Our Little World by Karen Winn

 

It's a hot sweltering summer in New Jersey.  School is out so Bee Kocsis has all time in the world to play with the other kids on her cul-de-sac.  A new family has just moved in and Max will be going to school with Bee in the fall.  Bee has a younger sister, Audrina and everyone is charmed by her.  She seems to swim effortlessly through the teenage angst that envelops Bee and makes friends with no problem.

Then it happens.  Bee and Audrina are invited to go to the lake with Max, his mother and little sister.  They all go swimming except Sally who is a bit afraid of the water and stays on the shore digging in the sand.  One minute she is there, the next she's gone.  Despite a massive search, no sign is found of her.

The days and then weeks go by.  Bee starts high school and all of a sudden she is popular since everyone assumes she knows the inside story of what happened to Sally.  Max's mother spends her days drinking and Max only comes to school sporadically.  Bee and Audrina seem to be growing apart, going to different schools and having different friends.  Then another tragedy occurs.

This is Karen Winn's debut novel and she does a good job getting inside the thoughts and feelings of a teenage girl.  The reactions she reports are the ones I've observed in families that have lost a child and the secrets that grow between the two sisters are part of most sibling relationships.  This was my first novel by the author but I'll be interested in seeing what she does next.  This book is recommended for women's fiction and mystery readers.