Bernie comes to grip with her mothers past, forgives, and moves on in this beautiful book. ( )

Bernice is a sixteen year old girl who has practically been raising her two younger siblings for 4 years. Her mother, Celia, is an alcoholic who leaves for days, sometimes weeks at a time to go drinking. She just canceled her marriage to a very nice man and Bernice is completely outraged. She finds out that her great aunt Charlotte has left Celia a lakehouse in her will, along with $500 every month. She manages to convince her mother to move the family to the lakehouse and start over, even though the place is in really bad shape. The first few days that they spend there are hard because Celia wants nothing to do with the lakehouse and Bernice is trying to hold everything together for her younger brother, who is getting a lot of anxiety. They meet another family - their neighbours - and become friends with them.

The novel is mostly about the mother-daughter relationship between Celia and Bernice, which evolves throughout the story and becomes more than Bernice could've ever hoped for. It is a captivating story that I believe any teenager could love if they are into psychological stories. ( )

Teenager, Berenice, AKA Bernie, resents her mom for going on drinking binges and leaving her to take care of her little brother and sister. When the family comes into some property from her great aunt Charlotte, Bernie takes matters in her own hands. She blackmails her mother into moving there and fixing up the lodge. But even this move to a beautiful place, doesn't do anything for her anger; it just seems to get worse.

I really liked this book even though I was ready for Bernie to chill way before the big confrontation and found that to be too facile, once it finally occured. I still liked her and the other characters, except creepy Tony of course. ( )

Bernie is a budding photographer who has a love for and dependence on photography. Through her camera, Bernie observes her family slowly breaking down. But it isn't until she puts the camera down and starts to take action that she really makes a difference in her own life and her family's. There are some wonderful quotes about phtographers that work well with each chapter. This novel is focused on relationships, internal conflicts and depends on strong characters and thoughtful dialogue all of which are realistically developed. The writing is fresh and a joy to read.
It is an excellent novel. ( )

Teen age girl must deal with an alcoholic mother and care for her siblings