Summer Adventures: How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt

kiya@evpl — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:42:00 GMT

Harper Evans is 17, and just lost her best friend and stepsister when their parents divorced. Anxious to get away from all the drama and heartache, she volunteers for a summer of community service, building homes in Tennessee, in a town devastated by a tornado. The story alternates between HERE - the summer in Tennessee, and HOME - the story of her family, and how they came together and then apart. It is a difficult summer for Harper, but she reaches out of her comfort zone, and learns a lot about what she wants from life, and what she needs from people.

I really liked this story, and am now anxious to read other books by this author. EVPL has a couple:

Harmless (2007)

When Anna, Emma, and Mariah concoct a story about why they are late getting home one Friday night, their lie has unimaginable consequences for the girls, their families, and the community.

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life (2006)

Sixteen-year-old atheist Simone Turner-Bloom's life changes in unexpected ways when her parents convince her to make contact with her biological mother, an agnostic from a Jewish family who is losing her battle with cancer.

Reinhardt's fourth novel, The Things a Brother Knows, is due out this September.

Teens Blog : Dana Reinhardt, community service

Summer Adventures: How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt