- US Edition
The Mending Summer
Some summers are meant to break your heart. Others to mend it. Every once in a while, a summer rolls around that does both.
For Georgia, this summer is shaping up to be a big disappointment. Mama is busy studying for her biology degree. Daddy is working nights, and often the man who comes home isn’t Daddy. He’s a man who looks like Daddy, but walks a little wobbly. Who sounds like Daddy, but sings a little too loud. Georgia calls him the Shadow Man.
So now, instead of riding horses with her friends at camp, Georgia is sent off to the country to stay with her mysterious great-aunt for the summer to avoid her parents’ fighting.
There, a lonely Georgia meets a mysterious friend named Angela and together, they discover a magical lake—one that can make wishes come true. At first, the lake offers Georgia a thrilling escape from her worries and hope that she can use its magic to heal her family. But as things grow worse at home, a troubled boy appears at the lake and the wishes threaten to spiral out of control . . .
Award-winning author Ali Standish explores the courage it takes to piece your heart back together again when those closest to you break it.
Rights details
USA/Canada: HarperCollins (May 2021)
Good news
Starred review from School Library Journal
“A timeless tale of discovery, growth, and relationships … a powerful story about an important topic.”
Junior Library Guild selection
The Author
Ali Standish
Ali Standish’s award-winning and bestselling books include the Carnegie-nominated The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle (titled The Secret Summer in the UK), Bad Bella, The Climbers, How to Disappear Completely, The Mending Summer, and Yonder. Her books have received starred reviews, have been named as Indies Introduce and Indies Next titles, and have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. She grew up splitting her time between North Carolina and several imaginary worlds. The only award she ever won in school was for messiest desk, but that didn’t stop her from going on to get degrees from Pomona College, Hollins University, and obtaining a master’s degree in Children’s Literature from the University of Cambridge. Ali also spent several years as a teacher/program administrator in the Washington DC Public School system. She still spends most of her time in her imagination, but you might just spot her walking her two rescue dogs with her Finnish husband and their son around her neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina.
You can visit her online at alistandish.com.
Ali is represented by Chelsea Eberly.