Summerlost

Ally Condie’s debut middle grade novel SUMMERLOST is a tender and poignant exploration of family, loss, and the healing power of friendship. Last year twelve-year-old Cedar’s family was whole, and then her father and youngest brother, Ben, were killed in a devastating accident.  Life wasn’t uncomplicated before—Ben was different from most kids, and much of the family’s world revolved around accommodating his need--but now everything has changed for Cedar’s family, left broken and struggling to come to terms with their loss.
 
It’s their first summer as just three, and Cedar, her mother, and her brother Miles have moved to the small town of Iron Creek. They're just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing on Cedar’s windowsill.