A New York Times bestseller!
“Tender and enchanting” —Southern Seasons
“An endearing tale of surprising second chances.” – Booklist (starred review)
The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future.
That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby’s past. Her husband, George, is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that’s left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires. It’s not quite enough to keep Eby from calling this her final summer at the lake, and relinquishing Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand.
Until one last chance at family knocks on her door.
Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve, before she learned of loneliness and heartbreak and loss. Now she’s all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope, too, thanks to her resilient daughter, Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer… and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago.
One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren’t sure they needed in the first place: love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended. Can they find what they need before it’s too late?
At once atmospheric and enchanting, Lost Lake shows Sarah Addison Allen at her finest, illuminating the secret longings and the everyday magic that wait to be discovered in the unlikeliest of places.
“Lost Lake is a love note to second chances, hopeful and entrancing, and I couldn’t put it down.” —Joshilyn Jackson
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From the Publisher
You will love going to Lost Lake with Sarah Addison Allen and meeting all the fascinating characters who live there. This book is filled with mystery, magic, and wonderful surprises!” —Fannie Flagg
“Lost Lake is a love note to second chances, hopeful and entrancing, and I couldn’t put it down.” —Joshilyn Jackson
"This endearing tale just may be Allen's wisest work yet." —Booklist (starred review)
"Readers will want to release their cares and woes for full immersion in this novel's magical setting." —Library Journal
"Light, sweet and sparkly." —Kirkus
"All of the magic of Allen's previous books is present in this latest treasure, a feast of words. The author has the ability to capture the soul of her characters and make them relatable to every reader. This is a story of love, loss, grief, and starting over—it is truly a treat to be savored." —RT Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly
04/14/2014
Novak's first novel—which she wrote at age 15 and posted on social network Wattpad, where it gained a large fan base—is set just after 16-year-old Jackie's entire family dies in a car accident. She moves from New York City to Colorado with her mother's good friend, her new guardian. Now, Jackie will be living on a ranch with a family of 11 boys (including two sets of twins), their sole unfriendly sister, and a pet snake. The chaotic household's constant noise, sibling conflicts, and disarmingly laidback environment leave her disoriented, but also distract her from her recent tragedy. A compulsive organizer by nature, Jackie learns that not everything can be compartmentalized, and a messy romantic entanglement only throws her life into further disarray. Novak spreads the story thin, introducing multiple characters without developing them much. Prosaic descriptions at times undermine the story's emotional depth, and Jackie's response to her tremendous loss comes across as mechanical. Yet the themes of seizing rather than planning each moment and allowing for life's untidiness are explored with energy and humor. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)
VOYA, June 2014 (Vol. 37, No. 2) - Cathy Fiebelkorn
When sixteen-year-old Jackie Howard loses her parents and only sister in a tragic accident, she has no choice but to leave her New York City home and move to Colorado with her mother’s childhood friend, Katherine. Adapting to life on the ranch is quite a challenge for perfect, never-a-hair-out-of-place Jackie, who now has to share living space with all of Katherine’s familyeleven boys and one tomboyin an often chaotic environment. While there are instant sparks between Jackie and the devastatingly handsome playboy, Cole, others in the household are less welcoming. Some of the boys dole out pranks; others are openly hostile. To complicate matters further, Jackie gets caught up in a love triangle with Cole and another brother, which sends tensions through the roof for much of the book. It is the driving force in my My Life With The Walter Boys, more so than Jackie’s grief or her thoughts of home, which makes her decision at the end of the book somewhat surprising. It also leaves room for the sequel, the still-in-progress My Life As A Walter Boy, written from Cole’s perspective. Readers should not expect a deep and heavy exploration of loss. This title will appeal strongly to boy-obsessed readers who will find the romance, particularly the chemistry between Cole and Jackie, to be quite engrossing and the teen voices credible. Reviewer: Cathy Fiebelkorn; Ages 12 to 18.
School Library Journal
07/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Jackie is used to high-rise apartments, the big-city life, and the prestige of attending a private school. Then, catastrophe strikes and her parents and sister are killed in a car accident. Jackie's nearest living family member isn't equipped to take care of her so he ships her off to her mother's childhood friend, Katherine Walters, in Colorado. Katherine lives on a horse ranch with 12 kids (11 boys and one girl). Jackie arrives to the house to a pretty cold welcome, especially because her new bedroom was Katherine's sanctuary and art studio. Six of the brothers attend the narrator's school where the attractive Walter boys are sought after by all of the girls. As she struggles to make friends and acclimate to her new environment, she begins to embrace her newfound siblings, and all of the drama that comes along with being the token female in family of handsome, if annoying, boys. Especially confusing for the protagonist is the palpable chemistry that grows between her and one of the brothers. Ultimately, life with the Walter boys helps Jackie cope with the loss of her family while embracing another one, and pushes her to discover who she really is in this coming-of-age novel. Fans of Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door (Dial, 2012) will enjoy this rambunctious group of siblings.—Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, OR
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