Contemporary kids Ephraim, Mallory, and Will reluctantly work together to investigate local Fountain of Youth lore. In 1908, Nora acts as apprentice to an eccentric scientist. Bit by bit, the alternating stories uncover the secret of the Water Castle--and the connections among Ephraim, Mallory, Will, and Nora's families. Blakemore paces her revelations well and raises fascinating questions about the possibilities of science.

After his father's stroke, Ephraim and his family move to the Water Castle, the Appledore family's ancestral home, which his mother has inherited. As he and his siblings explore the strange mansion and learn about its history as a source of curative water, he begins to hope that its past holds secrets that may heal his father. Meanwhile, Ephraim gradually befriends classmates Mallory, whose family has worked at the Water Castle for generations, and Will, whose father carries on their family's age-old grudge against the Appledores. Interspersed with the present-day story are flashbacks to events taking place in the same location in 1908 and 1909, when Dr. Appledore bottled his famous Fountain of Youth Crystal Water. Although the historical-narrative background has its own strengths and its own uses, it interrupts a more believable, involving present-day story. With their individual points of view, different family problems, and often prickly personalities, Ephraim, Mallory, and Will are at the heart of this somewhat convoluted but ultimately rewarding novel.

Gr 4-7 In this novel, three loners become friends while searching for a miracle. After his dad has a stroke, Ephraim Appledore-Smith's physician mom moves the family to the Water Castle, their ancestral home in Crystal Springs, Maine. Ephraim, the prototypical ordinary middle kid, isn't thrilled about the relocation but looks forward to being the Big City fish in a small-town pond. Things don't go as expected, however, and he discovers that Crystal Springs is full of high achievers and deep, dark secrets. He learns about his family's long-running obsession with exploration, science, and finding the Fountain of Youth. Classmates Mallory, descendant of the Darling family, traditional caretakers of the Water Castle, and Will, whose family has been feuding with the Appledores for generations, join with Ephraim to find out the truth about Crystal Springs, and maybe a cure for Ephraim's dad. Part of the story is told through flashback passages from Nora Darling's perspective; she was hired by Orlando Appledore in 1908 to be his assistant, despite the fact that she was young, female, and black. Ephraim is a realistic kid: needy, uncertain, not particularly brave or logical. Mallory, Will, and Nora are also well drawn, as are some of the adult characters, though others are fairly flat. Not all of the mysteries are cleared up, though most can be guessed at, and the story ends on an optimistic note. Comparisons to Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting (Farrar, 1975) are inevitable, and there will be much for readers to discuss. An entertaining and thought-provoking fantasy. Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library