The Summer of Moonlight Secrets

Gr 5—8—Allie Jo Jackson, 13, lives with her parents in the famous, fading Meriwether hotel, near Hope Springs, FL. She is ready for a less-than-stellar summer when Chase arrives with his travel-writer dad and proceeds to break his arm while skateboarding down a hotel hall. He is soon followed by sweet Sophie and a beautiful mystery girl, Tara, whose gleaming hair, shining skin, startling good looks, and penchant for midnight swims start the others wondering about her identity. The old hotel, with its grand staircase, long halls, crumbling upper floors, secret passages, and abandoned speakeasy, is just as much a character in the book as the young teenagers, all of whom face personal problems. The cast also includes a group of mean girls who taunt Allie Jo, calling her "hotel rat," and a creepy man who insists that Tara is his runaway niece. Described in chapters that are alternately narrated by Allie Jo, Chase, and Tara, the summer flows along, filled with ordinary activities like card games and polishing the hotel's brass fittings. Then Allie Jo and Chase discover Tara's identity, but are not sure whether to believe her strange story. There is a touch of summer magic and a dollop of mystery in this compelling story.—Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH