Book 7 of the Summer Reading Book Challenge

Book 7: Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes

"Twelve-year-old Mitch and his mother are spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents separate, and ten-year-old Spencer and his family have returned to the lake where Spencer's little brother drowned long ago, and as the boys become friends and spend time together, each of them begins to heal."

I have to admit I've run out of steam a bit with the Summer Reading Book Challenge...I have been reading (a lot actually) but primarily books for older kids (like high school) or adults. So with Bird Lake Moon, I'm digging into my book archives and picking one that I actually read awhile ago. However, Bird Lake Moon is a fantastic book and one that I've been considering for Book Buddies for a long time. And since I'm not sure exactly when we'll get to it, I thought it was worth putting out there now and a great book to end the challenge with....

Bird Lake Moon is one of my favorite Kevin Henkes books, second only to Olive's Ocean (a fabulous book for middle school readers). There are many similarities between the two - tweens coming of age, summer vacation, tragedy, all revealed with tremendous heart through beautiful writing. In Bird Lake, I enjoyed getting to know Mitch and Spencer and watching their friendship grow. No question, both boys went through a lot of hard stuff at very early ages. But it was a pleasure to watch them grow and mature and deal with their problems.

Heartbreaking in parts, Bird Lake Moon is a much more character-driven than plot driven. It is a quiet story but one filled with hope that I think many elementary readers will enjoy.