Mitch's pain and confusion, delivering a novel that's quiet, nuanced and redemptive. (Fiction. 8-12)

Gr 4-7-Temporarily living with his mom at his grandparents' home on Bird Lake, 12-year-old Mitch Sinclair's plans to make the seemingly abandoned house next door his own are shattered when Spencer Stone arrives with his family. Both the Sinclairs and the Stones are in crisis-Mitch's parents are divorcing, and Spencer's parents are returning to the house for the first time since the death of their son Matty, who drowned there when Spencer was two. While each boy is deeply affected by his family's drama, both are powerless to influence its unfolding. Mitch, indignant at the Stoneses' intrusion, attempts to scare them off by creating mysterious signs that suggest a ghostly presence. Spencer observes these signs but chooses not to share them with his family. Eventually, the boys meet and connect immediately, leaving Mitch resolved to set things right. Characters are gently and believably developed as the story weaves in and around the beautiful Wisconsin setting. The superbly crafted plot moves smoothly and unhurriedly, mirroring a slow summer pace. Alternating perspectives between the boys gives readers deep insights into their feelings and actions. The secondary characters, the adults and Spencer's firecracker sister, Lolly, are also fully limned, complex individuals. Henkes creates compelling, child-centric images, excellent dialogue, and a believable resolution, with humor and just the right amount of tension to make this a significant and highly readable book. A "must-have" for every library that serves young people.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.