Gisela Jernigan, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
As this realistic young adult novel begins, 15-year-old Haven is in the middle of a summer full of changes and difficult adjustments involving her family, friends and self-image. Told from a convincing first-person perspective, we struggle along with Haven as she deals with her father's remarriage, her rather self-centered sister's coming marriage, feelings of concern for her changing mother, a suddenly boy-crazy best friend, and a growth spurt causing her to reach almost six feet. While trying to confront her present problems, she often remembers and is influenced by a past summer when everything seemed idyllic and by her strong feelings for her sister's old boyfriend, who has reentered her life and seems to represent joy and security. 1996, Orchard, $16.95, $17.99 and $4.99. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, 1996)
A teenager reluctantly learns to face forward rather than back in this refreshing, unusually perceptive debut. The winds of change are blowing bitterly around 15-year-old Haven as her parents break up, her father marries a younger woman, her sister Ashley turns into a termagant as her wedding approaches, and her own body becomes a stranger, topping 5' 11" in a sustained growth spurt. To shield herself, Haven clings to the memory of a summer vacation to Virginia Beach three years ago, when her family was still together and Sumner Lee, the best of Ashley's legion of boyfriends, came along. Suddenly, Sumner is back, as charming and comforting as ever; can he rekindle that memory's magic? Displaying a flair for evocative names and well-timed plot twists, Dessen takes her tall and usually levelheaded teen through two weddings and a succession of disturbing, often comic, surprises, to a climactic explosion. Haven enjoys a nicely articulated love/hate relationship with her sister, ostensibly a superficial cheerleader type who turns out to be wiser than she seems; she helps Haven shake off her dependence on a memory (not entirely accurate, as it turns out) of idyllic happiness. Seeing everyone else building new lives, Haven starts to think about her own future, too. A worthy theme, but the chief attractions here are the appealing cast and droll humor. 1996, Orchard, $16.95; PLB $17.99. Starred Review. © 1996 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 1996 (Vol. 50, No. 3))
Haven is fifteen, and she's feeling lost in the eddies of family change: her father, the local sports reporter, has left her mother and is marrying his colleague Lorna the Weather Pet (Haven's mother's phrase), and Haven's sister Ashley is putting the family through pre-nuptial hell preparatory to her marriage to Lewis. The only thing that seems to bring Haven pleasure is her reacquaintance with Sumner, her sister's old boyfriend, whom Haven still adores and who represents a happy and stable long-ago time to her. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace and the plot is fairly predictable, but this is a well-realized world. Dessen peoples this story with a variety of original, unforced, and distinctive characters and strengthens it with quietly rich narration as Haven comes to terms with the fictionality of her dreams of the past and the necessity of accepting the present. This is reminiscent of Williams' Kelly and Me (BCCB 3/94) in its summery feel and its voice; fans of that book should enjoy Haven's story. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1996, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1996, Kroupa/Orchard, 198p, $17.99 and $16.95. Grades 7-12.