When Eleanor Amore was ten years old, she spent a magical summer in the Bronx, NY, with her aunts, playing hide-and-seek, exploring Far Rockaway beach, and meeting her first love. Unfortunately, she has no memory of that time, the bonds she made, or anything else from before her last day there. Years later, pregnant and desperate, Eleanor is inexplicably drawn back to that Bronx apartment. With the help of her aunts and a rekindled romance, she begins slowly to uncover the memories of that summer and the dark secrets that made her forget. Narrator Cassandra Campbell seamlessly transitions from the youthful voice of Eleanor to the aunts' elderly tones, giving each woman a distinct and discernible voice. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will appreciate the incorporation of magical elements throughout the story, such as the Amore aunts' "sight" and their ability to create powerful herbal concoctions.
VERDICT Recommended for all public libraries. ["This is an earnest effort at a sweet family story, but it falls short of its mark. Trite, overreaching, and unbelievable at best," read the less enthusiastic review of the Griffin: St. Martin's hc, LJ 12/12.—Ed.]
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